Hamlet is a play about inherent self-interests. Shakespeare composes the play with dominant ideals instilled within the reader, primarily those pertaining to revenge and tragedy, albeit those ideals are derived from each character's different self-interest, whether applied consciously or not. Shakespeare utilizes various soliloquies and certain dialogue throughout the play as a medium through which the reader comprehends a certain character's self-interest. Through these soliloquies and other dialogue, primarily those concerning Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius, the major themes of revenge and tragedy are derived from unconscious wants, thus making Hamlet a play about inherent self-interest.
In murdering King Hamlet, Claudius achieves his goal to become King, and later seduces Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. King Claudius's intentions are revealed in Hamlet's designed play-within-a-play where "the King rises" and Claudius demands the show be halted with "Give me some light. Away!" (III.ii). His instantaneous flee proves his inherent wants when his inner thoughts of "dire property" are exposed (III.ii). Claudius realizes Hamlet has noticed his self-interest, thus planning his murderous scheme against Hamlet, which ultimately leads to the destruction of Hamlet's and Gertrude's once happy life.
Gertrude's selfish behavior is indirectly selfish, in that Gertrude's priorities are derived from the men surrounding her, most dominantly, Claudius. Gertrude's allegiance through the play is constantly on the move: shifting constantly between Hamlet and Claudius, finally resorting to Claudius. Her selfishness is derived from Claudius in that she wants to protect what is hers through him. All that she owned became his as well when they married, therefore when the queen says "buy not by him" (IV.v) defending the king against Laertes's accusations, she is truly concerned about herself and the notion of her having to leave all she has if Laertes's accusation is seen as true.
Hamlet's inherent self-interest is the underlying cause of the play. One of Hamlet's first soliloquies demonstrates Hamlet's passionate anger towards Gertrude due to her marrying Claudius. His anger shows clear as he insults all women in "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (I.ii), as well as "like Niobe, all tears" (I.ii). Hamlet's anger and frustration were always a part of his emotional status, allowing him to already have adverse feelings for Claudius, however, it was the ghost's commands that allowed Hamlet to propel these interests into the action he is to commit. Hamlet's previously felt emotion is the tinder the ghost uses in order to make Hamlet take action against the situation neither of them are willing to take action against.
... Hamlet is merely a young man, looking for revenge for the death of his father. A young man that has gone through hell and back since his fathers death, losing his love, his mother marrying another man, best friends betraying him, all of which finally lead to his demise. Hamlet shows that he understands real from fake, right from wrong and his enemies from his friends.
All of Shakespeare's great works have a thesis, a main argument. It is commonly accepted that Hamlet is about the downfalls of man, and most people think that the play revolves around greed and power, however Shakespeare was really trying to show the destruction that comes with all love. Any character in the play that loved, died for it. Whether the love is for a person or some way of life, it ends up destroying all characters.
In the play, Hamlet is described as an intelligent, emotional, and grief-stricken protagonist but he is consumed by his own thoughts which make him a highly-indecisive individual; Hamlet’s inability to act on his father’s murder, his mother’s hasty remarriage, and his uncle assuming of the throne are all evidence that Hamlet does not know what is going on in his own life. Perhaps Hamlet wants to place the blame on someone else after he wreaks vengeance on King Claudius, or capture the attention of certain characters so that he may find out exactly what has gone “rotten in Denmark” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 90). Throughout the play Hamlet is deeply hurt by his mother’s decision to remarry his uncle. As Hamlet says, “Frailty thy name is woman”, her actions cause Hamlet to curse women all together (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 146).
Hamlet, a young prince preparing to become King of Denmark, cannot understand or cope with the catastrophes in his life. After his father dies, Hamlet is filled with confusion. However, when his father's ghost appears, the ghost explains that his brother, Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, murdered him. In awe of the supposed truth, Hamlet decides he must seek revenge and kill his uncle. This becomes his goal and sole purpose in life. However, it is more awkward for Hamlet because his uncle has now become his stepfather. He is in shock by his mother's hurried remarriage and is very confused and hurt by these circumstances. Along with these familial dysfunctions, Hamlet's love life is diminishing. It is an "emotional overload" for Hamlet (Fallon 40). The encounter with the ghost also understandably causes Hamlet great distress. From then on, his behavior is extremely out of context (Fallon 39). In Hamlet's first scene of the play, he does not like his mother's remarriage and even mentions his loss of interest in l...
