Examples Of Intrapersonal Conflict In Hamlet

Interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict in drama is essential to the propelling of plot, character development, and tension; therefore, it should come as no surprise that William Shakespeare’s dramas are especially marked with elaborate conflicts which make his work significant to scholarly interpretation. From as far back as the Grecian’s first production of a play, where only one protagonist played, conflict was still a major part in the telling of the story. They would utilize a chorus of about fifty people to help the actor to tell the story and portray the conflict as their means of describing the essential element of a play: the conflict of its characters. This could not be more relevant than in the study of Hamlet’s character progression

His anger stems from multiple causes, two of which are described in Claudius’s speech, the first being that the mother of Hamlet, Gertrude, married her brother-in-law and in his eyes betrayed the love and memory of his father, Hamlet, Sr., “A little more kin and less than kind” (1.2.65). Secondly, the marriage occurred only two months after the death of Hamlet, Sr. giving Hamlet even more internal conflict to deal with. It is also significant to consider that Gertrude no longer empathizes with Hamlet’s mournful actions after sharing her marital bed with Claudius; this is evident in her saying, “Good Hamlet, cast thy knighted color off, / And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. / Do not forever with thy vailèd lids / Seek for thy noble father in the dust” (1.2.68-71). This full betrayal of her previous life has Hamlet conflicted entirely; the inward conflict he faces in dealing with his mother’s marriage manifests itself in a hatred and contempt for his own mother that he had not known before. When Gertrude asks, “Why seems it so particular with thee?” in reference to his father’s passing, Hamlet responds fiercely in his first interpersonal conflict:

“Seems,” madam? Nay, it is. I know not

tells Hamlet the truth of his murder, he instructs him to seek revenge but to be careful at the same time not to corrupt his mind or do any harm to his mother, and to instead leave her punishment to God in Heaven instead of acting against her as well,

Let not the royal bed of Denmark be

A couch for luxury and damnèd incest.

But howsoever thou pursuest this act,

Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive

Against thy mother aught. (1.5.82-86)

Now that he has a newfound and logical reason to distrust and despise his Uncle Claudius, Hamlet’s internal conflict levels have risen again. He is distraught because of the uncertainty he feels in what he should do, and delays the revenge upon his uncle for as long as he can to ensure that what the ghost of Hamlet, Sr. said is true, despite his initial readiness to act, “Haste me to know ‘t, that I, with wings as swift / As meditation or the thoughts of love, / May sweep to my revenge” (1.5.29-31). The two events described previously set up the titular character’s main inner conflicts that will guide his actions and lead the plot to where it finally