How Does Hamlet Change Throughout The Play

Shakespeare's Hamlet depicts the story of the young Prince of Denmark distraught by the loss of his father, whose “ghost” haunts him, and eventually drives him to insanity. Hamlet’s mental decline is highlighted by his soliloquies, in which he contemplates suicide as well as God, nature, and the devil. In order to overcome the challenges he encounters, Hamlet’s character makes continuous changes throughout the play. Over the course of the play Hamlet, we see the Prince of Denmark’s mental state continuously deteriorate as the war between his enemies, himself, and ultimately his fate, rages on. From the opening of the play, up until now we’ve learned that Hamlet is, in short, an enigma. Throughout the play’s progression Hamlet’s character regresses from an introverted, sensitive, moral man, into a melancholy, despondent individual. His mind becomes dark and haunted by the events surrounding him, and he is driven to madness and delirium. This change is ultimately caused by the death of his father, as well as the uncovered betrayal of his mother and uncle shortly after. Hamlet’s overall change is also fueled by his broken faith in God, his inability
Hamlet’s inability to execute or act upon his plans, is one of several tragic flaws that eventually contribute to his death. Ironically, Hamlet’s best trait happens to also be his biggest handicap. Because Hamlet has such a grasp on the power of language, he often bases his perception of reality on his own understanding of words; he drowns in his own internal philosophies, unable to balance both his ideology, and his reality. Unfortunately, Hamlet spent a critical amount of his time in his own head when instead he should have been more focused on outside conflict, this was ultimately his greatest