Analysis of the Main Character in Hamlet by William Shakespeare - Research Paper Example

Hamlet William Shakespeare is renowned for his excellent skills of demonstrating different themes in his plays. One of his most famous plays was Hamlet in which he tells the story of the King of Denmark. Hamlet is a play which depicts themes of grief and treachery. Prince of Denmark that is Hamlet is the son of King Hamlet. The King is killed by his brother Claudius who takes over the throne and then marries the widow of King Hamlet, Queen Gertrude. Prince Hamlet falls into a complex situation and is extremely grieved by all these occurrences. Hamlet acts in a very unpredictable way and shows signs of depression and sadness because of the death of his father followed by the abrupt marriage of his mother to Claudius. It is after the abrupt marriage of Hamlet’s mother to Claudius that he is considered by many to be deviating from his mental state. Some literary scholars argue that he has been portrayed as a mad person whereas some argue that he is just acting to be mad so that he can achieve certain goals. This essay would further revolve around the debate between the scholars regarding the madness of Hamlet. Hamlet was very close to his father and he considered him to a very graceful and honorable man. He loved him a lot and at his death, he became a changed man. He remembered his father and this is seen in Act One when he says, “So excellent a king, that was to this, Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother, That he might not beteem the winds of heaven .Visit her face too roughly; heaven and earth, Must I remember?” His father’s death accompanied by his dislike for Claudius makes him even more sad and disturbed. He does not find Claudius to be of any match to his father (Arthur 1981). Furthermore, the marriage of his mother Queen Gertrude to Claudius within a very short time of his father’s death shatters him even more. He considers this to be an act of betrayal and it makes him believe that females are not to be trusted and loved as they do not truly love anyone. It is for this reason that his attitude and behavior towards his love Ophelia totally changes. This change of behavior has been referred by many as a sign of madness found in the character of Hamlet. He has been argued to be mad because of his actions all over the play. After his father’s death his behavior towards Ophelia changes such that he proposes that he never loved her. However later on it is seen that he admits that he was in love with her when fighting with Laertes. This clearly shows that he had intense mood changes which could relate to his mental state of mind. Moreover his mental state of mind also does not seem to be stable when he sets out a trap in the “Mouse-trap” play for Claudius. He sets out a play in such a manner that his friend can witness the reaction of Claudius and analyze as to if he was involved in the murder of the king or not. However Hamlet himself cannot witness the scene and starts shouting in the middle of the play. He also sees the ghost of his father many times which is considered to be a sign of his madness (Stephenson 1905). On the other hand many literary scholars argue that Hamlet was not mad but was only acting out so that he could catch the real culprit behind his father’s death. It can be considered that he thinks that he might be abandoned and betrayed by Ophelia like his mother immediately chose to marry following his father’s death. His trust from the institution of marriage is risen which can be proved when he asks Ophelia to become a nun and never marry. Ophelia suffers due to the lack of sensitivity in Hamlet’s behavior. The reason for his insensitivity can be linked to the marriage of Claudius with his mother. At one instance he states regarding his mother “frailty, thy name is woman (Line 2 p.46). Hamlet truly loses interest in his life and he feels that death is better than all the things that he sees in the world. In Act three he mentions that he is not very happy about his life and says, “To die; to sleep, No more, and by a sleep to say we end, The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks.” But he gains a ray of hope when he feels that Claudius is the one who killed his father. The revenge of his father’s death makes him live and starts to confirm the fact that Claudius was responsible for his father’s death and then to plot for killing him. It is for this reason that he carries out the play know as “Mouse Trap”. Hamlet lives a life of losses and he becomes even more grieved when he finds about the death of Ophelia. He then realizes about her loss and declares that he truly loved her. Hamlet is a character who portrays goodness as well. He does not want to kill Claudius without ensuring that he was truly responsible for his father’s death. All the acts that he performs throughout the play are due to the sadness that shadowed his life after the death of his father. This confirms that he was not mad and was only acting out his part so that he could convict the king of the murder. Moreover the ghost that he sees at many instances is also seen by Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo. Horatio states at one instance that "Before my God, I might not this believe without the sensible and true avouch Of mine own eyes" (l 1.56-8). From the above debate it can be concluded that Hamlet was not mad but was acting out his scene so that he could take the revenge of his father. His abrupt mood swings towards Ophelia and his mother are because he does not want to be diverted from his plan. References Stephenson, Henry Thew. “Hamlet’s Mousetrap.” The Sewanee Review 13.1 (1905): 30-34. JSTOR. Web. 19 June 2011. Kirsch, Arthur. “Hamlet’s Grief.” ELH 48.1 (1981): 17-36. JSTOR. Web. 19 June. 2011. Shakespeare, W., & Barnes & Noble Books. (2010). Hamlet. S.l: MobileReference. Read More