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, shows strong prejudice against woman especially with such characters of Ophelia and Gertrude. Shakespeare created an interesting character with Gertrude; he created a character that sits in the middle of all the conflict and appears to not partake in much of it. However Gertrude does seem intent in defusing it at every possible chance she receives. Gertrude is a central figure in the play. She appears a great deal but doesn’t say much – implying mystery and creating an interesting uncertainty in the audience. Hamlet spends a lot of time dwelling on her marriage to Claudius and Shakespeare leaves many questions unanswered with Gertrude such as did she have an affair with Claudius behind old hamlets back? Why does she drink the poisoned wine that is intended for her son? Does she know it is poisoned? Gertrude is the mother of Hamlet and although they do not have a typical mother son relationship she does love him. Queen Gertrude is often interpreted by many as an adulterate, incestuous woman. Catherine Belsey states that typical interpretations of Hamlet maintain: ‘Gertrude a slut; and Shakespeare a patriarchal bard’ (Belsey,1997:34). Gertrude’s actions throughout the play could be read to show her to be a very passive character, far from a strong independent woman. This is shown with her obedience to Claudius, three times during the play, Gertrude is told to leave and each times she complies without hesitation. In Act 1, scene 2 Claudius says to Gertrude, ‘Madam, come’ (122). Then again, Act 3, scene 1, Claudius says to her, ‘Sweet Gertrude, leave us .’ (28), she complies with ; ‘I shall obey you’ (37). And finally, in Act 4, scene 1, Claudius say, ‘O Gertrude, come away!’ (28). This obedience that Gertrude ...
Oddly, it appears that Gertrude possess more significance to Hamlet than one first anticipates. Her swift call to matrimony leads Hamlet into a spiraling quarry of depression and grieving. This mirrors the Oedipus complex. Gertrude sexually commits herself to Claudius causing Hamlet to feel a sense of jealousy and disappointment. In retaliation, he expresses his repressed desire of love through his unruly comments. He even goes as far as to say that the love is incestuous. Furthermore, in Act 3 scene 4, Hamlet confronts his mother directly in a closet. Addressing concern over her sexual actions, he exclaims “In the rank sweat of an enseamèd bed, / Stewed in corruption, honeying and making love / Over the nasty sty” (III.iv.104-106). Not only does this quote show that Hamlet disapproves his mother’s marriage, but also that he believes Claudius is a wicked criminal. Aligning with the Oedipus complex, Hamlet strangely obsesses over his mother’s love life while viewing his uncle in
In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Shakespeare does a magnificent job at showing the readers how a man once of noble nature can fall so far into performing selfish actions. After Hamlet discovered the truth about his father’s death he feels the need for revenge. By becoming too involved in his pursuit, Hamlet’s actions proved that he was indeed selfish. In our opinion, we believe that Hamlet was selfish, rather than selfless in the play because while avenging his father’s murder, Hamlet is led down a road of self-protectiveness and cruelty, where he performs selfish actions on Ophelia due to his crafty madness and those in the Danish court involved in corrup...
