Death is always gonna happen, whether someone dies because they were murdered, because of old age, or maybe even because of poison. Whatever the case maybe, there is no way to avoid death forever. Death is one of the biggest themes throughout the play and seen many times. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras’ fathers die in the beginning of the play, but they react differently, and Hamlet’s perception of death, after loosing his father changes as well.
Even though, Fortinbras and Hamlet both lose their father and the throne that was meant for them, they deal with the these events very differently. When Hamlet learns that his father was killed by a snake in the orchard while he was sleeping, he was in a mournful state and very suicidal. Hamlet says,
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
He views death as the great equalizer and is ready to accept it. When Hamlet finds the skull of Yorick, he starts considering death and how it is the great equalizer. “Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay, might stop a hole to keep the wind away,” (Act 5,Scene 1,Lines 216-217). Hamlet learns that no matter the power and no matter the wealth, everyone would end up being nothing but dirt. Hamlet compares Yorick, a jester of the court, to Alexander the Great and Imperious Caesar. Yorick compared to these great powerful men, was nothing except entertainment for them while they lead and changed the country. At the end of the day though, Yorick, Alexander, and Caesar all ended up as dead. Hamlet says the most important part of death is, “The readiness is all, “(Act 5,Scene 2,Lines 222). Hamlet believes now that God has a plan for him, and if it is to die during the fencing match, so be it. He is prepared to face any of the consequence and ready to deal with
Lastly, Hamlet accepts that he will not be able to carry out the roots of being a king as he is dying. He says to Horatio, “I do prophesy th’ election lights/on Fortinbras; he has my dying voice” (5.2.380-381). Just as a person has a will testimony before they pass away, so to does Hamlet, as he desires Fortinbras to become King. One can see that Hamlet fulfills the last stage of the grief cycle, acceptance. Through the death of Hamlet’s father, Shakespeare shows how one tragedy can lead to many stages of grief as well as the downfall of the character.
When Hamlet Senior dies Hamlet seems lost. Depression commonly follows a loved one’s death. He finds no true meaning in life. He wonders if we are only here to eat and sleep.
This is first seen in Act 5, when Hamlet’s impulsive attitude takes over him which results in the murder of Polonius. Hamlet stabs the carpet Polonius was hiding behind thinking it was Claudius. Hamlet feels no guilt from this action, “Thou wretched, intruding fool farewell” (3.5.33). Shakespeare included this quote to reveal Hamlet’s new impulsive attitude which causes Hamlet to feel more confident and comfortable with death. Another incident which intensifies Hamlet’s new view on death was his encounter with the gravediggers (5.1) Shakespeare reveals that Hamlet undergoes a type of epiphany when he sees the gravediggers brushing off skulls, he proclaims “Alexander died, Alexander was buried/ Alexander returned into dust, the dust is earth” (5.1.203-204). Shakespeare uses the Alexander the Great reference as a form to portray Hamlet’s new realization towards death. Once Hamlet realizes that everyone dies and everyone ends up in the same place no matter how important they were Hamlet gets a new sudden confidence towards death once he realizes this. As the play comes to an end Shakespeare reveals Hamlet’s matured, confident view on death. Shakespeare shows this through Hamlet’s conversation with Horatio. It is clear when Hamlet says, “If it be now, ’tis not to come, if it be not to come, it will be now/ If it be not now, yet it will come/ The readiness is all” (5.2.511-513). Here, Hamlet finds a new acceptance for death and it’s uncertainty, due to the fact that death is inevitable. After all the events Hamlet has undergone he is so familiar with death that by now, it no longer scares him. He was come to terms with the thought. By the end of the play, Hamlet’s whole perspective of death has evolved immensely from the beginning of the
From past experiences in ones life, whether it be the death of a long aged gold fish to a deceased elder, one knows the pain and suffering that goes on afterwards. For one to finally move on and continue life without a tear in their eyes may take a while, yet having that immense step means to put the emotions aside and live life. Hamlet's father was murdered, and he soon sees his mother move on so quickly and marries his uncle, to continue being the queen. Hamlet's love for his father does not fade away within a two month span like his mother; he refuses to accept the fact that his father was killed, instead of a natural death. Because of this, Hamlet does not know what to do with his life. He mentions "O, that this too too sallied flesh would melt,/ Or that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His canon `against self-slaughter" (129-132). Immediately does Hamlet questions the existence of his own life, as he feels the need to melt and disappear, ultimately referring to suicide. The problem we face...
