Hamlet
Hamlet (c. 1600) is perhaps the most famous of all the tragedies created by William Shakespeare. The main character - Hamlet - may be the most complex and controversial character any playwright has ever placed onstage. Hamlet's erratic behavior poses a question: is he being rational in his acts and sacrificing himself for the "greater good" or is he simply mad? How and why does Hamlet move from one state of mind to the other? What significance does this have for the play? Throughout the play Hamlet goes through several different stages of life, constantly being in a tortured mental state, caught between love, grief, and vengeance. His different states of mind are the result of his controversial personality and his ability to objectively analyze any situation. Over the centuries there have been a multitude of different explanations for Hamlet's behavior. One of the views is that Hamlet is simply a victim of circumstances; the other presents him as a beautiful but ineffectual soul who lacked the willpower to avenge his father. Hamlet can also be viewed as something close to a manic-depressive whose melancholy moods, as his failure to take revenge continues, deepened into self-contempt. His disturbing gift of laughing at
Perhaps he feels that he is destined to die, or he might feel confident enough to win. 146-58)Linked to the theme of revenge is the great question of Hamlet's inner meditations: Is there a point to life at all? Do humans suffer in this harsh world for a purpose, or simply because they are afraid to find out what may lie beyond it? Is there a higher power, and how does one seek its guidance? Hamlet's anguish is caused by his effort to link even the most trivial event to the order of the universe. He admits that he is not ready for this task: "The time is out of joint. From the beginning Hamlet faces several questions -- he must decide whether to avenge his father or not, and if so, how. With the full acceptance of the idea of revenge came the acceptance of fate. Similarly, Hamlet's execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is warranted by their willingness to serve Claudius. If your messenger find him not there, seek him I' th' other place yourself. This powerful demand is countered in Hamlet's mind by three questions: Is revenge a good or an evil act? Is Claudius truly guilty and so to be punished? Is it Hamlet's responsibility to punish him? The fact that Hamlet is a thinking as well as a feeling person, conscious of the good and bad points in every step he takes, makes the act of revenge particularly painful for him. Hamlet expresses his belief in fate - whatever is meant to be will come sooner or later. On the other hand, the emotional violence of his scene with Ophelia is often explained by suggesting that Hamlet knows their meeting is being watched by the King and Polonius.
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