BookRags.com Literature Guides Literature
Guides
Criticism & Essays Criticism &
Essays
Questions & Answers Questions &
Answers
Lesson Plans Lesson
Plans
My Bibliography Periodic Table U.S. Presidents Shakespeare Sonnet Shake-Up
Research Anything:        
History | Encyclopedias | Films | News | Create a Bibliography | More... Login | Register | Help

Not What You Meant?  There are 26 definitions for Hamlet.  Also try: The Conscience of the King.

Student Essay on Hamlet... Hamlet, What Are You Searching For?

Print-Friendly  Order the PDF version  Order the RTF version
William Shakespeare
About 5 pages (1,603 words)
Hamlet Summary

Bookmark and Share Know this topic well? Help others and get FREE products!

Hamlet... Hamlet, What Are You Searching For?

Summary:   During the course of life, one must experience different changes or actions that will mold us into the person we will become. It could be as little as receiving the 1st "F" on a test or the passing away of a loved one and they all add up to some kind of importance. Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare has Hamlet, the protagonist, struggling through life to find his true self and strives to get hold of his spot in life. However, he is always inhibited to seek vengeance for his father's unlawful death.


During the course of life, one must experience different changes or actions that will mold us into the person we will become. It could be as little as receiving the 1st "F" on a test or the passing away of a loved one and they all add up to some kind of importance. Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare has Hamlet, the protagonist, struggling through life to find his true self and strives to get hold of his spot in life. However, he is always inhibited to seek vengeance for his father's unlawful death.

The king was murdered, and Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, progresses immediately over her husband's death. Then she gets courted to Hamlet's uncle to maintain her crown. The love Hamlet has for his father never diminishes unlike his mother who weds after two months. Young Hamlet declines to recognize that his dad's death was from unnatural causes. Hamlet cannot make out what to do with his life. He declares

"O, that this too sailed flesh would meld/or that the everlasting had not fixed/his cannon against self-slaughter" (I.ii.129-132).

Without more ado Hamlet wonders if he should continue his l life, because Hamlet suffers the want to dissolve and fade away. This shows his ideas of suicide and craves for ending his life. He hangs onto the image of death and reflects on the thought of killing himself on countless events. Even if Hamlet by no means go through with the contemplation of suicide signifying that he utters to himself very much gives the idea about him not being aware of what he will do with his life.

Claudius, the new ruler, takes hold of Denmark and Hamlet rejects the necessity to be in this world of distortion. His uncle, Claudius composes a life of despair for Hamlet. Hamlet examines the principle of having a God to look up to because he has no voice or preference into whatever thing that comes about. Hamlet goes on along with survival in the "unweeded garden" (I.ii.135). He uses this term to discuss Demark as being a jail and specified with the aim of Claudius having commanded for Hamlet to reside in the castle. Trapped in the rural area of Denmark, young Hamlet was given the option of attending an institution for advancing his schooling, though he stays because Gertrude asks him to. The king and queen dominate their son/nephew's humdrum life, sending Hamlet off with nothing

to do. Hamlet believes his mother's bereavement over his father was too brief. The insincere weeping over the passing of her spouse indicates to Hamlet that his mother could not have been bothered by the departure of King Hamlet. Hamlet reflects on his father having been such a remarkable and mighty man, and cannot understand how his mom can jump so hastily from a son of God to an insignificant person like his uncle. At this point, Hamlet perceives Gertrude starting a new life with a different husband in a quick time-span, yet her shoes remain in the same shape of soles. "A little month, those shoes were old" (I.ii.147). Hamlet is unsure of what to do, who he is capable of relying on in the family unit, and in what direction his life should precede. The prince's mother in which he cares for budges toward Claudius, and in return obtains his father's former title. Gertrude completes this relationship with the utmost straightforwardness. Hamlet experiences being pushed aside from his mother's life since she has a brand new husband, and has no time for the prince anymore. He is a baffled adolescent who senses indecisiveness from his kin and has not a soul to go to.

Hamlet has the want and desire to consider why and who killed his dad. Following the ghost quick mentioning of his dad's life being taken by the person who now wears the crown, Hamlet settles on the fact that he needs to come up with a plan of his own. Hamlet is extremely angry about the death of his father and Claudius making an effort at being the father figure to Hamlet. Hamlet doesn't like someone trying to be in control of his life. Young Hamlet now wants to be calling the commands and becomes the director of a certain play in hopes of having it acted out so Claudius will feel guilty for his actions. Hamlet cannot go on with the idea of his dad's killer being right in front of him and in order to get the killer to come clean he must bring him to trial.

