Hamlet's Uncivilized and Wild Thinking

lKelly Dang
Ms. Reynaga
AP Lit & Comp (Period 1)
April 12th, 2012
“Uncivilized Free and Wild Thinking” Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare is one of the most conventional pieces of writing of all time. It’s taught in classrooms all over the United States and is known well for its forms of “uncivilized free and wild” thinking. The plotline of Hamlet revolves around the death of Prince Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet. The beginning of the novel introduces the central conflict, which is getting revenge from the the king’s brother, Claudius who killed his brother or order to get a hold of the crowd, who in the process also married Prince Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude. The problem is introduced when the supposed spirit of the King appears at night when two watchmen and Horatio are on the town. “What art thou that usurp'st this time of night, together with that fair and warlike form in which the majesty of buried Denmark. Did sometimes march? By heaven I charge thee speak!” cries Hortatio during this scene. The men in the scene wonder whether they should speak of this to Hamlet or not and they decide to, out of respect. The presence of supernatural spirits intrigues the reader in because the King leads Hamlet to devote his life to seeking revenge on his uncle Claudius. Hamlet plots out to murder King Claudius in order to avenge his father’s death. He doesn’t submit to the ghost’s words though, so he uses the opportunity of using a group of traveling actors in order to see if Claudius shows signs of guilt for the crime that he committed. He hired these actors to play out a scene similar to way that Claudius had killed King Hamlet, by pouring poison into his ear. After they all leave, Guildenstern informs Hamlet that Claudius went to bed “Is in his retirement, marvellous distempered…rather with choler”, as expected which makes Hamlet sure that Claudius did murder his father. Halmet’s sense of seeking revenge is very careful, which proves to be patient because he discreetly predicts the guilt and plans out his actions. Which sets a place for the play because it’s a clever planning. Rather than reckless, because that’d defeat the purpose of the entire plot. Ophelia, after Hamlet accidentally kills her father, starts to go mentally ill. Hamlet, because of this flees to Denmark and she is devastated. She loses her father and the man that she loves was the one who has killed him in the first place. Her madness fits well with Hamlet’s because they both go crazy in the process of losing themselves because of the deaths of their fathers, and since in the end it is found that Hamlet loves her as well, it adds to the value of the book because they have a connection. Their fathers changed their “sovereignty of reason”. These cases of “wild thinking” add to the plotline of the play because they are like the puzzle pieces to the piece of literature. The strange thought of a supernatural spirit creates the entire play because the murderer of King Hamlet is discovered, which therefore triggers the other actions in the book. Hamlet, seeking revenge for his father, goes slightly mental and so does the woman that he loves, Ophelia for the same reason, her father.