Preview

Why Does Hamlet Want To Die

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1834 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Does Hamlet Want To Die
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a play that takes place in late middle ages. The story is set in a castle in Denmark and follows the story of a prince named Hamlet. Hamlet’s father has been recently killed and his uncle only two months later married his mother and became the next king. Hamlet feels that the two have betrayed his father. Later, the ghost of the deceased king visits Hamlet to explain how his uncle murdered him. The ghost tells Hamlet that he must avenge him otherwise he will remain in purgatory. The book follows Hamlet’s quest to try and kill his uncle. All throughout the play Hamlet acts insane and many readers think he is just acting, but this is not the case. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet goes crazy and …show more content…
He wishes that it could just burn off and turn into “dew” or in other words he rather die. This is a very extreme scenario because he could have just said that he wishes to die. Instead Hamlet chooses the most painful and longest way to go. This extreme and gruesome choice of wording really illustrates Hamlet’s passion to die. In the third line “the everlasting” is actually God. Hamlet then goes on to explain that God has fixed his canon, or law, on against self slaughter. This means that Hamlet wants to commit suicide but he can’t because God forbids it. This means that Hamlet is loyal to his religion and does not want to commit one of the worst crimes in his faith. Hamlet goes on to say how unprofitable, stale, flat, and weary life is. These are all negative terms used against life. “Unprofitable” means there's nothing for him in life, it's useless. Stale is not pleasant, it's disgusting. Stale is associated with bread so to Hamlet life equals something as meaningless as bread. He does not see the point in his life. There is suspicion of Hamlet going mad and the king orders two of his closest friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him. Later in the book they report back to the king and queen how they were unable to find out why Hamlet was acting mad. Hamlet then enters and starts a …show more content…
But then he states that miraculously it will speak for itself like a organ. A organ is a beautiful and fluid sounding instrument. Hamlet says that the confession will be fluid and beautiful, or easy. He then explains how he will put on a play representing how the murder happened. He will make sure his uncle is watching and he will observe his uncle’s reaction. Hamlet then goes on to say that if his uncle shows signs of fear he will know to kill him. If Hamlet knew already that Claudius killed his father then he should not have to create another plan to gain the same information. Hamlet cannot trust the information he already has so he needs confirmation from a second piece of evidence. This is very strange because the first evidence came directly from a primary source. His own father told him the story of how he was murdered. Even though Hamlet has the best source of information he feels as if this new plan, which is not good, is going to provide him with greater information. His plan does not work because Claudius can just hide his feelings so no one will know. Also even if he does show feelings, Claudius will now know Hamlet is on to him. This is the exact opposite of a good plan. Claudius, the king, has so much power and if Hamlet goes through with this plan he will be in a lot of danger. This is a huge irrational decision that could be avoided very easily. It is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    white powder analysis

    • 602 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The cation(s) present in the unknown sample are silver and iron. I know this because the precipitates and the colors of the elements precipitates matched therefore making the unknowns identifiable.…

    • 602 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet does, in fact, believe that foul play was to blame for his father's death, and that it was orchestrated by his uncle Claudius, Hamlet Sir’s successor. Even though Hamlet has a strong gut feeling that his uncle is at fault he has no evidence or proof to go on. This all changes when his father's ghost appears to him and confirms his sons hunch, and orders his son to avenge him. Due to his father's apparition Hamlet’s course of action changes from just suspecting of his uncle, to investigating if the ghost is telling the truth, to ultimately killing his uncle. Hamlet Sir's ghost also affects the action of the play later on during Hamlet's quarrel with his mother…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Rex vs. Hamlet

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the play Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, a young prince is in search of the truth behind his father’s murder. At first, Hamlet sees the ghost of his deceased father and it tells him he was murdered by the now current king, Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius. Hamlet has to think about how he will get revenge for his fathers death, but because his only knowledge came from a ghost that only Hamlet heard speak, he is hesitant to get his revenge quickly. Hamlet does everything he can to show others the truth he knows. It is important to Hamlet that he gets revenge but he also wants to torment the king and show everyone the truth. Hamlet knows his anger toward his Uncle may cause confusion in his judgement of the truth so he is hesitant to kill him right away. Hamlet second-guesses himself throughout the play only to end up dying, but not before he kills Claudius.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet tries to acquire proof in order to gain sufficient grounds to kill Claudius. Hamlet puts on a play where “[he’ll] catch the conscience of the king” (II, ii, 603-604). He waits until he's sure of the king’s actions by first observing his guilt (as to not act on mere suspicions) then, attempts to murder him. Both attempts of murder are simply out of revenge. Claudius plots to murder Hamlet in an effort to rid himself of any problems. He sends a letter to the king of England asking that “if [his] love thou hold’st aught- thou mayst not coldly set our sovereign process” then may he cause “the present death of Hamlet” (IV, iii, 59-66). Claudius sees hamlet as a threat to his power and sees no problem in eliminating him once and for all. Both men are selfish in their quests for power and vengeance but technically, ultimately…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet thinks for the first time about suicide (desiring his flesh to “melt,” and wishing that God had not made “self-slaughter” a sin), saying that the world is “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable.” In other words, suicide seems like a desirable alternative to life in a painful world, but Hamlet feels that the option of suicide is closed to him because it is forbidden by religion.…

