Why Does Dr. How Do The King And Hamlet Feel About Each Other?

As many, many people have noted and discussed, this is a play with a plethora of impossible questions. Shakespeare has a tendency to construct his characters in a way that a way that prevents acquiring a full, accurate characterization. In the case of Hamlet, he implemented this likely as a metaphor for the overall mystery and confusion of the play. This lack of clarity means, also, that there are many impossible to answer questions about nearly all the characters.

“How do the king and Hamlet feel about each other?” becomes one of these hard-to-answer, gnawing questions. We can be certain of Hamlet's admiration of the king, evidenced by his multiple comparisons of him to a god, among other things. However, the possible one-sidedness of this love when he was alive brings another facet to Hamlet’s relationship with his father. It spurs a potential paternal resentment in juxtaposition to his extreme adoration.

Consider their first conversation as human and ghost. Hamlet’s “I’ll go no further” comes across as a subtle rebellion. But once the ghost gives him an order, Hamlet offers a succinct, strained response ("Mark me." "I will." [[page numbers]]). This implies that he is stifling any emotion—specifically, affection. Their relationship is immediately introduced to us as that

actually verbalizes this important distinction himself towards the beginning of their interchange: "I am thy father's spirit." [[page numbers]] The ghost is initially introduced to us as a terrifying, supernatural entity. One of the first thing he declares is "I to sulph'rous and tormenting flames must render myself" [[page numbers, find lines 5-6]]. And soon after, he asserts 21-22: “But this eternal blazon must not be to ears of flesh and blood”—stating that his stories are confined to the dead (one of his many instances of vivid descriptions, as well). This serves to reinforce the opposition between ghost and man—especially the opposition between Hamlet and his father's