The Realm of Uncertainty William Shakespeare is known for his abundance of tragic stories, and Hamlet is no exception. In Hamlet, the young prince Hamlet discovers his father has been murdered, so he sets out to seek revenge on the killer and causes havoc on his way. One obvious theme of Hamlet is uncertainty where ghosts, acts of insanity, and treachery all plague the characters. This looming matter drives the characters into complete madness. The reason for their madness is not knowing what the future holds. Questions are asked and left unanswered, and families are betrayed by their own. A sight some might call “playing God” even contributes to the erraticity. A more-or-less domino effect eventually causes all the characters to topple to
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In the beginning of the play, a ghost appears to the guardsmen of the castle. Suspicious of his presence, the guardsmen summon Hamlet to see the ghost for himself. The Ghost claims to be Hamlet’s father, the late King, and says Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, killed him. The Ghost asks Hamlet to kill his uncle and avenge his father’s name. In A Physician’s Hamlet by John Burnam he says “But Hamlet can never be sure that the ghost is not a demon tricking him into acting against an innocent man” (413). Before the Ghost had appeared, everyone in Denmark was under the impression that the late King died of a snakebite. Little did the people know, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, and now King of Denmark had killed his father. Hamlet has a considerable decision to make: to avenge his father by killing Claudius, or to keep peace in Denmark by sparing the King’s life. Hamlet knows the whole country would riot if Claudius was killed so suddenly without probable cause. Although Hamlet immediately believes the Ghost, he wants to make sure Claudius is actually guilty of murder. The thought of his uncle murdering his father haunts Hamlet. Marcellous, one of the guardsmen in Hamlet, says “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (1.4.22). The guardsmen quickly realized something must be corrupt since the late King has come back to speak to …show more content…
Shakespeare arises several questions throughout the play due to uncertainty. Once one situation is thought to be sorted out, another question is asked. Hamlet’s act of insanity contributed to everyone in the castle of Denmark becoming their own madness. Bloodthirsty and money-driven, Claudius had revenge coming for him after the ungodly killing of his brother. Hamlet is smarter than the rest of the characters which is why he escaped death much longer than anyone else. Even though the death of Claudius was not exactly how Hamlet had planned, it was still ironic in the fact he died of his own poison, nonetheless killed his wife with it, too. Hamlet could rest in peace knowing his father was
In the beginning of the play, a ghost appears to the guardsmen of the castle. Suspicious of his presence, the guardsmen summon Hamlet to see the ghost for himself. The Ghost claims to be Hamlet’s father, the late King, and says Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, killed him. The Ghost asks Hamlet to kill his uncle and avenge his father’s name. In A Physician’s Hamlet by John Burnam he says “But Hamlet can never be sure that the ghost is not a demon tricking him into acting against an innocent man” (413). Before the Ghost had appeared, everyone in Denmark was under the impression that the late King died of a snakebite. Little did the people know, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, and now King of Denmark had killed his father. Hamlet has a considerable decision to make: to avenge his father by killing Claudius, or to keep peace in Denmark by sparing the King’s life. Hamlet knows the whole country would riot if Claudius was killed so suddenly without probable cause. Although Hamlet immediately believes the Ghost, he wants to make sure Claudius is actually guilty of murder. The thought of his uncle murdering his father haunts Hamlet. Marcellous, one of the guardsmen in Hamlet, says “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (1.4.22). The guardsmen quickly realized something must be corrupt since the late King has come back to speak to …show more content…
Shakespeare arises several questions throughout the play due to uncertainty. Once one situation is thought to be sorted out, another question is asked. Hamlet’s act of insanity contributed to everyone in the castle of Denmark becoming their own madness. Bloodthirsty and money-driven, Claudius had revenge coming for him after the ungodly killing of his brother. Hamlet is smarter than the rest of the characters which is why he escaped death much longer than anyone else. Even though the death of Claudius was not exactly how Hamlet had planned, it was still ironic in the fact he died of his own poison, nonetheless killed his wife with it, too. Hamlet could rest in peace knowing his father was