Humanity In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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In Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet”, through an introspective dialogue of binary oppositions, individuals seek to reconcile their identity and moral conscience with a variety of competing societal expectations. Confronted by the disparities of a world in figurative decay, characters experience internal conflict as they search, largely in vain, for definitive answers to questions of revenge and mortality. By portraying the human experience as a series of tensions between the individual and society, Shakespeare reveals the psychological complexities of humanity, as Hamlet struggles to restore stability in the corrupt world of Denmark. Moreover, the play reflects scepticism of humanity in light of its inherent corruption, as Shakespeare uses the Humanist influences of his context …show more content…

Driven by the influence of Renaissance humanism, Shakespeare presents an avant-garde protagonist whose fate was forced upon him as he grappled with the philosophical quandaries of duty, reality and mortality. (1.26) Shakespeare’s commentary on the deterioration of an individual’s values and morals due to seeking revenge is exemplified through dramatic soliloquies. In order to construct Hamlet’s conflicted psyche Shakespeare adopts a sardonic tone of the rhyming couplets “O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set right”, foreshadowing his extensive thoughts, regarding the consequences of enacting revenge. Hamlet stresses his individuality and unpredictability but undeniably, his resolve seems crippled by ambivalence and irresolution. George Stubbes in 1736 suggested that the play’s delay was plot driven rather than due to any psychological inadequacy or symptom of the Prince’s character. Shakespeare positions the audience to relate to Hamlets struggles and examines what it is to be human and the very

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