hamlet analysis free essay sample

Hamlet Analysis Report It is debatable whether or not Hamlet is one of the greatest dramatic characters ever made. The moment we are introduced to Hamlet, many readers can recognize his intensity and the passion that he possesses. Hamlet holds many negative qualities such as indecisiveness, hate, obsession, brutality, and spontaneity. Regardless of these negative qualities, Hamlet is still the tragic hero and the Prince of Denmark. On the other hand, he has remarkable qualities that a hero should have such as bravery, passion, loyalty, respect, cautiousness, and dedication. We can see all of his qualities throughout this tragic play, but when we are introduced to him, we are given such a mysterious impression and it sets the tone for the play. In this report, I would like to analyze and talk about three of his qualities which I thought stood out the most: his indecisiveness, cautiousness, and madness. The first quality that I would like to talk about and analyze is his indecisiveness. We will write a custom essay sample on hamlet analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When Hamlet had received the news that King Hamlet had died and his mother, Gertrude, had married the new king Claudius, his uncle, Hamlet is disgusted, cynical, and full of hatred. While everyone has gone on with their lives after King Hamlet’s death, Hamlet is still left to think and doubt about his father’s death. Gertrude tells Hamlet, â€Å"Seek for thy noble father in the dust. Thou know’st ‘tis common—all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity† (I.ii. 71-73), and Claudius says to Hamlet, â€Å"To give these mourning duties to your father, But you must know your father lost a father, That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound† (I.ii 88-90). Hamlets pain and misery is then more deepened because those around him are not mourning but quick to move on. Although Gertrude and Claudius have said those things, Hamlet is surely more hurt by the fact that his mother had married her brother-in-law within a short peri od of time after the Kings death. We cannot blame Hamlet for this emotion that he feels, for anyone in his situation would be disgusted and feel the same way that he does. Hamlet is then left to reminisce about his father on how much he had loved her queen, â€Å"But two months dead, nay, not o much, not two. So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother, that he might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth, Must I remember†¦?† (I.ii 138-143). Hamlet is then  disgusted by the thought of his mother, and women in general, which affects his feelings towards Ophelia as well. Later on in the play, the turning point, Hamlet is faced with a ghost who claims to be the ghost of his father. This ghost describes to Hamlet who he is and what has truly happened. Everybody had known that King Hamlet had died by a poisonous snake in his garden, but the truth is that, â€Å"The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown† (I.v 38-39). Hamlet carefully observes and listens to what the Ghost says and is later left with a bewildered attitude. The Ghost continually tempts and persuades Hamlet to take revenge for his father and kill Claudius. From here on out, we are left to see Hamlet contemplating on whether or not what the Ghost said was true or whether or not he has to kill his uncle. We are already left with an image that Hamlet has a grudge toward Claudius and after meeting the Ghost, Hamlet is now left t o think whether he should take revenge or not. In Act III Scene IV, Claudius is kneeling down and praying. Hamlet is deciding whether or not he should kill the king right then and there but is constantly unable to make up his mind. Even if he were to take revenge right now, the king was praying, so by killing him, he would be send him to heaven. Hamlet shows his cautiousness in this scene, which I will be talking about later. Hamlet is constantly thinking about the â€Å"what ifs† while watching Claudius pray. Hamlet says, â€Å"I his sole son do this same villain send to heaven. Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge† at one point, then is left to reconsider, â€Å"†¦And am I then revenged to take him in the purging of his soul, when he is fit and seasoned for his passage? No.†(III.iv 77-78, 84-87). Hamlet decides to kill Claudius another day, but is left with an uncomfortable mind to kill him when he is in the act of doing wrong deeds and when he is positive that Claudius had killed his father. Another quality that stands out for Hamlet is that he is extremely cautious and intellectual. When Hamlet first receives the news that King Hamlet had died, he returns home to find evidence of his father’s inexplicable death. Although the ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius had murdered his father, Hamlet seeks to prove Claudius’ guilt before taking any action against Claudius. Some may say he overuses his intelligence while ignoring his emotions and going with his instinct. This is what causes Hamlet to hold back on taking revenge against Claudius. Also, when Hamlet first encounters the