Moral And Ethical Issues In Shakespeare's Hamlet

884 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hamlet's attitude to death

In the dawn of the 17th century, Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Hamlet, was created. The world-renowned Shakespearean play about the tragic and vengeful life of Prince Hamlet has left a lasting impact on the world in the arts and theatre, language and literature, and morality and ethics. Hamlet has revolutionized play-making and acting by challenging even the finest of actors to perform well to the difficult Shakespearean tragedy. Furthermore, Hamlet has played a major role in transforming Middle English into the Modern English we speak and write today. And finally, the plot of Hamlet brings forth important points of moral and ethical issues that could possibly be related to our own lives and society. Regardless of the field or perspective, Hamlet has been very capable of showing us something, whether it be a skillset or a moral compass.
Without a doubt, Shakespeare can be said to be one of the greatest playwrights in all of history. The plays that …show more content…

In this section of the play, Prince Hamlet had decided to philosophically contemplate the great unknown of life and death. Ultimately, Prince Hamlet had chosen against death because he still had his revenge driving him forward to live, and also he was afraid of the great unknown that shrouds death. It was thanks to this decision that Prince Hamlet finally managed to achieve his revenge. Should he have had taken his own life, the possibility for a successful revenge would have been impossible. Even in our own society, there are countless of youths who are stricken with the dilemma of life or death. They’re stranded in the same position that Prince Hamlet was in, and are even facing a similar issue. Thus by looking towards Hamlet for guidance, we can see that by choosing life, there will still be a possibility for success and

Show More
Related

  • How Does Hamlet No Value

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet views his existing life in a negative manner, and he sees that the only way to escape his misery is to take his own life. A thought of self-slaughter is enough to devalue one’s life, and throughout the entirety of the play it is the only way Hamlet values his own life. To live or not to live, that is Hamlet’s only question, while the value of his own life is not in

    Read More

  • Tragedy In Hamlet And Branagh's Hamlet

    484 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Hamlet is one of the world’s most famous tragedies. It describes the destruction of a royal family that results from Prince Hamlet’s revenge. By a dramatic and detailed presentation, Shakespeare reveals two main ideas of this play-one is “tragic hero”, and another is “civil strife”. In reality, the play “Hamlet” has been made to movies and even cartoons which convey these concepts in different ways.

    Read More

  • Production History of Hamlet

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most produced plays of all time. Written during the height of Shakespeare’s fame—1600—Hamlet has been read, produced, and researched by more individuals now than during Shakespeare’s own lifetime. It is has very few stage directions, because Shakespeare served as the director, even though no such official position existed at the time. Throughout its over 400 years of production history, Hamlet has seen several changes. Several textual cuts have been made, in addition to the liberties taken through each production. In recent years, Hamlet has seen character changes, plot changes, gender role reversals, alternate endings, time period shifts, and thematic alternations, to name only a few creative liberties modern productions of Hamlet have taken.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Hamlet: A Study of Societal Collapse

    1549 Words  | 4 Pages

    In every society throughout history, there has been a common fear of the disastrous collapse of the world around them, resulting. This “fear” has resulted in numerous stories and religious beliefs surrounding the apocalyptic fall of man’s corrupted society, including the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Christian Bible. William Shakespeare’s tragedies, especially the tragedies written in the early 1600s, all display this collapse of authority in one way or another. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the classic example of this prevalent break down of society. Prince Hamlet learns that his uncle-father King Claudius murdered his father and, thus, assumed the throne and gained his mother’s hand in marriage. The revelation is then followed by even more treacherous acts of hatred, vengeance, conspiracy, and murder,

    Read More

  • The Importance of Fear in Hamlet

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    Goldman, Michael. "Hamlet and Our Problems." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York City: Prentice Hall International. 1995. 43-55

    Read More

  • "To Be or not To Be:" Hamlet and His Suicidal Tendencies

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet although he believes that suffering must be endured or battled, he also understands that suffering is optional and that suffering is caused from pain and all pain can be relieved. At times Hamlet no longer sees the point of bearing the huge burden of suffering as he does, but rather to end the burden through suicide. These thoughts are however based or can be linked back to Hamlet’s emotion and how his negative emotions overcome his logical thinking. We see however Hamlet’s ability to think logically and understand the reasoning behind suffering and the preciousness of his life. At this point in the play Hamlet no longer doubts his meaning in life, this is quite pivotal because this then allows him the confidence and power to seek revenge on Claudius.

