Hamlet Essay On Hamlet

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Recommended: Psychological reading of Hamlet

Alan Deng AP American Literature Mr. Leung Mind Games In the play Hamlet, Hamlet mentions to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that “Denmark’s a prison.”(Act 2 Scene 2 Line 262) Throughout the play, it is made apparent that there is no physical entity that is imprisoning Hamlet. Rather, Hamlet is mentally imprisoned by his mind. Throughout the play, Hamlet is physically free to do many things, but his mind traps him into taking action on some things and prevents him from doing other things. He does not wish to murder Claudius but is bound by vow to commit the act. Whenever he wishes to commit suicide, his beliefs prevent him from doing so. Throughout the play, Hamlet feels as if he is in a prison, as he is being constantly watched by everybody. Hamlet’s actions leave him no choice but to take revenge against King Claudius. In Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 117-119, Hamlet says “I have sworn ‘t”, vowing to the ghost of his father that revenge will be sought against his father’s killer, Claudius. Throughout most of the play, Hamlet is reluctant to kill Claudius, but this vow forces him to continue to take some sort of action to further his vengeance. This is shown in Act 3 Scene 3, when the King is praying. While praying, the King is defenceless and could have been easily slain, but Hamlet stalls and finds an excuse to not kill the King. However, must continue continue down the path of vengeance. He tries to find excuses out of killing Claudius, but when Hamlet confirms that Claudius is the murderer in Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 12-13, stating that he’ll “bet [Horatio] a thousand bucks the ghost was right” about the identity of the murderer, he can no longer leave Claudius alive. Even though Hamlet continues to hesitate until Act 4 Scene 4 when he sees ... ... middle of paper ... ...the consequences of death, and this uncertainty creates enough fear as to prevent him from suiciding. Both fear and the fact that he is a christian prevents him from committing suicide, which is is mind imprisoning him to the realm of the living. Throughout the play, Hamlet is inside a mental prison. Although he is physically able to do many of the things that he wants to do, Hamlet thinks that he either cannot or should not. These thoughts render him unable to act upon his desires, effectively making his mind a prison that inhibits and/or forces his actions. These thoughts make Hamlet feel trapped within the castle and within Denmark. The words that he spoke to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about Denmark being a prison was a reflection of what he felt the moment he realized that his friends had betrayed him: that Denmark is a prison not of the body, but of the mind.

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