Theme Of Grieving In Hamlet

In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlets behavior and reactions stay normal even after he finds out the tragic truth about his father’s death. Hamlet inability to act is due to the fact that he is taking time to think through a serious situation which is normal human behavior. There are five stages of grief after losing a loved one; denial/isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and last acceptance. Grieving is known as a delicate process that has no time boundary, nor one “veracious” way to do it.
The first stage of grieving is denial and isolation. The first reaction an individual has is to deny the truth that they were told, which is either knowing of a terminal illness or death of a loved one. Also, a “normal person” will hide the truth and the words that they are told. Hamlet experiences the first stage of grieving at the beginning of the play. In the beginning of the play Hamlet, sees the ghost of his father for the first time and states to Horatio, “How strange or odd some’er I bear myself/ (As I per chance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on)” (Shakespeare 1.5.190-92). Here Hamlet tells Horatio that no matter how strange people think he is acting, to have faith in him because he knows what is …show more content…
Bargaining is feeling helpless and vulnerable therefore people want to find control in their lives again. Hamlets two best childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to Denmark to visit Hamlet. They want to cheer him up and “fix” them. Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, “I am but north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a hand saw” (Shakespeare 2.2.402-03). People believe Hamlet is insane and has lost his mind but according to Hamlet he knows the difference between hawk and handsaw just like he knows the fact that he acts insane but isn’t. Now Hamlet has surpassed the bargaining phase and slowly moves into the depression