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Depression in the play hamlet
Suicides in Hamlet
Suicides in Hamlet
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In the opening line of Hamlet’s “to be or not to be,” Hamlet struggles with the idea of attempting suicide in order to escape the painful world in which he has found himself in. Hamlet’s battle with the thought of suicide expresses the difficulties that are met with the terror and surprise of finding out the truth and fear of death as a reasonable action in dealing with the pain. Young Hamlet ponders why anyone would willingly endure such hardships when they could simply just accept death and end it all. Hamlet perceives death as a peaceful liberation from the never-ending agony and constant battery of life’s many troubles. The only reason a person would not go through with the idea of committing suicide is because of the constant fear of the
One of the most famous Shakespearean lines-"To be or not to be, that is the question” is found in Hamlet, spoken by the title character himself. While this is the most obvious reference that Hamlet makes to this own philosophy, Hamlet makes frequent proclamations about his stifled life throughout the play. Hamlet views his life in a negative manner, to the point where he finds himself contemplating whether or not to end his own life. Hamlet does not value his life, which causes him to become flustered with himself and his lack of action. Therefore, demonstrating that Hamlet does not value his life as one should.
Hamlet is self centered and irrational throughout most of the play. He goes through various stages of suicidal thoughts that all revolve around a multitude of selfish reasons because he can not deal with his problems. His outbursts, mood swings, and constantly changing character have led to a multitude of reasons for his decisions to not kill himself. Think of this, it is much easier to die for a cause than to live for a cause, and yet all Hamlet wants to do is take the easy way out. There are three major soliloquies that Hamlet has that prove as major turning points of his emotions. Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts ring loud and clear for most of the play, however they do change constantly and play key pieces that provide well written and thought provoking soliques.
William Shakespeare intended for Hamlet to be a tragic play of a hero: Hamlet. He does exactly that by allowing Hamlet to be exposed to suffering and being able to endure it without committing suicide. Although if one was to analyze the content of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…” soliloquy once would realize that Hamlet is not really all that suicidal. However, there are moments throughout the play that arise the suspicion of Hamlet to no longer be able to endure the suffering and pain in his life. Hamlet’s judgment can be distorted when he does not act using reason but rather emotional impulse. His ability to accept and embrace suffering and pain, allows him to realize how valuable his life truly is.
Each and every single one of our lives should be thought of as a temple that will take control and live out a great life, without having negative thoughts towards living life. We are blessed to have the chance to live a life to the fullest, but there are sadly people out there who end up having different ideas. Suicide is an act of killing ones self and I find most people to be doing this horrible act because they either have serious depression or have some irrational thought that leads them to suicide.
Coincidentally, Hamlet conducts abnormal behaviours like contemplating suicide and procrastinating violence due to his feminine shaped personality. Hamlet’s depression is truly expressed in his infamous soliloquy ‘To be or not to be’. In this, he internally contemplates suicide, and feels he needs to escape life rather than facing the issues, which is a typical female trait. HAMLET “To be, or not to be? That is the
Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” Soliloquy in act 3, scene 1, reveals that Hamlet is a thoughtful and calculating character attempting to be cautious. Hamlet is looking at the prospect of killing himself from all viewpoints. In Hamlet’s soliloquy shakespeare strikes home with a pivotal human conc...
Hamlet asked a the question whether living through his troubles was worth it. In William Shakespeare 's Hamlet soliloquy, Hamlet opened the text with a question: “to be, or not to be?” (Shakespeare). I believe that Hamlet was asking whether it would be better to kill himself or to continue along with the problems he had. Hamlet was dealing with the murder of his father that may have been committed by his stepfather. His views showed to be in favor of committing suicide and that it would be a quick and easy way to end all his problems. As Hamlet wonders his thoughts about suicide, he came upon the
After a death, we find ways of overcoming grief in this painful world. Some people binge eat their way out while others find the easy way out, which is suicide.In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays mortality in the image of death and suicide.Shakespeare develops hamlet as a man who is sensitive and uncontrolled by his actions. Hamlet faces challenges that mess with his subconscious making him feel vulnerable to making decisions that will affect his life.We can say that Hamlet was very indecisive of living or not. He showed many signs of suicidal thoughts. Many can argue and say that Hamlet was depressed. Coming back home from school to attend his father's funeral in Denmark made him discover many things, such as, his mother Gertrude remarried to Hamlet's uncle Claudius who is the dead king's brother. To Hamlet he finds it loathsome for his
In this soliloquy, Shakespeare strikes a chord with a fundamental human concern: the validity and worthiness of life. Would it not be easier for us to simply enter a never-ending sleep when we find ourselves facing the daunting problems of life than to "suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"? However, it is perhaps because we do not know what this endless sleep entails that humans usually opt against suicide. "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil / Must give us pause. " Shakespeare seems to understand this dilemma through his character Hamlet, and thus the phrase "To be, or not to be" has been immortalized; indeed, it has pervaded our culture to such a remarkable extent that it has been referenced countless times in movies, television, and the media.