Horatio is the only real friend that Hamlet has. Since there is not much for Hamlet to do, most of the time he is convincing himself that he is not a coward. "Am I a coward...? But I am pigeon livered and lack a gall" (II.ii.528 & 534), Hamlet questions and informs himself that he needs to be a man, toughen up and find his place in life. Hamlet ponders on how he will approach Claudius in order to speak with him. Hamlet has no intention of harming

his mother, although he wants to seek revenge for the murder of King Hamlet.

"Why, what an ass am I! This most brace/ that I the son of a dear father murdered Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell" (II.ii.587-590).

Hamlet doubts himself more and more on whether he should get back at the person who killed his dad or not, even though he has finally established in his mind what he thinks he needs to do. At once, Hamlet goes mad and seeks guidance from his best friend Horatio. Inside Hamlet's heart is rage and every one of his feelings are running wild in his mind. Hamlet knows he must now put his uncle to test by performing a play and seeing what Claudius' responses are. In the play that Hamlet writes, he has players perform an incident that signifies the end of his father life. Hamlet has the incident acted out because he wants to validate the authenticity of the story he received from the ghost.

Hamlet carries on with the hunt for his true personality and starts to wonder again if he should kill himself or not. This is shown and played out in Hamlet's most famous soliloquy "to be or not to be, that's the question" (III.i.56). Life has bloomed into dishonesty with Claudius being on the throne and Hamlet feels that the new king is in charge of every aspect of life. In order to find out what is wrong with Hamlet, Claudius asks his friends to spy on him. Soon enough Hamlet figures out what they are doing and keeps to himself. Horatio, Hamlet's best friend, promises to never leave his side and is always helping him out with whatever he needs. He promises to do all in his power to get Hamlet the crown.

During the time Hamlet contemplates suicide, he wonders and worries about what and where he would go after death. Instead of dying, he would prefer to go through life in pain "And makes us rather bare those ill we have that fly to others that we not know of" (III.i.81-82). Full of humble ideas, Hamlet goes on with life, even though he hates his life. He would rather kill his father's murderer and die in comfort then with a heart full of regret. Claudius and Gertrude put Hamlet in this awful setting and cause their "son's" mind to have these thoughts of suicide. Even if Hamlet has no idea what he wants to with his life, he knows one thing for sure that the killer of his father is still alive. Soon after thinking of what he should do, the woman he loved at one point pops into mind, Ophelia.

They can longer be seen together because Polonius, her father, does not want Ophelia to speak with Hamlet, which gives young Hamlet another reason to end his life.As a devoted catholic, Hamlet insists on asking himself if God really does exist. Hamlet thinks that if such a man can put a great deal of power into every man then why has he not given him the power and why do others not use the power for good. Young Hamlet watches Claudius take over as king, which was once his father's domain, and sees Claudius as an animal even if he was given the position of power through God.

Hamlet compared his father to God and looked up to him. He figures out that he only wants to seek revenge for his father's death and is angry because a weaker man took the place of king.

"How I then stand/ that have my father killed, mother stained/ excitements of reason and my blood/ and lets all sleep" (IV.iv.56-59)

Hamlet is stressed out physically and mentally by the actions that have happened. He has a hard time watching his mother get over his father so rapidly and being controlled by the man who replaced his father.

Hamlet has experienced so much in life, causing him to go through pain, anxiety and misery. All of this started with the murder of his father. Young Hamlet has struggled to comprehend his place in the world and it seems like every time he starts to understand another situation is put in front of him. Gertrude, his mother, who Hamlet at one time loved ever so much, ends up letting her son down by marrying his uncle. In also most every part of Hamlet's life, evil is the end result and Hamlet looks for another reason to search for his meaning in life.

This is the complete article, containing 1,603 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page).

More Information
  • Notas de Libro en Español
  • View Hamlet... Hamlet, What Are You Searching For? Study Pack
  • 26 Alternative Definitions
  • Search Results for "Hamlet... Hamlet, What Are You Searching For?"
  • Add This to Your Bibliography
  • More Products on This Subject
    Hamlet
    tragedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, written about 1599–1601 and published in a quart... more

    Hamlet
    legendary prince of Denmark and central character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The character's ... more


     
    View all | View only answered questions | View only unanswered questions
    Why did Shakespeare set Hamlet in Denmark?
    15

    What Points Mean

    The best answer to this question will earn 15 points. All other answers will earn 1 point. Click for more information.
    In Literature | Asked by Liz1982 | 0 answers | Open for 15 more hours
    Asked from the Hamlet study pack
    (1 question)
    Ask any question on Hamlet and get it answered FAST!
    Answer questions in BookRags Q&A and earn points toward
    discounted or even FREE Study Guides and other BookRags products!
    Learn more about BookRags Q&A
    Copyrights
    Hamlet... Hamlet, What Are You Searching For? from BookRags Student Essays. ©2000-2006 by BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved.



    Join BookRagslearn moreJoin BookRags


    About BookRags | Customer Service | Report an Error | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy