MichelleFeng

HAMLET
QQ: One of the suggested reasons for Hamlets popularity is the ability of
readers or views to see aspects of themselves in Hamlet.
Is this your experience?
Discuss with close reference to the text.

William Shakespeares late 16th century play Hamlet paints on a vast canvas and
reflects profoundly on some of the essential and fundamental issues of the human
condition. Throughout the play, Shakespeare explores humanitys flaws through
issues such as our moral dilemma, struggles of distinction between reality and the
conflicting ideologies displayed within the transition of one era into another.
Depicting a range of incapacitating effects in a corrupt state, responders are drawn
to the humanistic aspects Hamlet embodies and his ultimate reconciliation with his
moral obligations. Hamlet encompasses the universal dilemma of whether a person
has free will in making choices of their own destiny or whether they are slaves to
systems being political, moral or religious. It is these universal aspects that appeal
to the modern audience and allows the tragedy to retain its popularity as we relate
to the conflicts Hamlet endures.
Hamlet possesses a tragic flaw that obstructs his prolonging desires for revenge
and consequently allows him to embody universal aspects the modern audiences
can relate as we faces conflicts of moral integrity. Coleridge argues that Hamlets
depressed state of mind arises from the political transition from Feudalist ideas to
Renaissance Humanism, challenging Hamlets values. I believe that this is true as
Shakespeare explicitly illustrates Hamlets hesitation in avenging his fathers death.
He juxtaposes Hamlets medieval foil, Fortinbras, who leads an army risking their
lives To all that fortune, death, and danger dare, Even for an eggshell to
Hamlet himself who vacillates while having the strength and will and means to
exact revenge.
Consequently, although Hamlet addresses the corrupt presence that Claudius has
imposed on the political court, he fails to come to a determined conclusion as the
apostrophe O cursed spite! That was I ever born to set this right,
emphasizes his moral quandary, wavering between what is ethically correct and his
responsibility to restore order within a corrupt society. Furthermore, Shakespeare
dwells into Hamlets inner conflict in Act 3, when he rhetorically asks to be or not
to be. I believe Hamlet understands his inaction due to his developed conscience
and thereby acknowledges that conscience does make cowards of us all. The
metaphorical statement, whether tis nobler to suffer the slings and
arrows..or to take arms against a sea of troubles, elucidates Hamlets doubt
in accomplishing his revenge. Thus, Hamlets flaw plays key role in retaining the
tragedys popularity, as responders are able to understand and relate to the jailed
Hamlet whose moral integrity is challenged by a socially degrading Elizabethan
England.
The pervasiveness of evil and its capacity to corrupt human life is highlighted
through Shakespeares exploration of the discrepancy between appearances versus
reality. Upon his first encounter with the ghost (Act 1) who reveals the apparent
truth about Claudius murder, Hamlet is overthrown with rage and determination for
vengeance. He cries, O Villian, villain, smiling damned villain! the repetition
intensifies his anger, with its implicit reference of Claudius deceiving appearance.

MichelleFeng
However we see a change in Hamlet as his I have seen may be the devil
juxtaposed to his initial assurance that it is an honest ghost. This dramatic
changes serves to show the extent to which Hamlet himself has been corrupted by
the deceitful world, he can no longer trust anything now. The context of Jacobean
religious values also allows us to see the significance of these doubts; if Hamlet was
drawn to the devil he would be damning himself. Hence he is in conflict of not
knowing what is true or false and seeks to find the answer in order to execute a
justified revenge on Claudius.
Subsequently, the continual treachery Hamlet experiences from his surrounding
relationships instigate the questionable antic disposition he puts on. As
Shakespeare explores the ear imagery through Polonius; remarks give every
man thy ear, but few thy voice he demonstrates how the ears of Denmark are
poisoned as the characters are abused by dishonesty. The constant references to
feigning or acting and the long interpolation into the plot of the players and
mousetrap scenes, apart from giving the play a meta-theatrical dimension, make us
realise that perhaps all the world is a stage and that all humans perform their
allotted parts until they cease to be. The contemporary audiences can identify with
the world of disillusionment humanity is contained within and is therefore one of the
main reasons why Hamlet retains its popularity.
Hamlet explores the universal struggles we face when accepting new ideas of
change as he illustrates the debilitating consequences that follow when the political
system is tied down by tradition. In the time of Hamlet, the new philosophy of
Lutheran Christianity challenged the notions of the Catholic orientated Elizabethans
as feudal systems were gradually giving rise to the Renaissance. The intellectual
Hamlet, who has returned from Wittenburg, is greatly disturbed by the corrupt state
of Denmark describes Denmark through a lexical chain of derogatory terms as an
unweeded garden that grows to seeds, things rank and gross in nature
poses it merely. Essentially, it is the metaphorical canker in nature Claudius
is, as his regicide of Old Hamlet manifests the corrupt state of Denmark and causes
an imbalance of the Divine Right of Kings. Furthermore, Denmarks ill nature is
underlined through the sibilance of Gertrudes immoral actions upon entering with
such dexterity to incestuous sheets with Claudius.
Despite these rotten influences Claudius has imposed, Hamlets logical reasoning
and personal introspection advocates his rational thinking, allowing him to prevail
as a symbol of universal identification. The Elizabethan Doctrine of Determinism,
which differed from the new paradigm of free will, heavily impacts Hamlet as rigid
Catholic values subdue his views. However, Protestantism paved way for liberal
ideas of freedom, elucidated by Hamlets biblical reference in Act 5 there is a
special providence in the fall of a sparrow and that readiness is allsuggest
that all we can do is be ready for what befalls us; a fatalistic acceptance is perhaps
our only course of action. The fact that the characters almost all succumb to
madness, suicide, murder, dishonour or treachery and that an opportunistic
militarist like Fortinbras is left to assume power in the kingdom makes us ponder
how fragile our grasp on our destinies and our existence truly is.
Hamlet retains universal popularity as the modern audience can universally identify
humanitys current aspects in the character of Hamlet. Hamlet is representative of
the convergence of two eras and the emotional and introspective man. His rational
thinking is dismayed in the confinements of a morally corrupt world and these
belligerent implications are issues the contemporary audiences can relate to.
Hence, Shakespeares Hamlet achieves textual integrity through the enduring
universal values it encompasses, allowing the contemporary audience to be able

MichelleFeng
see aspects of the themselves as well as understanding the values humanity shares
with the world.