ghost, his sight is telling him that what  he is seeing is not possible, but his emotions think otherwise. â€Å"Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death, have burst their cerements† (I.iv 47-48). Hamlet is then careful with his actions and thinks things through because he knows the value of having the accurate facts; otherwise, he may unreasonably kill his uncle and have to deal with the consequences. He then later plans a play for actors to re-enact the king’s murder, which the ghost had told him, to prove and actually believe what the ghost had said. At one point in the play, Hamlet considers about committing suicide saying these famous lines â€Å"To be or not to be, that is the question: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (III.i 57-58). Hamlet begins to realize that his anxiety and pressures cause him to doubt that reason alone can solve his problems. He also realizes that he lacks the emotion to avenge his father’s death. However, Hamlet connects both his emotion and reason and avoids his temptation to commit suicide. Hamlet shows us that he is strong by making the decision to stay alive and fight Claudius’ corruption. Although he chooses to stay alive and revenge his father, he still lacks the motivation to actually kill Claudius. In Act IV, Hamlet meets a captain who works under Fortinbras. The captain tells Hamlet of the deeds they do, and Hamlet is shocked that his armies go to war over a â€Å"little patch of ground† (IV.iv 18). Hamlet is shocked that Fortinbras would sacrifice many soldiers to conquer a little patch of ground, whereas, Hamlet is struggling on killing one man with good reason. Hamlet realizes he was blinded by his intellect and seems to be impressed by Fortinbras who quick ly turns thought into action, and from then on, Hamlet decides to have bloody thoughts. â€Å"†¦O, from this time forth, my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!† (IV.v 65-66). In addition, another scene where Hamlet demonstrates his carefulness is when he sacrifices his love for Ophelia because he was determined to seek revenge for his father. Although he makes this decision, he had still kept her close and his actions had led to unfortunate events of making Ophelia go crazy and kill herself. The last quality I would like to talk about is Hamlets insanity. The events at the beginning of the play are enough to drive anyone mad, not only because his father has passed away, but his mother had married the brother of King Hamlet. In the beginning, Hamlet pretends to be mad so that he can gain details about his father’s death and not be responsible for his actions. He is using his fake insanity as an excuse. With Hamlets grief,  he cannot control himself and then later, his intentional insanity is slowly becoming habitual. Like stated above, Hamlet even has thoughts of committing suicide because he cannot endure it anymore. While acting insane, Hamlet, who loves Ophelia, is forbidden by Ophelia’s father to see her. Hamlets insanity and rude behavior towards Ophelia is all a part of Hamlets plan. Hamlet wishes for Ophelia to tell Polonius, Ophelia’s father, that Hamlet has gone mad so that Polonius can go to Gertrude and Claudius and tell them that Hamlet has gone mad. At first, Hamlets madness is viewed as harmless and is thought to have been caused by the problems that are present. However, when Hamlet murders Polonius on accident thinking it was Claudius, Hamlets madness is viewed differently. In Act IV scene II, Claudius says, â€Å"This mad young man. But so much was our love, we would not understand what was most fit but, like the owner of a foul disease†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (IV.ii 19-21). Hamlets madness is now viewed as a â€Å"foul disease†. Hamlet’s insanity slowly becomes less intended. He beings to act irresponsibly with no thought about any consequences. It seems to us that he does not care about anyone at all. He treats those important to him as if they mean nothing to him. For example, Hamlet talks down to Ophelia and tells her he does not love her anymore and also Hamlet offends Gertrude and we know this because Gertrude says, â€Å"What have I done that thou dar’st wag thy tongue in noise so rude against me?† (III.iv 40-41). This was when Hamlet had killed Polonius on accident thinking it was the king. Gertrude and Hamlet are arguing when Hamlet hears a man behind the â€Å"arras† and murders him without any hesitation. We are now shown a new and changed Hamlet, he is not the man we were introduced to in the beginning of the play: respectful, responsible and gentle, but the new and mad Hamlet is impulsive, cruel, and violent. When Hamlet finds out that Ophelia had died, this is when we all assume and know that Hamlet really loses it. His plot to revenge his father had only hurt and killed those around him directly and indirectly. Hamlet murders Polonius, which lead to Ophelia’s suicide. Laertes, Polonius’ son, is also upset about Hamlet killing his father, so he plans against Hamlet, which leads to his own death, as well as Hamlets own death, Gertrude’s death, and Claudius’ death. We are given many interpretations