Hamlet Was One of Shakespeares Most Critically Acclaimed Plays - Essay Example

Hamlet was one of Shakespeare’s most critically acclaimed plays and regarded as the most powerful that he ever came up with. It is riddled with tragedy, betrayal, vengeance, and even instances of incest. In addition, it highlighted the moral decay that exists in society and was greatly controversial when it was performed for the first time. In highlighting the various themes of the play, Shakespeare makes use of dramatic monologue through the various characters such as Hamlet himself, to reveal certain aspects that could not otherwise be realized.
We can notice an instance of a monologue from Hamlet in Act V, Scene I. As a skull believed to be of a character named Yorick is being exhumed, Hamlet exclaims, “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it…Your gambols? Your songs? (Shakespeare 297)” Through this monologue, Hamlet expresses his thoughts on death and the fear of oblivion, and the inevitability of death. Read More