Theme of Sense of Self - Essay Example

Hamlet’s mindset concentrates deep and far away from the physical world. His plight for revenge against his uncle Claudius and his mother was delayed by his mindset being deep and far away from the physical world. He relates to other characters in the play through the individualism of self. What makes Hamlet so distinctive from others is how he shows himself to others with all his human flaws. Every time Hamlet wakes up, his mind was preoccupied with his thoughts something that intensifies his feelings and perceptions everywhere he saw imperfections worry, tension and confusion. This situation makes it impossible for him to solve his problems easily (Lee 174-178).

Hamlet’ssense of self is shown in his deep thoughts where although he knew Claudius killed his father and was not a noble king like his father, he does not want to kill him because he wanted to avoid civil war. Hamlet does not wish to plunge his country into chaos because of his turmoil. He realized that this would happen when he kills Claudius. He also fails to combine the spiritual (in the form of his father’s ghost) with the situations that surround him every day. The ghost persuades him to take revenge for his father’s death but by him being a humanitarian and taking into account his responsibilities as a prince and future king, hamlet avoids all this pressure to kill Claudius (Taylor 206).

Hamlet was a thinking man, throughout the play he is shown to be always thinking about the things that lay ahead of him. Unfortunately, when the time to act came, he always pulled back because of his urge to believe. His capacity to think becomes a handicap to him rather than an advantage and the most painful or tragic part is that he was aware of his weakness. In act five scene one, Hamlet looked at the bones of many of the occupants of the graveyard including that of the great powerful Alexander and concludes that the ultimate end of all men is the same no matter what they do for their country.

That was z chance for him to dictate his fate but instead, he still delayed completing his obligation to kill Claudius when he got the chance to avenge when he saw him praying. He is so stuck to his belief that if he killed him while praying, Claudius would not secure a place in heaven. On the other hand, Hamlet’s lack of control over his actions is shown when he killed the curious Polonius yet he was occupied with anger to avenge his father’s murder. His delay to kill Claudius until the end makes Hamlet take almost everyone with Claudius' death including him (Bradley 145).

In the play, Shakespeare John Lee argues that human beings take progressive control of what is happening in their life by constructing interpretations that build the personality of an individual. Therefore, Hamlet’s soliloquy shows a session of such constructs that build one’s sense of self. Although he was able to avenge his father’s murder, he also ends up dying miserably hence becoming a tragic hero. Read More