of Hamlets madness, and I believe that it is up to the reader’s to interpret Hamlets insanity as they see it. We are told that his madness is purposeful actions and true insanity, but we are  not fully aware of what it actually is. What all started off as Hamlet planning to kill Claudius and revenge his father, ends up as Hamlet killing himself and those around him. One may argue that Hamlets indecisiveness, cautiousness, and madness are what added up to get himself and those important around him killed, but those three qualities are what stood out and made Hamlet in to the tragedy play it is. Hamlet Analysis free essay sample Ghost appears and then leaves Horatio decides to tell Hamlet about the ghost He tells Hamlet about the ghost Hamlet decides that he wants to see the ghost Hamlet sees the ghost Hamlet follows the ghost Ghost tells Hamlet about his death Hamlet decides to get more information / prove what the ghost was saying before doing anything about it Hamlet swears his friends to secrecy about what the ghost said and about his plans to act crazy in order to get more information Offstage trigger – Hamlet acting crazy with Ophelia) Ophelia tells Polonius that Hamlet has gone crazy Polonius concludes that this is because Hamlet loves Ophelia Polonius decides to tell this reasoning to Claudius (side track 1– Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to figure out what is afflicting Hamlet) Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude that Hamlet is crazy because of Ophelia Polonius speaks to Hamlet and decides to plan a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia (side track 1 – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern speak with Hamlet and tell him of the players) side track 1 – Hamlet decides to use the players to weed out the truth from Claudius) (side track 1 – Hamlet asks Polonius to have the Claudius and Gertrude watch the play) Hamlet meets Ophelia while Claudius and Polonius hide and listen Hamlet says he doesn’t love Ophelia Polonius and Claudius decide there must be another reason for Hamlet’s madness and plan to figure out what it is by watching him (side track 1 – Hamlet speaks with the players to make sure everything is going to go exactly the way he has planned it) side track 1 – Hamlet asks Horatio to watch the king during the play) (side track 2 – the players enact the Murder of Gonzago) (side track 2 – Hamlet comments on the play) (side track 2a – Claudius rises and leaves mid-play, very upset, along with Gertrude , who is also upset) (side tracks 1 2a converge – Hamlet and Horatio decide that because of Claudius’ reaction to the play, the ghost was telling the truth) (side track 1 – Hamlet decides to take violent action) (side track 2b – Gertrude asks to speak with Hamlet) side track 2b – Hamlet agrees to speak with Gertrude, and sends Polonius to tell her so) (side track 2c – Claudius plans to send Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because he is becoming a danger) Polonius decides to hide and listen to Hamlet and Gertrude (side track 2b – Hamlet is on his way to speak to Gertrude and sees Claudius ‘praying’) (side track 2b – Hamlet decides not to kill him then because he would go to heaven) (side track 2b – Hamlet decides to go on and talk to Gertrude) Polonius hides when Hamlet enters side track 2b – Hamlet speaks with Gertrude, then hears a noise) Polonius makes a noise Main thread and side tracks 1 2b converge – Hamlet stabs Polonius and kills him Hamlet takes Polonius’ body Gertrude tells Claudius about Hamlet’s actions Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find where Hamlet put Polonius’ body Rosencrantz and Guildenstern talk to Hamlet and bring him back to talk with Claudius Main thread and side track 2c converge – Claudius talks with Hamlet and officially sends him to England (to be killed) side track 3 – Fortinbras is passing through Denmark and speaks to Hamlet) (side track 3a – Hamlet decides that he is not giving up – ‘my thoughts be bloody†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢) (side track 4 – Ophelia has gone crazy) (side track 5 – Laertes gets back, learns of Polonius’ death, and blames Claudius) (side track 5 – Laertes confronts Claudius) (side track 5 – Claudius tells Laertes that Polonius’ death was not his doing) Offstage trigger – pirates attack Hamlet’s ship Offstage trigger – pirates take Hamlet prisoner and return him to England Main thread and side track 3a converge Horatio hears news of Hamlet’s return (side track 5 – Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet was the cause of Polonius’ death) (side track 5 – Claudius tells Laertes that he has a plan to kill Hamlet) (side track 5 – Laertes asks to be the instrument of Hamlet’s death) (side track 5 – Claudius plans for Laertes and Hamlet to duel, Laertes with a poison- tipped sword, and adding a poisoned drink, just in case, to ensure Hamlet’s death) (side track 4 – Gertrude says that Ophelia has drowned herself) Main thread and side track 4 converge Horatio and Hamlet meet in the graveyard and learn of Ophelia’s death, and see Laertes jumping into the grave Hamlet also jumps into the