Why Does Shakespeare Use Of Violence In Hamlet

Violence does not exist for its own sake. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare used multiple themes of violence. If violence in any part of a play, scene, story, movie, or act occurs for no reason at all then it is more than just a story, and it has more drama in it behind the scenes. Shakespeare used violence in acts four through five in Hamlet, when Ophelia committed suicide. From these two acts, it revealed what Ophelia was going through and feeling. Suicide is the act of killing oneself intentionally. In act four, scene three, Ophelia committed suicide and drowned herself due to grief. Queen Gertrude broke the news to Ophelia’s brother, Laertes. Laertes could not believe this has happened and he asked the queen numerous questions. When Queen Gertrude explained to Laertes what
happened, she told him that Ophelia was going to hang up her wreath that she made with beautiful flowers and daises.
Ophelia intended to hang the wreath up on a willow that was hanging over a brook. As Ophelia was climbing up the tree, she and her wreath fell into the brook. When she tumbled into the brook, she acted like she was not in alarming danger. Ophelia tried to appear cool, because she did not want anyone to know that she was committing suicide. Within a short amount of time, Ophelia’s clothes filled heavily with water, and the strong water pulled her down into the filthy mud at the bottom of the brook. Likewise, act five was Ophelia’s funeral. A gravedigger dug a grave for her and as they dug the hole they were clueless as to why they were giving her a Christian burial after she killed herself. Hamlet was nearby and saw the gravedigger digging a grave and he
wondered whom it was for; he could not believe it was a grave for the beautiful Ophelia. Laertes jumped into her grave to give her one last hug. Hamlet jumped into the grave after Laertes because he also wanted to see and hold Ophelia. Laertes got extremely mad at Hamlet, so they fought each other inside of her grave. Everyone was stunned as to why they fought; they always got along with each other. The death of Ophelia caused both of them to go crazy. Normally, an individual has a clear motive for committing suicide. A person has to be really low on confidence, and very high on fatigue and grief to go through with suicide. Ophelia was going through a lot in her life. Her father, Polonius, was just killed by her boyfriend Hamlet. Polonius never did like Hamlet and he was always strict on Ophelia because she dated him. Hamlet also was disrespectful to Ophelia and it drove her insane. She did not think that Hamlet loved her, because he made her feel alone. This lonely and loveless life is what caused her to drown herself. This violent scene of Ophelia committing suicide affected the play in multiple ways. It drove Laertes into a state of anger; his father died and then his sister so it was too much for him to handle. The violence also affected Hamlet because he did not know if he was allowed back into the country. This event hit home for me because someone close to me in my family committed suicide at a very young age. My family and I know first hand that having to deal with suicide at a very young age is the hardest thing to ever have to go through, but it is still possible to achieve and get through without having to take your life away. It is more helpful to talk to someone about your problems than trying to deal with them alone.