Hamlets Pale Cast of Thought - Essay Example

Hamlet’s Pale Cast of Thought Hamlet’s Pale Cast of Thought No other character in an English drama has had so many analyzing his personality than Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. When Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, he might not have realized that he is writing a play which will be read, talked about and performed through centuries. The play is a tragedy, the story being centered around deceit and revenge. Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, has died recently and his mother has married her brother – in- law. The ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to him and tells him that he, the king, has been murdered by his own brother, who has now usurped the throne and married his widow. The ghost urges Hamlet to take revenge on his uncle, the usurper Claudius. Hamlet is disturbed by the ghost’s disclosures, and wants to avenge the death of his father. But, for one reason or the other, he postpones it , until, in the end, he falls a victim to Claudius’ deceit. He kills Claudius before he dies. His mother also dies in the end. The character of Hamlet is very complicated. In the nineteenth century, he was portrayed as a tragic central character of the play, but the present day critics think of him as a man full of contradictions. Being an introvert, Hamlet is given to thought than for action. He delays taking revenge because of his habit of thinking too deeply . When the ghost leads Hamlet to a secluded place, he asks it where it is leading him. The ghost identifies itself as his father’s ghost, and bids Hamlet to “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.”(Act1,Scene 5, line25)Surprised and angry, Hamlet says, “Have me kno’t that I with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love May sweep to my revenge” (Act 1, scene 5, lines 29-30) -shows thoughts of revenge Although he utters brave words, he takes a long time to ‘sweep to his revenge’. According to a report in Toronto Star, “Humans concoct myths to give themselves a sense of self- worth.” (Toronto Star) Hamlet is deceiving himself and the ghost to give himself a sense of self – worth, when he promises the ghost that he will sweep to his revenge. Hamlet has an introverted and procrastinating nature, with sudden bursts of anger. True to his character, he takes his own time to confront his uncle . Hamlet resembles Pyrrhus in the play acted out by the players In the play, Pyrrhus is also seeking to avenge his father’s killing, but he stood and “Did nothing.”(Act2, scene2, line 440) This inaction of pyrrhus in the play foretells Hamlet’s procrastination for taking revenge for his own father’s murder. When Hamlet sees a player become so emotionally involved with his role that he weeps for the sufferings of Hecuba, he feels ashamed of himself. He says, “What is Hecuba to him or he to Hecuba That he should weep for her? What would he do , Had he the motive and the cue for passion That I have?” (Act 2, scene 2, 511-514) -Shows self reproach Calling himself a ‘a dull and muddy-mettled rascal,’ he works himself up to take some action. He goes through a gamut of moods from self loathing and reproach to a furious rage against Claudius. At the same time, he is plagued by a nagging fear that the ghost might not be genuine. He fears that the ghost might be an evil spirit which has assumed the form of his father to make him kill Claudius and thus be damned. This is another reason for the delay “Abuses me to damn me” (Act 2, scene 2, 556) –fear of eternal damnation. We come to know the inner workings of Hamlet’s mind and the reasons for the delay in taking revenge in his famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be”. Hamlet, troubled by his thoughts, wants to commit suicide, and at the same time he is troubled by what might happen to him after death. He is deterred from taking his own life by “the dread of something after death”( Act3, scene 1, 79) He says that conscience restrains us from acting. He also blames thinking which blunts resolution. “And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought.” (Act 3, scene 1, 84, 85)- Thinking stops acting. Too much thinking on the various outcomes of the act of revenge has made him delay it. . Claudius’ action while watching the play confirms Hamlet’s suspicions. At the same time, Hamlet is overjoyed that the ghost has, after all, told the truth. Now he can take his revenge with a clear conscience. He declares, “Now could I drink hot blood And do such bitter business” (Act 3, scene 3, 351-352)- relief that the ghost is right. The ghost appears to Hamlet again when he is in Gertrude’s chamber, to prod him into action. When Hamlet gets a chance to kill the king in the chapel, he lets it go , thinking that Claudius would go to heaven if he dies while praying, while Hamlet’s own father has to suffer after death because Claudius killed him when he was unprepared for death. Thus Hamlet delays again. Hamlet does not know about the plot Claudius has hatched for eliminating Hamlet. Claudius is a man who will do anything to get his own ends. According to modern research, he is not unusual. Modern experts say, “Low life animals may deceive predators to stay alive, and bright chimpanzees may deceive their own kind to gain advantage over them, but only humans deceive themselves”(Toronto Star) We see how Claudius deceived his brother to usurp his throne, and now he deceives Hamlet, but the poisoned cup meant for Hamlet is consumed by Gertrude, who dies. Thus, Claudius is in fact, deceiving himself. Hamlet is also deceiving himself. He delays taking action by giving himself various pretexts and thus deceiving himself. Prof. David Sussman was quoted in a newspaper article saying, ”Self deception is so central to human character , that it seems to have emerged to mark the birth of our species.”(Toronto Star) While Hamlet is irresolute and delays taking action, Laertes, who is about the same age as Hamlet, jumps into action as soon as he comes back and hears about his father’s death . In the duel with Hamlet, Laertes wounds Hamlet with a poisoned sword. He tells Hamlet the truth about the envenomed sword, so that before dying, Hamlet finally kills his uncle. We see how Laertes deceives Hamlet by using the envenomed sword, how Claudius deceives his brother, his wife and Hamlet, as well as Laertes. We observe the deceitful nature of Polonius in the play. Hamlet himself is shown as deceiving everyone by acting like a lunatic, which provokes Polonius to remark “Though this be madness, yet there is method in it “( Act 2, scene2, 200) According to Professor Loyal Rue, as quoted in the Toronto News, “Lies and myths have become so central to human lifestyle that people couldn’t get through a day now with just the truth and nothing but the truth.”(Rue) Shakespeare has portrayed Hamlet as a young man given to brooding and introspection, who delays taking revenge on his uncle by giving himself some pretext or the other. Hamlet is shown to be a victim of deceit, the deceit of his uncle, the deceit of Polonius, of Laertes, and his own deceit. Works cited Miller,Jack. “Humans build lives on deceit, experts say” The Toronto Star 17 February 1991: B8. . Shakespeare,William. “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” William Shakespeare the Complete Works London Collins 1965 Part g 1.“Have me kno’t that I with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love May sweep to my revenge” (Act 1, scene 5, lines 29-30) -shows thoughts of revenge 2. “What is Hecuba to him or he to Hecuba That he should weep for her? What would he do , Had he the motive and the cue for passion That I have?” (Act 2, scene 2, 511-514) -Shows self reproach 3. “Abuses me to damn me” (Act 2, scene 2, 556) –fear of eternal damnation. 4. “And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought.” (Act 3, scene 1, 84, 85)- Thinking stops acting. 5. “Now could I drink hot blood And do such bitter business” (Act 3, scene 3, 351-352)- relief that the ghost is right. 6. , ”Self deception is so central to human character , that it seems to have emerged to mark the birth of our species.”(Toronto Star) part h These above lines from Hamlet show how his moods change from anger to self reproach , and then to his fear of eternal damnation which prevent him from taking his revenge. After the play he concludes that the ghost has not deceived him , and that his uncle is the villain. He cocludes that thinking stops acting. Thus he deceives himself. Read More