Existentialism in Hamlet

Have you ever questioned your existence? Existentialism can be defined as a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts (thefreedictionary.com). Shakespeare's Hamlet is a very popular revenge tragedy that explores the brutal facts about survival in an dictatorial state. There are many characters in this play that show the existentialist trait. Two characters that show a great deal of existentialism is the protagonist, Hamlet and the antagonist, Claudius.

Hamlet's actions in the play show many signs of him being an existentialist and being very different from the rest of the characters in the play. He has been put into a unique situation without his love life due to the fact that he has royal blood. He is unable to be with the girl that he is in love with because she is not of royalty. Hamlet dislikes his role in life, which is to be the future king of Denmark. It is possible that he questions his existence before his encounter with his dead father's ghost, old Hamlet. Hamlet was most likely under going so much stress due to the fact that his father just died and his mother, Gertrude remarried almost immediately to her brother in law, Claudius. Hamlet did not know what to do with himself. He was not even allowed to go to school. Claudius wants to keep an eye out for Hamlet and asks him not to go to Wittenberg. “And we beseech you, bend you to remain / Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye, / Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.” (1. 2. 119-121). This caused Hamlet to become obsessed with his pursuit of determining the reason for his existence. However, after Hamlet's encounter with the ghost of Old Hamlet, he was given a motive. Old Hamlet tells Hamlet that Claudius killed him by pouring poison in his ear. The ghost gave him a reason and purpose