Hamlet Character Analysis

This worsens Hamlet’s situation, because his relations to his father are so strong he feels he must avenge him, but as Kastan suggests, Hamlet is “only the son, sworn to remember and revenge his father” (1). Hamlet, however, commits himself to his father, to symbolize him; as his son and as his agent (Kastan 1). According to the ghost King Hamlet, “to be Hamlet, to deserve the name” “is to be a revenger” (Kastan 2). Hamlet later discovers that revenge is not the right thing to do. As Kastan ... ... middle of paper ... ...t as Hamlet is obligated to hear, he is also obligated to avenge him.

After this meeting, the Prince pretends to be insane to see if the ghost is telling the truth. You can understand why Hamlet would act insane because of these terrible events taking place. Initially, Hamlet’s plan is to act insane to find out exactly what happened to his father but he wants to also avenge his death. This state of mind allows Hamlet to behave in almost anyway and not be questioned about his behaviour. Hamlet knows that having the correct facts is so important because without hard evidence he may unjustly kill his uncle and have to d... ... middle of paper ... ...set with Hamlet for murdering his father, Polonius, and conspires with King Claudius against Hamlet.

Hamlet has doubts about the validity of the ghost; he is too rational a character to seek revenge on Claudius based on a conversation with a supernatural spirit. He is unsure whether it was his father?s ghost, or some evil deity trying to trick him. Hamlet needs to prove that Claudius killed his father before he can act out revenge against him. He also needs to prove it to Gertrude, because he loves his mother and doesn?t want to hurt her by killing Claudius, without proving it warranted. Hamlet?s hesitation is justified because he feels morally obligated to prove that Claudius murdered his father before justice can be carried out.

Hamlet is confused and is unsure if he should seek revenge and kill his uncle. Hamlet delays in killing his uncle not only because he might feel guilty, but because he want's to prove to everyone that King Claudius is in fact the murderer. Besides the fact that Hamlet wants to prove that Claudius is responsible, his sanity delays Hamlet from killing Claudius. An apparition had appeared before Hamlets eyes and it is the ghost of the murdered father. "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

Hamlet’s decision to avenge his father is affected by social, psychological and religious influences. Once Hamlet has learned of his father’s death, he is faced with a difficult question: should he succumb to the social influence of avenging his father’s death? The Ghost tells Hamlet to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.31) upon which Hamlet swears to “remember” (1.5.118). Hamlet’s immediate response to this command of avenging his father’s death is reluctance. Hamlet displays his reluctance by deciding to test the validity of what the Ghost has told him by setting up a “play something like the murder of (his) father’s” (2.2.624) for Claudius.

Hamlet’s insanity starts when he finds out how his father actually dies, and wants nothing but revenge on his deceitful uncle. He pretends to be unsound in order to acquire time to plot the retaliation, “Hamlet is never insane. He may approach the brink of insanity but he backs away and instead chooses to act insane in order to achieve his ends and eventually victory over Claudius.” With all the tragic events that he goes through and everything he endures, it is hard to believe that Hamlet never reaches true insanity, he just allows one to think it.

His task is twofold, he wants to avenge the murder of his father and he wants his mother to reveal her guilt about her hasty and incestuous marriage. Finally, Hamlet does not truly know who he is, and what he is to do until the very last act of Hamlet. This essay aims to explore why Prince Hamlet has trouble becoming a moral agent. When we first encounter Hamlet, his concerns are about his mother's remarriage to his uncle Claudius so soon after his father has died. The Prince is angry because Gertrude is not adequately mourning old Hamlet's death, and due to the insistence of Claudius that Hamlet consider him his father and king: O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourn'd longer-- married with my uncle, My fathe... ... middle of paper ... ....

Since Claudius wronged Hamlet and his father the audience wants to sympathize with Hamlet and see him triumph over Claudius. When his decency and moral appeal are seen as questionable Hamlet becomes a story immersed in the positive and negative qualities of character and the ambiguity of life. In the beginning of the play the audience sees Hamlet struggling with his father's death and his sincere mourning appeals to us; it is something that makes us feel for him. After his encounter with the ghost we are given a Hamlet with a horrible mission, to murder. Anyone can imagine how being faced with the truth of his father's death would anger Hamlet, but to murder in cold blood is something that wouldn't come easily to a young man.

He first says, “O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew! Or that everlasting had not fix’d his canon ‘gainst self slaughter!” (Hamlet, I, ii, 129-131). Hamlet reveals his God fearing character, and his apprehension towards Heaven’s punishment for suicide. The rest of the soliloquy explains as to why he is depressed, and ends with him declaring that he must keep it all to himself, essentially to hide his true opinion regarding King Claudius and Gertrude’s marriage. The next scene where Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts are exposed is after he realized that he needs to avenge his father’s death, even though Hamlet is evidently not the type of person t... ... middle of paper ... ...s for the smallest misdoing.

Hamlet is angered over the hasty marriage between his mother and uncle and wishes that suicide was not against God’s law. Despite his anger, he knows that he must not let it show (1.2.131-161). Horatio tells Hamlet that he has seen a figure that looks exactly like his father which spurs Hamlet