Hamlet is an interesting tragedy written by William Shakespeare. Hamlet deals with Hamlet, prince of Denmark who discovers that his uncle Claudius killed Hamlet’s father in order to become king. Hamlet then decides to get revenge on Claudius for killing his father (Act 1, Scene 5). Hamlet starts acting crazy because he thinks it will make people think he is incompetent and won’t suspect him of planning the revenge. Hamlets’ mother Gertrude married Claudius after Hamlets’ death (this was common at this time), which makes Hamlets feel even more angry towards Claudius (Act I, Scene II).
However, Hamlets resorts back to his normal self when the ghost tells him if he doesn’t take revenge, the ghost of Hamlets’ father will forever be trapped in purgatory. Hamlet struggles with the fact that he is pretending to be crazy, and also feels guilty for being so mean to his girlfriend Ophelia. Hamlets pretends to go insane again when he tells Ophelia that she was just a phase because Hamlet’s mother married his uncle (Act III, Scene I). Hamlet decides to try and catch Claudius in order to get evidence of Claudius’ crime.
Hamlet swears Laertes, Polonius, Gertrude and Claudius into hiding behind curtains while he talks alone with Gertrude (Act IV, Scene V). While Hamlet is alone with his mother about killing Claudius, Hamlet accidentally poisons the tip of his sword with the poison that Claudius gave him to pour in Hamlets’ drink (Act IV, Scene VII). Hamlet gets extremely angry when he sees Gertrude drinking from a poisoned cup and Hamlet stabs Polonius through a curtain. Hamlets believes it is Claudius under the curtain and Hamlet kills him. This turns out to be a mistake because Hamlets has killed his mother’s last chance at survival.
In Act V, Laertes forces Hamlets into a duel where they both end up dying from their wounds. The play ends with Claudius being buried next to Queen Gertrude and everybody else who died in the play being buried near them as well (Act V, Scene II). Hamlet is the only character who dies in act five, but Hamlets’ death caused all of the other deaths. Hamlet Literary Analysis Hamlet Hamlets’ character Hamlets being crazy Hamlets’ anger Hamlets’ relationship with Ophelia Hamlets’ relationship with his parents Hamlet’s plan for revenge Hamlet’s feelings towards death Part of the beauty of Shakespeare is that he does not just tell us what happens, but rather allows us to see it happen, moment by moment. The language itself becomes the action. So too in this final scene are we afforded a layered look at Hamlet’s state of mind as well as an insight into his humanity. ” (Geoghegan) Hamlet is definitely my favorite play written by Shakespeare. I love all of Shakespeare’s work, but Hamlet was one of the first plays I had read and it has always stuck with me.
Hamlet is a very interesting play because we get to see Hamlets’ thoughts and feelings instead of just what happens in the story. I think it makes Hamlets more relatable and gives an insight into Hamlets’ life. It also shows Hamlets inner struggle between doing what he knows is right (killing his uncle for killing his father) and pretending to be crazy so he doesn’t have to kill Claudius immediately. Hamlets pretends to be crazy in Act one when Hamlet first meets with the ghost, but then goes back to normal throughout most of the play until Hamlet kills Polonius and sees Gertrude drinking from a poisoned cup.
Hamlets’ anger towards Claudius for killing his father definitely influenced Hamlets’ decision to pretend to be crazy. Hamlets also kills Laertes and Claudius, which Hamlet really regrets because Hamlets was trying his best not to kill anyone else. I think Hamlet is a very relatable character because he struggles with doing what’s right and we all do this throughout our lives. Hamlet isn’t perfect and does some things that he regrets, but it makes him seem more human in my opinion. Throughout the play the death of a character becomes a frequent event.
Hamlet’s father is killed in the first act, Hamlets’ girlfriend Ophelia and Claudius both die and Hamlet brings them back to life so they can tell Hamlets why they died. Hamlet’s friends who wanted to kill Claudius with Hamlets died as well. Even though most of these deaths occur towards the end of the play we still see a lot of death throughout the entire story which helps emphasize Hamlets’ emotions towards his own death. Hamlets definitely has many relationships throughout this play that influence him, but I think his relationship with Ophelia is my favorite because it changes throughout most of the play.
Hamlet meets Ophelia right after he meets with the ghost and then gets mad at her and breaks up with her. Hamlets’ relationship with Ophelia then changes to Hamlet killing Ophelias father because Hamlet thought he was the king. Hamlets kills Polonius which causes Ophelia to go crazy and drown herself so she can be with her dad in heaven. Hamlets didn’t mean for this to happen at all, but I think Hamlet felt really bad about it so he brought her back from the dead so she could tell him why she killed herself.
When Hamlets brings Ophelia back from the dead she is very upset that Hamlets has caused all of these problems and Hamlet gets mad at her for not understanding how much pain Hamlet was in after his fathers death. “You should have a Hamlet of your own. Hamlets never do anything the easy way. ” (Geoghegan) Hamlets’ relationship with his mother definitely changes throughout the play as well. Hamlets’ mother marries Claudius very soon after Hamlet’s father dies and Hamlet is angry at this because he loved his father so much. Hamlets gets mad at his mother for not mourning Hamlets’ fathers death long as he has been.
Hamlets plans to kill his mothers new husband, but doesn’t because it would be a sin and Hamlet is fighting between doing what he knows is right and what will allow him to go home to heaven. I think Hamlets relationship with his mother also helps show that Hamlet isn’t perfect and Hamlets is definitely influenced by his mother in Hamlet. Hamlet almost always does what his mother tells him to do in the play. “I shall in all my best obey you, madam. ” (Hamlet 2. 2) The ghost of Hamlets father also plays a big role in Hamlets life because he influences Hamlets thoughts throughout the entire story.
Hamlets talks to the ghost after Hamlets sees it walking around for the first time and Hamlets gets very angry with Claudius because Hamlet thinks Claudius killed him. The ghost never speaks which would make me think that Hamlet made up this story, but when Hamlets’ friends meet with the ghost they get scared and agree it must be real since no one would make up a story like this. Hamlets also still sees the ghost after he knows for sure that his Uncle Claudius killed Hamlets father, Hamlet can’t stop seeing the ghost because Hamlets has to find out why Hamlets father died and who killed him.
Horatio said it was a spirit as Hamlet first described it. ” (Geoghegan) I think Hamlet is a tragedy because there are many unfortunate events that happen throughout Hamlet and all of these unlucky events lead to Hamlets death at the end. These unfortunate tragedies happen to many characters throughout the play which helps emphasize how tragic Hamlets life really is. In my opinion William Shakespeare wrote an excellent tragedy about death and revenge with Hamlet because Shakespeare is able to make Hamlets’ tragedy feel very real.
Hamlet is a play where many people can relate to Hamlet because Hamlet struggles with the same things that society struggles with today. Hamlet is definitely one of Shakespeare’s best plays and I think Hamlets’ tragedy really does an amazing job at showing how life isn’t always perfect. “That show was but a prelude to this show. ” (Geoghegan) I think Hamlets’ relationships are influenced by other characters in the play, but his relationship with death is something Hamlet has thought about since he saw his father die right infront of him.