Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Ambition in the Hamlet
Hamlet an overthinker
Role of polonius in hamlet essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Ambition in the Hamlet
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark many people have said that Hamlet is guilty of thinking too much, and many issues support that idea. Some occasions in which he is thinking too much greatly delay what he wants to accomplish and end up resulting in his ultimate demise. His main point that he wished to accomplish was to kill Claudius, but unfortunately, his obsession became so great that he spends more time thinking about it than actually following through with the action. Everything that he does he feels that he has to have the perfect plan and then he continues to revise the plan. Another supporting point that he thinks too much is the fact that there is obvious romance with Ophelia that could go so much further, …show more content…
Throughout this drama, Hamlet frequently carries off in rants of thought, unable to make a definite decision and carry out the action. One of the main basis for him taking the time to think about his possible actions is that he wanted to be able to prove that Claudius was guilty. That is the reason why he set up for the play to be enacted by the visiting players in a play that he must have very quickly composed in such a short time. Through many different evaluations and what finally comes to the decision that he must stop thinking and hesitates so often. This realization comes way too late as when he does take immediate action in this situation it results in him killing Polonius when he thought it was Claudius instead. This further sets him back in being able to make the decision of being able to act upon issues quicker rather than overthinking them. Hamlet does have a conviction, but he knows what he wants to accomplish and is not just cautious in how he carries out his plan of action because he wants to do it the right way. This seems to make him paranoid about his decisions, and he starts to overthink and be overly cautious of the situations that he
Even though Hamlet is a prince, he has little control over the course of his life. In that time many things were decided for the princes and princesses such as their education and even who they married. This was more or less the normal way of life for a child of the monarch. But in the case of Hamlet, any of the control he thought he had, fell away with the murder of his father. Having his father, the king, be killed by his own brother, sent Hamlet into a state of feeling helpless and out of control. Cooped up in a palace with no real outlet, he tries to control at least one aspect of his life. Hamlet deliberately toys with Ophelia's emotions in order to feel in control of something since he cannot control the situation with Claudius.
Ophelia is a character in Hamlet that is chronically faithful to everyone else but herself. Ophelia is deeply in love with Hamlet, and she is certain that he loves her as well. This is clear from the assertions she makes in Hamlet’s defense: “My lord, he hath importuned me with love in honest fashion. And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord, with almost all the holy vows of heaven” (1795). Ophelia’s downfall emerges when she doubts her own feelings and beliefs about Hamlet, upon instruction and advice from her brother and father. Ophelia, a confident and intelligent woman, begins to rely on others to tell her what to think and how to act. “I do not know, my lord, what I should think” (1795). Upon Polonius request, and going against her own hearts desires, she starts to avoid Hamlet. “No, my good lord, but, as you did command, I did repel his letters and denied his access to me” (1806). By doing what her father advises and wishes Ophelia is no longer capable of making decisions for herself. The loss of Hamlet’s love and the death of her father leave her with confusion and doubts about her future. “Well, Go...
Ophelia descends into madness during the play, mostly because the death of her father, Polonius, has sent her reeling. Ophelia’s true insanity is the perfect contrast to Hamlet’s contrived insanity. Hamlet appears weak and indecisive compared to some of the other characters, especially Fortinbras and Laertes. However, Ophelia seems more fragile and vulnerable when compared to him. Although we don’t know for sure if she committed suicide or if her drowning was accidental, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume she killed herself out of weakness. Conversely, although Hamlet does consider killing himself, his suicidal thoughts are brief. He decides that revenge is better than doing himself in at that moment. (“Hamlet” C: 697). Through Ophelia’s promise to her father not to see Hamlet anymore, she is restricted from engaging directly with him. Thus, she becomes a site for the audience to locate his frustrations. Hamlet, being unable to talk with her, cannot understand Ophelia’s actions. She leaves for the last time saying “And will he not come again? / No, no he is dead/” (“Hamlet” C: 728). The death of Ophelia is only reported back to Hamlet. Spoken in song, Ophelia’s final words are not even truly her
Aftering listening in on one of their conversation, Claudius states, “Love? His affections do not that way tend; / Nor what he spake, though it lacked from a little, / Was not like madness” (III.i.176-8). Hamlet intends for Claudius to be deceived into thinking that his love is not that because of his madness, which allows Ophelia to be free of the scheme. He uses his madness to remove Ophelia from potential harm and useage from Claudius or her father. He simply acts insane in order to protect Ophelia, which is a result of the deep affection for her. Hamlet cares about his girl, and even though he must show it subtlety, the love will always be there because he is trying to do what is
Many believe that Ophelia genuinely lost her mind and became suicidal towards the end of the play. This is very self explanatory due to the fact that both her father and brother died and they seemed to play a big part in her life. Ophelia’s genuine madness exposes Hamlet’s counterfeit madness because Ophelia shows signs. In Act 4, Scene 5, Ophelia is constantly singing songs about death and basically ignores anything that anyone says to her. For example, in Act 4, Scene 5, she sings, “He is dead and gone, lady, he is dead and gone. At his head is a patch of green grass, and at his feet there is a tombstone.” This continues on and on until one day she is in a meadow and she ends up drowning. She ends up dying before she can even see her brother, Laertes ever again. When Laertes finally returns, he wants to say his final goodbyes to his younger sister and while he’s doing this, Hamlet is hiding in the bushes listening and he begins to cry. This is another way that Hamlet exposes that he isn’t truly mad the way he made himself seem. He forced himself to treat Ophelia poorly so many times throughout the play and it was all just a part of his madness act. Him releasing his emotions for Ophelia in this moment showed everyone that he truly did care for her. Even if he wasn’t madly in love, he definitely cared for her. This is the last main event that shows that Hamlet wasn’t truly a mad, emotionless, heartless
Hamlet's is a mind to be reckoned with. He thinks things out rather than just act on impulse. No matter what the situation, there is always something that stands in his way that a more impulsive, emotional man might overlook or just ignore. By thinking things over he gives Claudius time to figure out what he knows. If he had acted faster things may have turned out differently for our intellectual prince. The Brain can be a slow, bungling thing that is constantly tripping over it's own feet whereas a body controlled by emotion knows no limits.
