Exploring Hamlet’s State of Mind

(Act 1, Scene 2 – Act 1, Scene 5)

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, with a

reputation as the greatest of all writers in the English language, as

well as one of the world's pre-eminent dramatists. Hamlet is one of

Shakespeare’s most analysed plays. The play is about Hamlet, Prince of

Denmark who hopes to avenge the murder of his father.

In the play, Hamlet is described as an intelligent, emotional, and

grief-stricken protagonist but he is consumed by his own thoughts

which make him a highly-indecisive individual; Hamlet’s inability to

act on his father’s murder, his mother’s hasty remarriage, and his

uncle assuming of the throne are all evidence that Hamlet does not

know what is going on in his own life. Perhaps Hamlet wants to place

the blame on someone else after he wreaks vengeance on King Claudius,

or capture the attention of certain characters so that he may find out

exactly what has gone “rotten in Denmark” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 90).

Throughout the play Hamlet is deeply hurt by his mother’s decision to

remarry his uncle. As Hamlet says, “Frailty thy name is woman”, her

actions cause Hamlet to curse women all together (Act 1, Scene 2, Line

146). Clearly, Hamlet’s concern for the Queen, his mother, is of

genuine association to the death of King Hamlet. Within this solitary

thought, Hamlet realizes the severity of his mother’s actions while

also attempting to rationalize her mentality so that he may

understand, and perhaps, cope with the untimely nature of the Queen’s

marriage to Claudius. Understandably, Hamlet is disturbed. Gertrude

causes such confusion in Hamlet that throughout the play, he

constantly wonders how it could be possible that events would turn out

the way they did.

Furthermore, in Act I, Scene 2, Gertrude asks Hamlet, “Why seems it so

particular with thee?” Since death is common to all, she asks, why

does Hamlet seem to be making such a particular fuss about his

father’s death? He replies, “Seems Madam?