Theme Of Death In Hamlet

In the play Hamlet, death is a major theme. Since the entire plot of the play is centered around Hamlet seeking revenge for his father’s murder, one can easily explain that this story is death obsession. However, that is merely a surfaced explanation. Shakespeare’s utilization of Hamlet’s grief for his father, the death of characters, and the fear of death proves that the play is obsessed with death. Death in the play is symbolized as a transformation from beauty to ugliness. The death of King Hamlet, Polonius, Ophelia, and Yorick follow this transformation. King Hamlet is stripped of his crown and everything he loved and falls into a reality where the grave even rejects him. Polonius’s body was hidden by Hamlet “at supper” where he is being

Hamlet says, “To die, to sleep—no more—and by a sleep to say we end.” Here he means that to die is merely to sleep and that ends all problems and hardship. However, Hamlet continues to ponder on the subject and declares, “To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil.” Hamlet claims that the fear of death is the fear of what happens after death. Since to die is to sleep and to sleep means to dream, one may never know what dreams he or she may have after dying. This is what people fear. This is also why unhappy people do not commonly commit suicide and instead endure the pains and heartache of life. Hamlet confirms this when he says, “There’s the respect that makes calamity of so long life.” The unknown dreams one may have is the reason why people suffer through

In the play, Hamlet shows that his intense grief is honest. He recalls how his father loved his mother and how kind his father was to his uncle. Remembering his father’s good qualities, however only amplifies his agony. Because of the weight of his grief, Hamlet wishes to die to escape the pain and heartache. The way Shakespeare uses death as a transformation of beauty into ugliness also supports the fact that Hamlet is a death obsessed play. When Hamlet’s father appears as a ghost to Hamlet. Hamlet asks why the marbled coffin they laid him in had vomited him back. After Polonius is killed by Hamlet, Hamlet tells Claudius that Polonius is “at supper” where he is being served as the supper to worms instead of eating at it. Ophelia fell into the river and her clothes spread out in a “mermaid like” fashion as she suck to her muddy death. Yorick was the king’s beloved jester, who had a wonderful sense of humor and wit, however death reduces him to a jawless pathetic skull. These deaths all reflect the same pattern of death turning prettiness into nastiness. Finally, Hamlet addresses the fear of death and why people force themselves to tolerate “calamity.” He states that when someone dies, they are asleep and have dreams. Since these dreams are unknown to everyone, everyone fears death. With the emphasis of the entire play focused on grief, death, and the fear