grave and accuses Laertes of putting on a show of emotion Hamlet and Laertes scuffle then are pulled apart Hamlet feels bad for accusing Laertes the way he did and scuffling with him Hamlet agrees to do whatever Laertes wishes of him (side track 5 – Osric come to tell Hamlet of the proposed duel between him and Laertes) Main thread and side track 5 converge – Hamlet agrees to duel Laertes Hamlet and Laertes begin to duel Claudius poisons a cup and plans to offer it to Hamlet Hamlet refuses the cup and continues dueling (side track 6 – to cheer on Hamlet, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup) Hamlet gets scratched by the poisoned rapier Hamlet and Laertes scuffle and switch rapiers Laertes gets scratched by the poisoned rapier (side track 6 – Gertrude dies) Main thread and side track 6 converge – Laertes says that Claudius poisoned the cup, and that the rapier-tip was poisoned, then he dies Hamlet realizes that he is dying and that he now has the excuse to kill Claudius Hamlet stabs Claudius and makes him drink of the cup Claudius dies Hamlet entreats Horatio to tell the story of their deaths, then dies (side track 3b – Fortinbras is returning through Denmark and happens upon the scene) main thread and side track 3b converge – Horatio plans to tell Fortinbras et. We will write a custom essay sample on Hamlet Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page al. the story of what happened, and Fortinbras plans to take his claim over the country Part II: Events Tracked Backward for Hamlet†¦ Hamlet†¦ Stops Horatio from drinking the poisoned cup Tells Horatio to be the messenger – to tell everyone his story Kills Claudius Scratches, and therefore kills Laertes with the poisoned rapier Gets scratched by Laertes with the poisoned rapier Taunts Laertes at the moment when Laertes is considering not killing him And Laertes begin the gentlemen’s duel Agrees to duel Laertes Resolves that whatever will be will be, and feels bad for Laertes Insults Laertes in Ophelia’s grave Jumps into Ophelia’s grave Talks to Horatio about death Sees the grave diggers Returns from the ship bound for England Ship gets attacked by pirates Leaving for England, but is not going to give up Banished by Claudius Hides Polonius’ body Kills Polonius Talks with Gertrude Decides not to kill Claudius while he is praying (appears to be praying) Agrees to talk with Gertrude Accuses Guildenstern of playing him like a recorder Discusses Claudius’ reaction to the play with Horatio Adds commentary to the play Flirts with Ophelia Asks Horatio to mark how Claudius reacts to the play Tells the players to act exactly as he has instructed them Tells Ophelia to ‘get to a nunnery’ and says that he doesn’t love her Decides to use the players to get the truth from Claudius about his father’s murder Hears of the players from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (offstage? acts crazy toward Ophelia to the point of frightening her Swears his friends to secrecy about the ghost and the way he is going to act Plans to learn whether the ghost was telling the truth, or just a demon playing games Learns from the ghost that he was murdered Speaks to the ghost Follows the ghost Sees the ghost Hears of the ghost Part III: Stasis, Intrusion, New Stasis†¦ Stasis: Claudius has married Gertrude and become king after his brother, the previous king, died. Hamlet, the son of Gertrude and the previous king, is still upset about his father’s death. Intrusion: The appearance of the ghost New Stasis: The majority of the characters are dead, and Horatio is asked to tell their story as Fortinbras becomes the new king Part IV: Dramatic Conflict for Hamlet and Claudius†¦ Hamlet ~ Individual versus self: Hamlet gets down on himself for not being able to take immediate action or to react as strongly / emotionally as characters like the player and Fortinbras. Individual versus others / individuals: Hamlet has obvious conflict with Claudius, who he believes killed his father. He also has some physical ‘conflict’ with Laertes. Individual versus society: Hamlet cannot simply kill Claudius because he has to consider how society would react to that if they did not know what Claudius had done initially. Individual versus the universe / nature / fate It becomes Hamlet’s duty to avenge his father’s death. Claudius ~ Individual versus self: Claudius appears to show guilt about murdering his brother (shown when he wishes to pray but is unable to) Individual versus others / individuals: Claudius’s first conflict with an individual was before the play started, and that was with his brother, the king. Once he ‘won’ that conflict, his new conflict became the one between himself and Hamlet Jr. He was afraid that Hamlet knew too much and / or that he would try to take the throne back from him. Individual versus society: If the people in that society knew what Claudius had done, there would have been much more conflict between them and him, but as it was, their only real conflict was that Claudius couldn’t take Hamlet to them to be punished for Polonius’ death, essentially because they liked him too much. Individual versus the universe / nature / fate