The Theme Of Death, Revenge, And Madness In Hamlet

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William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, is a tragic story about the struggles of a prince named Hamlet who seeks to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is so determined to sabotage his uncle, who has taken his father’s crown and is responsible for the crime, that Hamlet himself increasingly becomes insane. Family bonds and friendships are broken as death begins to claim their loved ones and vengeance becomes the primary mindset of the characters. As the play progresses, three prominent themes of death, revenge, and madness drive the plot to its end through the characters. Death is the most obvious and reoccurring theme displayed in Hamlet beginning with the death of King Hamlet. This is the first significant event in the play that serves as a motive …show more content…
Hamlet’s determination to seek revenge on Claudius is what primarily disrupts the peace in the kingdom and steers the plot to its drastic end. His plan begins with the play, The Mousetrap, which was shown for Hamlet to confirm Claudius’ guilt. Once his speculations are reassured by Claudius’ reaction, his plans continue in serving justice to his father. In the same way, the death of Laertes’ father and sister, Polonius and Ophelia, causes Laertes to lash out on Hamlet. The death Polonius causes him to return home, demanding answers for the crime. Once he is aware that Hamlet has killed him, he wants Hamlet to pay for what he has done. Then, once Ophelia dies, Laertes believes it is due to Hamlet’s insults and actions, so he plans to fight Hamlet as a way of revenge. Laertes seeking vengeance on Hamlet is what drives the plot to its final scene, where the rest of the characters are killed and the kingdom …show more content…
Hamlet is the first character to portray his madness, even though it is said to be an act at first. However, as the play advances many of the actions done by Hamlet turn out to be actual hysteria. Ophelia, who he once loved, is now a target of rage and insults which shows how he is now blinded by madness. Similarly, during Hamlet’s soliloquy he contemplates life and expresses his suicidal thoughts. The character who was affected and developed the most by this mental disorder was Ophelia. Ophelia is a very weak character who spends her life under the guidance of her father. She is incapable of thinking for herself and is unsure how to react when her father dies and Hamlet is sent away to England. The result of these events causes her to experience these new and unusual freedoms for the first time, which is obviously too much for her to comprehend. This leads to her death, where she accidentally drowns herself because she is too mad to realize. Her inability to handle Hamlet’s wrath and the loss of her father causes her to fall into an inescapable

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