It also brought Hamlet to reality with Ophelia’s death, as he resumes discussions with Yoricks skull, he jokingly says “Now get you to my lady’s chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come. Make her laugh at that.” (170) revealing how one wastes so much time putting make up on their face, to mask over the inevitable aging process; and how ones fate lies within the very ground we stand on at this moment, no matter how great one is. To further his terms with the death of Ophelia, he is shown the spot Ophelia will be buried in, a few plots away. Showing that her death, is and will be treated just as everyone else will. While the gravedigger tells hamlet much earlier in the play “"not for ever with they vailed lids/ Seek for thy noble father in the dust" (1.2.70-71) and reminded that "your father lost a father” in other words there is no time to mourn the dead, as death is much like a chain, and putting quite bluntly he expresses its best to really just move on. Shakespeare reveals this as a turning point for Hamlet, as he realizes the commonness of death, and the value of life itself, and begins to ponder about his own mortality and destined fate. While quite a morbid outlook on the matter, it does reveal truth to Hamlet, and forces Hamlet to take a more humorous toll on the matter
In act 3, Hamlet questions the unbearable pain of life and views death through the metaphor of sleep. "To be or not to be: that is the question: / whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles / and, by opposing end them. To die, to sleep / no more" (3.1.64-68), details which bring up new thoughts about what happens in the after life. Thus, Hamlet contemplates suicide, but his lacking knowledge about what awaits him in the afterworld causes him to question what death will bring. For example he states, "The undiscovered country, from whose bourn / no traveler returns, puzzles the will / and makes us rather bear those ills we have / than fly to others that we know not of" (3.1.87-90), again revealing his growing concern with "Truth" and his need for certainty. Once again, death appears in act 4 with the suicide of Ophelia, the demand for Hamlet's execution and the gravedigger scene. All of these situations tie back with how death is all around Hamlet and feeds his obsession with it. Finally in act 5, Hamlet meets his own death, as his obsession to know leads to the death of himself.
Hamlet is scared because he does not know what happens after you die. He is not afraid to die, but he will not kill himself because he is afraid that he will go to hell. In act 3 scene 3, Hamlet shows his belief in the bible by not killing his father while he is in prayer. He says,
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.
"To be or not to be? That is the question." (Shakespeare 57) Hamlet opens his famous soliloquy with the question whether it is harder to live and endure the many vicissitudes of life or to die and face the unknown territory of death. He wondered what happens after one dies, and what awaits each of us. The uncertainty in knowing what is to come of us after death, led Hamlet to believe that fear is generated by the unknown, for it makes people fear the things they cannot see and control. He reasoned that if our certitude of what happens after death is absolute, then people would willingly bear the grief that life so kindly offers. Hamlet raises the following philosophical question, is it harder
In his tragedy Hamlet, William Shakespeare explores and analyzes the concept of mortality and the inevitability of death through the development of Hamlet’s understanding and ideology regarding the purpose for living. Through Hamlet’s obsessive fascination in understanding the purpose for living and whether death is the answer, Shakespeare analyzes and interprets the meaning of different elements of mortality and death: The pain death causes to others, the fading of evidence of existence through death, and the reason for living. While due to the inevitable and unsolvable mystery of the uncertainty of death, as no being will ever empirically experience death and be able to tell the tale, Shakespeare offers an answer to the reason for living through an analysis of Hamlet’s development in understanding death.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was forced upon him.Death is something he struggles with as an abstract idea and as relative to himself. He is able to reconcile with the idea of death and reality eventually.
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 Hamlet 's mind the idea of dying is not what scares him. It is the uncertainty of what the afterlife is that frightens Hamlet away from the actual act, even though he 's infatuated with how to kill himself and get to the other side. The point in the story that is really a turning point for Hamlet occurs in the graveyard scene (Act V) Before; Hamlet has been horrified and shocked. When he sees Yorick 's skull there, which is someone Hamlet loved and
Although Hamlet dies, he manages to complete his task to avenges his father's death by killing Claudius. As well, after Hamlet's death, Fortinbras takes the throne; someone who Hamlet respects. Hamlet also gets a soldier's burial at the hands of Fortinbras and his army: Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage, For he was likely, had he been put on,
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.