When the Queen was asked if she knew how Hamlet was, she said that he was as mad as the sea and wind (4.1.6-7). This actually aided Hamlet in his plan because he was able to deceive the King even more. Sadly, Ophelia was also affected by Hamlet’s acting skills and she went insane. She could not handle the emotional stress that Hamlet caused her by claiming he did not love her even though he once claimed he did and also the death of her father. Eventually, she falls from a branch into a stream and dies. Even though this is not part of Hamlet’s plan, he continues with plan of
Ophelia is first ordered by Laertes to be careful around Hamlet with the reasoning that “he is subject to his birth” (citation) explaining that Hamlet may have to marry above his station or marry someone to resolve tensions between kingdoms rather than marry Ophelia. Next Ophelia is commanded by her father Polonius in the same scene to reject Hamlet’s advances because it is likely that Hamlet is only trying to gain access to her bed and in doing so, would not only dishonor Ophelia but also Polonius. Not long after this, Ophelia is commanded to spy on Hamlet to ascertain the reasons for his alleged madness. Hamlet, already knowing that the King is trying to spy on him, sees through Ophelia’s act and rebukes her. He commands her to “get…to a nunnery” (citation) and while Ophelia responds to these comments with “God have mercy on his soul” (citation), it isn’t confirmed whether Ophelia is playing along with Hamlet’s faked “madness” or whether she actually believes his
(Act 1, Scene 2 – Act 1, Scene 5) William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, with a reputation as the greatest of all writers in the English language, as well as one of the world's pre-eminent dramatists. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most analysed plays. The play is about Hamlet, Prince of Denmark who hopes to avenge the murder of his father.
At first, Hamlet is successful, and society is convinced Ophelia is the reason for his madness, thus granting Hamlet more time to plot Claudius’s murder. This is achieved in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be speech” [3,1,57] when Claudius and Polonius spy on the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia. During the Act, Ophelia displays traits of dishonesty and Hamlet uses this to his benefit and appears to go insane to convince Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius that Ophelia is responsible for his madness. Hamlet insists his madness is an “antic disposition” [1,5,179] and that “Thou this be madness, yet there is method in it”. [2,2,204] In the play, Hamlet uses his “antic disposition” [1,5,179] to refuse Ophelia’s affections, which is powerfully portrayed when he exclaims to her “get thee to a nunnery.” [3,1,138] By denying Ophelia’s love, Hamlet’s power in the relationship is effectively demonstrated, and it is shown he is in control of their relationship. In addition, this is reflected in Ophelia’s self-destruction, as she has no purpose to live a life without Hamlet or a man. Overall, Hamlet is successful in using his power over Ophelia for the sake of his
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.
The way we see ourselves is often reflected in the way we act. Hamlet views himself as different to those young nobles around him such as Fortinbras and Laertes. This reality leads us to believe that over time he has become even more motivated to revenge his father's death, and find out who his true friends are. How can you be honest in a world full of deceit and hate? His seven soliloquies tell us that while the days go by he grows more cunning as he falls deeper into his madness. This fact might have lead Hamlet to believe that suicide is what he really wants for his life's course.
Ay, sure, this is most brave, / That I, the son of the dear murdered, / Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, / Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words / And fall a-cursing like very drab, / A scullion! Fie upon’t, foh! -About my brain” (2.2.585-590). Here Hamlet himself reveals that he has been thinking too much about needs to be done instead of acting on what should be done. In fact, Hamlet goes on to insult himself because of how appalled he is with his own actions of thinking, and speaking instead of just doing what needs to be done, and killing Claudius. It seems that Hamlet is also trying to convince himself that he needs to just do it however that fails once he starts questioning, and insulting himself because by allowing himself to question his behavior he has already gone back into his same way of thinking. Hamlet tries to break his nature here by pondering why he hasn’t done anything and cursing himself for not acting yet Hamlet fails his attempts as soon as he starts them because with this pondering if his own behavior Hamlet has already gone back into his thinking ways and was questioning why he was so much of a thinker. By trying to overcome his nature using his normal method Hamlet reveals that his true nature is to be a thinker because not even when he tries to convince himself to act another way can he break his analysis of the possibilities.
Morality is the next big challenge that Hamlet faces. Hamlet needs to morally justify the murder of the king to himself before he can go through with it, "Hamlet was restrained by conscience or a moral scruple; he could not satisfy himself that it was right to avenge his father"(Bradley 80). This idea connects directly with the idea that Hamlet thinks too much.
Hamlet seems incapable of deliberate action, and is only hurried into extremities on the spur of the occasion, when he has no time to reflect, as in the scene where he kills Polonius, and again, where he alters the letters which Rosencraus and Guildenstern are taking with them to England, purporting his death. At other times, when he is most bound to act, he remains puzzled, undecided, and skeptical, until the occasion is lost, and he finds some pretence to relapse into indolence and thoughtfulness again. For this reason he refuses to kill the King when he is at his prayers, and by a refinement in malice, which is in truth only an excuse for his own want of resolution, defers his revenge to a more fatal opportunity, when he will be engaged in some act "that has no relish of salvation in it."