In the story “Hamlet “by William Shakespeare, is about an unhappy prince, by the of name hamlet whose uncle King Claudius has kill his father and marries his mother and took the dominate role as the king of Denmark. Hamlet was in school in Germany when he found out about his father death. He came back to Denmark to attend the funeral but later found out his mother Gertrude is also getting married to his uncle Claudius. Hamlet doesn’t agree with anything that’s happening right now. Later that night Hamlet father spirit has arrived to the castle. The only person the ghost has spoken to was hamlet and he doesn’t have to opportunity to rest in peace because of the way he got murder. The ghost tells Hamlet that
As Gertrude explains Hamlet’s actions to Claudius, she describes how within his madness she could see his former sanity; “O'er whom his very madness, like some ore Among a mineral of metals base, Shows itself pure. He weeps for what is done.”(Pg.197) Gertrude explains how even after this heinous act, Hamlet shows he still possesses some sanity as he “weeps for what is done.” In doing so, Gertrude attempts to portray Hamlet in the best way possible, showing even at his worst she still loves him as any mother would. In addition, Gertrude conceals information from Claudius in this telling of events, as she does not inform him Hamlet believed it was him hiding behind the curtain, not Polonius. The concealment of this crucial detail is an evident attempt by Gertrude to protect her dear son, as should she have told Claudius that this murder was not an act of sheer insanity, but an attempt at his own life, the King would surely have been far more severe towards Hamlet. While Gertrude did tell Claudius about what happened when she said she wouldnt, this concealment of information and portrayal of her son show her loyalty to Hamlet.This continued devotion to Hamlet again contrasts Hamlet’s own horrific description of Gertrude, and again exemplifies her maternal devotion to
He is the type of person that will do anything to get what he wants and everything in his power to stay king. He will do what it takes to get his way, even if that means betraying the person he is supposed to be committed to and love, his wife Gertrude. Gertrude is the mother of Hamlet, who she deeply cares for and loves. She is convinced that Claudius does as well. In order for Claudius to stay as king, he must keep Gertrude happy and pleased.
During his investigation, Hamlet discovered the motive for Claudius’s murderous betrayal; with the throne vacant, Claudius can rule over the kingdom. Hamlet sadly learns his father’s
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous work of tragedy. Throughout the play the title character, Hamlet, tends to seek revenge for his father’s death. Shakespeare achieved his work in Hamlet through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces that hunt Hamlet throughout the play: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. When Hamlet sets his mind to revenge his fathers’ death, he is faced with many challenges that delay him from committing murder to his uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlets’ father, the former king. During this delay, he harms others with his actions by acting irrationally, threatening Gertrude, his mother, and by killing Polonius which led into the madness and death of Ophelia. Hamlet ends up deceiving everyone around him, and also himself, by putting on a mask of insanity. In spite of the fact that Hamlet attempts to act morally in order to kill his uncle, he delays his revenge of his fathers’ death, harming others by his irritating actions. Despite Hamlets’ decisive character, he comes to a point where he realizes his tragic limits.
Hamlet’s mourning about the death of his father and the remarriage of his mother drives him to madness. This is the main characters inner tragedy that Shakespeare expresses in the play. First he considers suicide but the ghost of King Hamlet sends him on a different path, directing him to revenge his death. Shakespeare uses Hamlet to articulate his thoughts about life, death and revenge. Being a moral character he must decide if revenge is the right thing to do. Shakespeare relays many scenarios of reasoning to the audience about mankind His hero sets the wrongs on mankind right again.
Hamlet’s sense of betrayal by Gertrude, although briefly taking him off course, ultimately infuriates and intensifies his urge for revenge. Because of Gertrude’s refusal to acknowledge her sins, Hamlet becomes even more personally motivated to kill Claudius for revenge. Queen Gertrude, though ignorant, has a huge impact on the play because her betrayal and abandonment motivates Hamlet to get revenge. When writing Hamlet, Shakespeare created a complex play that relies on the roles of two important women to aid the progression of the plot. Although Queen Gertrude and Ophelia rarely speak, they function as a way for the men to become informed about Hamlet’s mental state and motives for madness.
Gertrude influenced Hamlet significantly throughout the course of the play. Hamlet was very angered by his mother's remarriage. A few months after his father's death, Gertrude married Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. He was driven mad when his father's ghost appeared to him and revealed that Claudius was responsible for the death of Old Hamlet. Hamlet even termed the marriage as incest. Hamlet's fury is displayed when he throws his mother on the bed and says, "Frailty, thy name is woman" (Act #. Scene #. Line #). This shows his extent of anger because he makes a generalization that all women are weak. As a result of his mother's actions, Hamlet strives to seek revenge against Claudius for the death of his father. In order to marry Gertrude, Claudius kills his brother. Therefore, Gertrude is the driving factor for the whole setup of the play.