In the beginning of the play, Hamlet was afraid of death but sought death. After Hamlet lost his father and his mother remarried Claudius, this impacted Hamlet so much and caused a great quantity of sorrow in him. Hamlet says while alone, “O God, God, how weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world,” (Act 1,Scene 2,Lines 132-134). Hamlet is saying that life to him now is pointless and says that it is like a garden that is growing wild because no one is taking care of it. Hamlet wants to end his life but says that God made it a law against suicide. Hamlet also fears death, “The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns…Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,” (Act 3,Scene 1,Lines 80-81,84). Hamlet fears the unknown of death and isn’t ready to deal with that, so that is why Hamlet is willing to live in his pointless
“To be or not to be” or more simply stated is it better to live or die. During this famous soliloquy, Hamlet wonders whether he should take action against his "sea of troubles" and seek revenge for his father's death or live with the pain of his father's murder. He also wonders that if he were to commit suicide, what could he expect in the afterlife. He questions whether or not suicide is morally right in an otherwise painful world. Hamlet has such grief that he frequently longs for death to end his suffering, but he fears that if he commits...
At the beginning of Hamlet’s first soliloquy Hamlet speaks first of “how weary, stale, and unprofitable seem to … [Hamlet] all the uses of this world … ‘tis an unweeded garden that grows … things gross and rank in nature” (29). He believes that the world has few uses which hold worth. “You cannot take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal-except my life”(97). The Tragedy of Hamlet has gained a reputation, particularly due to the third soliloquy in which Hamlet speaks his most famous lines, “To be or not to be-that is the question”(127). During this soliloquy, Hamlet questions whether life is worth living directly, stating “to die, to sleep-no more-and by a sleep to say we end the heartache”(127).
Hamlet’s psychological influence demonstrates his dread of both death and life. In Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be” (3.1.64), he refers the “be” to life and further asks “whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (3.1.65.66). By this, Hamlet is asking himself the question of whether to live or die.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, suicide is treated differently on the aspects of religion, morals, and philosophical views. Suicide is the act of deliberately killing yourself in contrary to your own best interests. In today’s society suicide is highly looked down upon. But Shakespeare used suicide and violence in almost all of his most popular plays. Many of his tragedies used the element of suicide, some accomplished, others merely contemplated. Shakespeare used suicide as a dramatic device. A character’s suicide could promote a wide range of emotions: horror, condemnation to pity, and even respect. Some of his suicides could even take titles like the noble soldier, the violated woman, and star-crossed lovers. In Othello, Othello see suicide as the only escape from the pangs and misery of life. In The Rape of Lucrece, Lucrece kills herself after being raped because she cannot live with her shame. And in Romeo and Juliet, the two lovers could not find happiness if life, so death was perceived as a way that they could be united with each other. Shakespeare was dealing with a very controversial subject: Was it right to end life in order to escape the cruel and unjust world? In the time of the Renaissance, many things had an impact on suicide such as religion, morals, and aesthetic views.
Hamlet’s fourth soliloquy is the most famous one in the play. When Hamlet asks “to be or not to be” many scholars take one of two positions on what it is asking. One scholar group will say that Hamlet is debating taking his own life, while the other group thinks that Hamlet is pondering the rights and wrongs of the world. The separation of scholars is over one word in line 61 “opposing.” Some believe that opposing means to commit suicide and the others believe that it has the literal meaning to end the troubles of the world. Majority of scholars believe that Hamlet is speaking about committing suicide, but the argument that he is speaking about the wrongs in the world is loud enough that it cannot be ignored.