    Read More

  • Theme of Revenge in Literature and Movies

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Hamlet Shakespeare is able to use revenge in an extremely skillful way that gives us such deep insight into the characters. It is an excellent play that truly shows the complexity of humans. You can see in Hamlet how the characters are willing to sacrifice t...

    Read More

  • Human Morality in Hamlet and The Oresteia

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Hamlet, the motif of a young prince forsaken of his father, family, and rationality, as well as the resulting psychological conflicts develop. Although Hamlet’s inner conflicts derive from the lack of mourning and pain in his family, as manifested in his mother’s incestuous remarrying to his uncle Claudius, his agon¬1 is truly experienced when the ghost of his father reveals the murderer is actually Claudius himself. Thus the weight of filial obligation to obtain revenge is placed upon his shoulders. However, whereas it is common for the tragic hero to be consistent and committed to fulfilling his moira,2 Hamlet is not; his tragic flaw lies in his inability to take action. Having watched an actor’s dramatic catharsis through a speech, Hamlet criticizes himself, venting “what an ass am I! This is most brave, that I, the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell… [can only] unpack my heart with words” (Hamlet 2.2.611-614). Seeing how the actor can conjure such emotion over simple speech, Hamlet is irate at his lack of volition and is stricken with a cognitive dissonance in which he cannot balance. The reality and ...

    Read More

  • Hamlet-identity Crisis

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.

    Read More

  • Disillusionment In Hamlet

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare’s most famous play Hamlet resonates with the hearts and minds of audiences through the dramatic treatment of struggle and disillusionment. Author, John Green commented, “Hamlet struggles because he is human.” It is these human characteristics and behaviors that have kept an audience transfixed through the years. Hamlet’s disillusionment with women, introduce modern day themes of love and marriage. His inability to act introduces his disillusionment with his uncle. Lastly his disenchantment with himself brings about questions of self-doubt and philosophical ideals of death.

    Read More

  • Hamlet’s Absurd Awareness

    2240 Words  | 5 Pages

    For being considered one of the greatest English plays ever written, very little action actually occurs in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The play is, instead, more focused on the progressing psychological state of its protagonist, after whom the play is name, and his consequent inaction. It is because of this masterpiece of a character that this play is so widely discussed and debated. Hamlet’s generality, his vagueness, his supposed madness, his passion, his hesitation, and his contradictions have puzzled readers, scholars, and actors for centuries. In this paper I will attempt to dissect this beautiful enigma of a character to show that Hamlet is much more self-aware than many people give him credit for and that he recognizes that he is an actor in the theatre of life. He understands and accepts the role he is given, he studies it carefully and thoughtfully, he rehearses and even converses with fellow actors, and he gives one final performance.

    Read More

  • Hamlet as the Tragic Hero

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.

    Read More

  • Morality In Hamlet

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a very clear and moral order is established as Hamlet completes his journey through the phases which define a Shakespearean tragedy. The play begins with Hamlet seeing his father’s ghost. He finds out that his father had been murdered by his uncle Claudius. After Hamlets encounter with the ghost, it is his wish to avenge his father. This causes all other moral dilemmas in the play, and is what defines the plays moral order. As the play continues Hamlet is always trying to remain morally in the right, always taking the precaution to remain so. As the play goes on, and Hamlet learns that Claudius now trying to kill him continues attempting to right the original wrong, and he does succeed at the end with Claudius’ death. Hamlets words “thus bad begins, and worse remains behind” (Act III, Scene IV) illustrate the moral order. The actions against him were wrong, but to a lesser extent, so was his revenge.

    Read More

  • Condemned: Hamlet’s Moral Dilemma

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.

    Read More

  • Inconsistency in The Character of Hamlet

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be.  He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.

    Read More

More about Moral And Ethical Issues In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Open Document