Hamlet's Life And Obstacles

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of his most famous works and the issues and themes raised in the play are timeless. Throughout the play, Hamlet seems to be constantly struggling both internally and with external forces. His view of life itself and the struggles and obstacles it presents is significantly influenced by the fact that he is Christian living in a Christian society. However, through the lens’ of other religions, such as Buddhism and Islam, Hamlet’s view on life and its obstacles may not have been any easier to deal with, but he would have certainly dealt with life’s “slings and arrows” (p. 127) differently.
In a conversation with Ophelia which occurs at the start of Act III, Hamlet essentially expresses the view that man is
While this is understandable, Buddhism would argue that even once he avenges his father’s death, he will not find peace for true peace can only be obtained when one reaches the state of nirvana or enlightenment. Reaching nirvana can only come through meditation and on leading an ascetic life free of desiring “earthly” things. Hamlet’s pride is causing him to suffer. So when faced with doing the “right” thing or not, when Hamlet is concerned about his pride (Buddhism would see pride as a material “object” as well), he may choose to save his pride and in return make the decision to do the “wrong” thing. For instance, Hamlet says to Ophelia that he never loved her. The truth is that he indeed did, but in an effort to save his pride he lies to her and himself, which causes suffering for both he and Ophelia. Had Hamlet been a follower of Buddhism, he would have been a believer in the concept of Great Love which asks individuals to constantly ask how they can help their partner. This removes the self-interested aspect of love and therefore, according to Buddhism, removes any suffering that loving someone may bring about. Hamlet sees his own life as an existence of suffering and even asks the famous rhetorical question, “To be or not to be”. A Buddhist Hamlet would never ask this question because he would be seeking a path to enlightenment by freeing himself of the very worldly desires that lead him
Muslims view the Old and New Testaments as sacred and view Moses, Abraham and Jesus as prophets. While Islam has much in common with Hamlet’s religious background, had Hamlet been a follower of Islam, he would view life and its struggles differently as well. For instance, Hamlet would realize that what matters in this life is one’s deeds and intentions so that he can secure a place for himself in heaven in the afterlife. Therefore, avenging his father’s death for example, would not be something he would necessarily be consumed with. Hamlet would believe that God will punish Claudius when it really counts- in the afterlife. Hamlet asks in his conversation with Ophelia about what men like him should do “crawling between earth and heaven”. If Hamlet were Muslim, he would not even think to ask this question since the idea of purgatory does not exist. Moreover, he would know what men like him should do- ask Allah for guidance, forgiveness and help so that he can do good deeds and have good thoughts to secure a spot in heaven once he’s dead. As a follower of Islam, Hamlet might also cease to be concerned with pride and power since those are not aspects by which Allah will judge him. In addition, while Islam advocates monogamy, it does not support celibacy Hamlet’s “solution” of ridding the world of sinners by simply not having them be born goes against much of what Islam encourages. Islam also views