Hamlet the Indecisive Academic - 1511 Words

Hamlet is the first of Shakespeare’s major tragedies; it had its first performance around 1601 and is the most often performed of Shakespeare’s plays. It is written in verse, in this case unrhymed iambic pentameter, and prose, how we speak every day. When reading this play it does seem as though it is one very long poem, which isn’t surprising as about 27% of it is written in verse. This essay will look at Hamlet’s soliloquy in act 2 scene 2 and at his state of mind at this point of the play and to compare this to different points of the play. The question being asked is what is his state of mind? Is he insane or not? Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark and a scholar whose studies are cut short due to the terrible death of his father King†¦show more content†¦However, the â€Å"rub† he faces is the fear of â€Å"what dreams may come† (act3, scene 1, 66), that is the dread of something after death. He is well aware also that suicide is condemned by the church. Here is seen not only that Hamlet knows suicide is condemned by the church, but also it is fundamentally wrong and by definition an insane man wouldn’t be able to make this distinction as his thought processes would be too fragmented to make any coherent sense. At another point in the play where Claudius is alone in the chapel kneeling at prayer Hamlet has the opportunity to strike him down, â€Å"now might I do it pat, now he is praying†, (act 3, scene 3, 77 – 100). He does draw his sword but yet again his over analysing stops him. His reasoning for this delay is that Claudius is praying and in order for revenge to be complete Claudius has to be engaged in a sinful act. This again shows not the mind of an insane man but the thinking of a rational albeit conflicted mind. There is a point in the play where Hamlet seems insane and even violent. When Hamlet is telling Ophelia to â€Å"get thee to a nunnery†, (act 3, scene 1, 121). It seems as though because he is angry at his mother for marrying his uncle in this hasty incestuous way, he is tarring all women with the same brush. He is seeing all women as deceitful, â€Å"god hath given you one face and you make yourselvesShow MoreRelatedEssay on Hamlet as a Tragic Hero1051 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet as a Tragic Hero William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of the English language, wrote a total of 37 plays in his lifetime, all of which can be categorized under tragedy, comedy, or history. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeares most popular and greatest tragedy, displays his genius as a playwright, as literary critics and academic commentators have found an unusual number of themes and literary techniques present in Hamlet. Hamlet concerns the murder of the king of Denmark and theRead MoreEssay on The Link Between Hamlet and Renaissance Ideals1308 Words   |  6 Pagesfor example in his play Hamlet (Oakes 68). Hamlet displays the ideals of the Renaissance through his indecisiveness and uncertainty much like the Catholics who questioned their religious beliefs. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a true depiction of the indistinctiveness of beliefs after the Reformation. After the murder of his father, King Hamlet, Prince Hamlet sees his father’s ghost. His father’s ghost tells Hamlet he must avenge his death (Fiero 27). He also reveals to Hamlet that it was his UncleRead MoreThe Gendered Struggle: Comparing and Contrasting between Masculine and Feminine Perceptions of Honor in Two Cultures1597 Words   |  7 PagesThe comparisons between Medea and Hamlet are numerous. Both are stories about revenge that end in the controversial main character sacrificing everything in order to preserve one of the most important markers of identity of their time: honor. Medea was a controversial character in ancient times not only because of her filicide, but because she asserted that women have honor, an idea that was not the norm in Greece. In sharp contrast to her is Hamlet, the tragic hero that was honor-bound by his societyRead MoreEssay on Analysis of Pirandellos The Late Mattia1209 Words   |  5 PagesOrestes, suggesting that if there was a hole torn in the paper sky while Orestes was trying to avenge his father, he would become Hamlet. Orestes was a classical â€Å"hero†, who had a specific set of values, especially Honor, and was determined to live by them. But the hole in the sky would make him question all the absolute things he believed in and become Hamlet, a very indecisive and troubled person. â€Å"Lucky marionettes, I sighed, over whose wooden heads the false sky has no holes! No anguish or perplexity