    • 529 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    revenge in hamlet

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages

    They play centers around the character of Hamlet, whose reason for revenge is sparked by an encounter with the ghost of his father. The ghost tells Hamlet “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” It is by the ghost that Hamlet learns of his uncle’s treachery. Hamlet’s uncle has murdered his father and now soils his mother, standing as an imposter and in the way of Hamlet’s kingship. At first there is no real plan of revenge on Hamlets part, he pretends to have gone mad, but the arrival of the players afford him the opportunity to prove his uncle’s guilt and take action. However, the actions that Hamlet takes are foolhardy at best and his emotions consume him. In the throes of his pretend madness he alienates the woman he loves, which drives her to her death, and he slays an innocent man. In the end, he may indeed have acquired the revenge he sought after, but at the price of his own life.…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Death Analysis

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Further in the play, Hamlet obsession with death becomes much more noticeable- particularly when he is in the graveyard with Horatio. He sees his old playmate and jester, Yorick, in his state of decay and eerily uses his skull to portray deaths omnipotence. What could have once been the vibrant head of a politician or king is now reduced to a simple, dirty skull: “Here hung those lips that I have kissed/I know not how oft.” (5.1. 194-195) Furthermore, Hamlet realizes the notion that death is the unalterable and permanent ending of all men. Hamlet now is fully aware of death, and knows what he must do to avenge his father, yet he is immobile and is too scared to act. He asks himself “Am I a coward? Is it not monstrous/that this player here, but not in fiction, in a dream of passion/could force his soul so to his own conceit…” (2.2. 575-580) Hamlet is angered by the fact that he is too scared to perform a deed that should be committed for all the right reasons. He thinks too much and that is his ultimate downfall. Although very noble, he struggles with the issue of avenging his father's death, and since Hamlet is more into philosophizing than action, he thinks about his intention to kill Claudius, lessening his ability to execute his plans. When the ghost informs him about Claudius' actions, Hamlet is prompt by replying: " Haste me to know ’t, that…

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Hamlet, William Shakespeare presents the main character Hamlet as a man who is fixated on death. Shakespeare uses this obsession to explore both Hamlet's desire for revenge and his need for assurance. In the process, Shakespeare directs Hamlet to reflect on basic principles such as justice and truth by offering many examples of Hamlet's compulsive behavior; as thoughts of death are never far from his mind. It is apparent that Hamlet is haunted by his father's death. When Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father, their conversation raises all kinds of unthinkable questions, for example murder by a brother, unfaithful mother, that triggers Hamlet's obsession. He feels compelled to determine the reliability of the ghost's statements so that he can determine how he must act. Ultimately, it is his obsession with death that leads to Hamlet avenging the death of his father by killing Claudius.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Elizabeth Lavenza is one of the main characters in "Frankenstein" story by Mary Shelley. She is an orphan that is adopted by the Frankenstein family due to her personality. Elizabeth had a good sympathy which caused everyone in her family to like and lover her specially the mom. "Her sympathy was ours; her smile, her soft voice, the sweet glance of her celestial eyes, were ever there to bless and animate us"(Shelley 33). But then when her cousin is found guilty of the murder of William she is no longer the same. Which makes her personality change completely. She even tries to help her prove that her cousin is innocent. "When I reflect, my dear cousin', said she, 'on the miserable death of Justine Moritz, I no longer see the world and its works…

    • 202 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet is a play written in 1600-1602 by William Shakespeare. Hamlet feels a responsibility to avenge his father’s murder by his uncle dad Claudius, who is now the king and well-guarded. Hamlet’s biggest flaw is that he struggles with his doubts about whether he can trust his father’s ghost and whether killing Claudius is the most appropriate action to take. Both Branagh and Zeffirelli show that Revenge is only going to make situations worse and bring more harm to the avenger and many others.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Analytical Essay

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The play begins with Hamlet returning home from school, after his father’s death and the remarriage of his mother, the queen, to his uncle. Hamlet after arriving home has a mostly one sided conversation with his new stepfather about how Hamlet should stop mourning his father's death, and stay in Denmark with his family. After this conversation Hamlet shares what…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet - Shakespeare

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hamlet struggles with his thoughts and feelings. The degree to which his alienation and melancholy signalled in his behaviour varies from production to production due to his father’s death. ‘O that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his canon ’gainst self-slaughter. O God, God, how weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!’ (Act 1 Scene 2). This quotation is Hamlet’s first soliloquy which signifies his first thoughts about suicide and how the world seems “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable”. It conveys that he sees the world as a neglected garden grown foul. It also uses extended metaphor to articulate his strong desire to rest in peace. In other words, Hamlet finds suicide a desirable alternative to life in a painful world but this option is closed to him because it is forbidden by religion. Hamlet exposes the range of his depression: weariness, despair, grief, anger, nausea, loathing and disgust, resignation.…

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Ethics of Hamlet

    • 546 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Likewise, in Hamlet's second soliloquy, Hamlet's inability to kill Claudius demonstrates that Hamlet is not only a contemplative person, but also a cautious individual that excessively analyzes situations. At this point, Hamlet has concluded to carry out an act of vengeance. He has convinced himself that he is justified to kill Claudius, the murderer of his father, but certain obstacles stand in his way. In one scene, Hamlet finds Claudius alone, praying, but decides not to kill him just then because of…

    • 546 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Marine Phytoplankton

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Red pigment comes from a certain seaweed that blooms in summer which is also iguanas mating season…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The story begins when King Hamlet died and eventually buried. The story goes by when Prince Hamlet recognized and found a mysterious ghost inside the castle which drives him to take vengeance on his father’s murderer.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays