Hamlet | Conclusion

Hamlet Conclusion

In the words of Ernest Johnson, "the dilemma of Hamlet the Prince and Man" is "to disentangle himself from the temptation to wreak justice for the wrong reasons and in evil passion, and to do what he must do at last for the pure sake of justice. . . . From that dilemmaof wrong feelings and right actions he ultimately emerges, solving the problem by attaining aproper state of mind:' Hamlet endures as the object of universal identification because his central moral dilemmatranscends the Elizabethan period, making him aman for all ages. In his difficult struggle to somehow act within acorrupt world and yet maintain his moral integrity, Hamlet ultimately reflects the fate of all human beings.

(See also Shakespearean Criticism, Vol. 1)