Hamlet

A detailed Summary of Hamlet

What's The Hurry?

Hamlet could possibly be the most popular of William Shakespeare's series of tragedies. The main character, Hamlet, may be the most complex and controversial character any playwright has ever created. His erratic behavior poses multiple questions. Is he being rational in his acts and sacrificing himself for the greater good or is he simply insane? How and why does Hamlet continually move from one state of mind to the other? What significance does this have in this particular play of Shakespeare? Throughout the play Hamlet goes through several different stages of life, while constantly being in a angst-ridden and distressed mental state, caught between love, grief, and vengeance. His different states of mind are the result of his controversial personality and his ability to objectively analyze any situation. For many 20th century readers this causes great frustration while reading this play. They may continually ask themselves, "What is holding him back?" and "He has the chance, why not just kill him and be done with it?". Today we are so used to ruthless killing in movies, and violence without a second thought that Hamlet's agonizing mental struggle is something tha

Because Hamlet is portrayed as a thinking feeling person, this crisis that he is facing is torture for him, and makes the plot thicker and more interesting for the reader. It keeps the reader on the edge of their seat unable to put down the play. Murder is not Christian, but Hamlet is. It's not rational, and Hamlet is a philosopher. He does not approach this task in a mechanical way like a character in a 20th century movie would, which makes it hard for a current day reader to understand. The emotions that this causes inside of Hamlet unbalance him and blur his judgment.

When Hamlet kills Polonius the reader finally knows that Hamlet has accepted the task of killing Claudius, If he can kill someone that was doing nothing more that eves dropping, we understand the moral battle of whether to kill the murderer of your father is over. Killing Polonius is not enough, he also hides his body, hence stopping him from having a Christian burial and sending him straight to hell.

In the beginning stages of the play, Hamlet portrays his anger to the reader in saying, "Let me not think on't; frailty, thy name is woman- A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she followed my poor father's body Like Niobe, all tears, why, she- O god, a beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourned longer-married with my uncle, My father's brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules. Within a month, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married. O, most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not, nor it cannot come to good" (Norton, 1676). At this point we must consider what Hamlet may be contemplating in his mind. Given the misfortune of his recent events he is asking himself, "Is there someone higher?" and "Who can I consult for advice?". He does not know who he can trust and therefore is feeling very alone and overwhelmed. His utter state of confusion leads him away from making any form of permanent decision, due to the fact that his mind changes so quickly. His biggest predicament is whether to think with his head or his heart at a time like this. We can see that Hamlet was raised to think with reason and not act on a whim. We can also see as readers that Hamlet has a conscience. He is stuck between the ideal world which he has set up for himself and the true world which is a world of reality in whic

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Approximate Word count = 1637
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English