Hamlet

A detailed Summary of Hamlet

In the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, the cause of Hamlet's "Rash and bloody deed"(III:iv) is primarily because Hamlet is thrown into an uncompromising situation. As Prince of Denmark he is put in a position, in which he must deal with the betrayal and murder of this father by his own family members. In order to determine Hamlets' state of mind we can look at a few hints of his behavior throughout the play. We can view how from beginning to end, his rational/irrational thoughts begin and end, and look at how the ghost and Hamlets' mother's complexity affect him in the prayer/closet scene. Eventually, the characters of Shakespeare's play become victims of an unwholesome situation- their own creation.

Hamlet is much closer to his mother than is to Claudius. Therefore Hamlet feels more emotion when dealing with her, "Come, come and sit you down. You shall not budge. You go not till I set you up a glass where you may see the inmost part of you"(III:iv). Hamlet's anger stems from his mothers hasty remarriage to his uncle and her incestuous acts. It's this emotion/anger that drives out Hamlet's deep suppressed feelings of anger, "But to live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, stewed in corruption, honeying and making love o

As stated before, in order for Hamlet to gain further proof to see if the ghost was telling the truth about his uncle, Hamlet stages a play for the royal court, re-enacting the killing of a king. One could say this decision by Hamlet seals his fate. Although he gets the reaction that he is looking for from Claudius, "Give me some light. Away"(III:iv), "-Why, let the strucken deer go weep"(III:ii), he also shows Claudius that he knows of his crimes, losing any edge that he might have possessed. It appears that Hamlet does not use good judgment here.

ver the nasty sty- "(III:iv). This intense emotional reaction between Hamlet and his mother results in the death of Polonius, who is hiding in the room. We can make an assumption that Hamlet is not crazy and is thinking clearly throughout most of the play. Yet towards the end his thoughts appear to move away from the rational. This is shown in the same scene, after Hamlet slays Polonuis through the curtain he asks the question, "Is it the King"(III:iv). It is apparent that Hamlet's thoughts becomes colored with passion for revenge. Hamlet already knows that the King cannot be hiding in the room, for he just left the King in the chapel.

Hamlet is a highly reactive character but does not ever seem to have a certain plan by which to accomplish his goal of killing Claudius. Hamlet becomes lost in his own psychological cloud, which highlights his inability to bring matters to a swift end. His mental status, after the visit from the ghost, diminishes as the play does. Had Hamlet been able to kill his uncle while he was praying, perhaps the lives of many others and his own could've been saved. Hamlets character fills the role of an ideal person with an ideal life, fallen by matter of circumstance and tragic fault. In all, a single moment can be what determines a life.

From this point on Hamlet begins to wear a "mask of madness" using insanity as scapegoat to insure that even if he caught he will not be put to death. This mask falls into one of many double binds that Hamlet must face. Even if he is not put to death and is pardoned from committin

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1418
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English