What Is Hamlet's Inner Fire

Hamlet’s Inner Fire
The play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare during the turn of the century (1599-1601), is one of his most known productions. This work is about a young prince named Hamlet who's father, King Hamlet, was killed by his uncle (and now king) Claudius. In addition, Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, remarried to Claudius just months after the death of her late husband, King Hamlet. The play follows Prince Hamlet on his mission to acquire revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet’s erratic actions on this mission lead many of the other character's in the play-and the reader- to believe that he is “mad”. Hamlet’s “madness” drove much of the action through the play, including: Polonius’ death, Ophelia’s death, and the questionable
But Hamlet has a fire within him that burns strong behind the curtain of frailness that is often shown. In an article written by G.K. Chesterton titled “The True Hamlet”, Chesterton proclaims that Hamlet is not simply a “witty weakling”. “Hamlet was not a weak man fundamentally. Shakespeare never forgets to remind us that he had an element force and dire in him, liable to burst out and strike everin with terror”(Chesterton). Meaning that just because his mental state appeared battle worn and ravaged, his focus on getting revenge at the expense of Claudius fought on. Hamlet recognizes this force with a quote directed toward Laertes, “Yet have I in me something dangerous,/ Which let thy wisdom fear”(Hamlet 5.1.276-277). In this quote, Hamlet recognizes that the other characters (at least Laertes and Claudius) in the play may not believe Hamlet to be a real threat due to his apparent lack of control in regards to his mental state. Though this lack of control led to the quick death of Polonius, the murder in the eyes of Claudius was not planned and was in the spur of the moment--it was. But it can be argued that due to this one incident, Claudius now feels as if Hamlet does not have the ability of creating a methodical plan to potentially cause him or his
Because Hamlet has pursued a higher education at the University of Wittenberg in Germany, his intellect far outweighs that of the people around him (other then Horatio, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern who also attended an university). Hamlet‘s need for a perfect revenge is a great example of his thought provoking and methodical nature. This idealism will indirectly lead to the death of Hamlet later in the play, but it does showcase a thought process that is unusual in people who are in the state many claim he is in. “He is the prince of philosophical speculators; and because he cannot have his revenge perfect, according to the most refined idea his wish can form, he declines it altogether”(Hazlitt). Hamlet is so tedious that because the perfect moment to kill his uncle never arises, Hamlet’s only real actions come from a build up of emotion and anger both toward Claudius and himself. “He seems incapable of deliberate action, and is only hurried into extremities on the spur of the occasion”(Hazlitt). Hamlet will not kill someone unless he is pushed to the edge just like any other male character in this play. Someone who is truly “mad” would not need to be pushed to jump to the