Hernandez-Lopez 1 Edith Hernandez-Lopez Britton English 12- Period 6 5 December 2011 The Tragic Downfall of Hamlet To be or not to be:

That is the question (III,i,64). Perhaps the most revered line from the elaborate play Hamlet perfectly illustrates the concept of juvenile emotions. Written by the renowned playwright, William Shakespeare, Hamlet is the story of a young prince who is tormented by the ghost of his father, seeking revenge for his unjust murder. Torn between his morals and his loyalty towards his father, Hamlet seems to be falling apart inside. His struggle to uphold his promise is evident when he tries to put off his fathers request by feigning madness and creating complicated traps. Lost in his confusion, at times it is difficult to distinguish whether he has truly gone mad or whether he is putting on an act. His poor coping skills are evident when he expresses self-loathing and thoughts of suicide, but other times he seems self-consumed and overly confident in his abilities. Unlike Hamlet, Fortinbras, another young prince who just lost his father seems to be more capable of controlling his emotions and actions. Furthermore, Hamlet is disturbed by his mothers hasty marriage to his uncle and his obsession with his mothers marriage is an indication of Oedipus complex. Throughout the play, Hamlets flaws are laid out for all to interpret but its difficult to say which was really cause for his tragic ending. With the weight of all that has happened to the nave prince, his initial response is that of bitter sarcasm. Hamlet was not given enough time to properly grieve for his father and he

Hernandez-Lopez 2 verbalizes his disdain in a very subtle waythrough witty, sarcastic phrases that are hard to detect. After returning home to grieve the loss of the great King, Hamlet gets an unexpected surprise when he finds out about his mothers abrupt marriage to his uncle Claudius. Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats/ Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. (I,ii,87-88.)With a hint of dark humor, he says the reason Gertrude and Claudius married so promptly was to save money by using the leftover food from the funeral, for the wedding. He verbalizes his disapproval of his mothers decision to marry Claudius, only a month after the King death. He thought it was wrong and distasteful of her to forget King Hamlet, after they have been married for so long. His hatred increases as he realizes that he will no longer succeed the Danish throne, and Claudius, trying to play the role of the father, asks him to stay home instead of going back to college. His first words to the newly crowned king are filled with spiteful sarcasm. A little more than kin, and less that kind (I, ii, 67). When Claudius starts acting fatherly towards Hamlet, he makes it clear that his only father was King Hamlet and he cant be replaced. When Hamlet becomes emotional, no one is spared from his sarcasm, especially Polonius who although unawareis a constant victim. The very fact that he is unaware of the true meaning of Hamlets words emphasizes his pompous nature. Polonius thinks of himself as a wise old man but Hamlet thinks other wise Old men have gray beards, that their faces are wrinkled, and that they have plentiful lack of wit (II, ii, 215-217). He mocks Poloniuss age, stating that although he is very old indeed he doesnt know as much as he thinks he does. Hamlet is referring to Polonius theory that Ophelias rejection was the cause for his erratic behavior, when in reality it wasnt. Hamlet was able to get away with such a statement because during the whole conversation with Polonius, because hamlet

Hernandez-Lopez 3 was feigning madness so his rude behavior was excused. Through his complex soliloquies, Hamlet displays his philosophical nature. His habit of thinking critically led to his decision to feign madness. Killing a King was considered a heinous crime, so he puts on an act of madness to hide what he is about to do. His madness also helps him acquire knowledge about his fathers death and gives him an excuse to treat characters like Polonius and Gertrude with disrespect without consequences. Furthermore, Hamlet devises a plan to make sure the ghost wasnt a hallucination; something a person who is truly insane wouldnt be capable of accomplishing. The plays the thing/Wherein Ill catch the conscience of the King (II,ii, 633-634) He comes up with a plan to make Claudius confess that he murdered King Hamlet by watching him while actors acted out the play The Murder of Gonzago. In this play, the king gets murdered by poisoning of the ear, much like what Claudius did. According to Hamlet, if Claudius is guilty he will show his guilt. Like a madman, he parades the dead body of Polonius around the castle, showing no remorse for his rash actions. His actions make it seem like he has gone truly mad, but his words say otherwise. He has the brain of a scholar, expressing probing thoughts and predicting the consequences of his actions in such a way that people around him believed he was mad. Someone who has lost their mind would not be capable of being so erudite.For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so (II,ii,268-270) He explains that things arent good or bad but the standards that society place are what determine whether things are good or bad. Hamlet demonstrates that he is able to think critically and ask philosophical questions, which is more than the sane characters can do, like Rosencratz and Guildenstern, who arent even aware that they are just pawns in a game with no

Hernandez-Lopez 4 winners, only death. His wit is a double edged sword, it helps him plan out his murder yet it is the very thing that makes him question whether his life is worth living or not. Hamlets inability to avenge his fathers death leads him to devalue his life and consider suicide as an alternative to murdering Claudius. Although Hamlet often expresses his desire to end his own life, he lacks the courage to do so. Who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death (III, i, 73-74). He fears the unknown. After Hamlets father haunts him, his knowledge about the afterlife has been shaken up. His religious beliefs collide with his thoughts and this further depresses him because he feels alone and trapped in his own thoughts. He says that the only reason people put up with their life is because they are afraid of what is on the other side, for all they know it could be worse. It seems that everyone, including his own mother is against him and has sided with Claudius instead. Hamlet has issues on his mind that he doesnt directly express and his depression extends further than his lack of action towards Claudius. He is still affected by his mothers hasty marriage to his uncle and his anger is portrayed through his denouncement of all women, including Ophelia, who obviously hasnt let go of Hamlets love. Frailty, thy name is women.(I,ii,142-146) Hamlet marvels over the fact that the great King Hamlet was so easily forgotten by Gertrude despite their many years of marriage. This leads him to think that life really doesnt have any meaning and after death, life is truly meaningless but he extends his thoughts further, saying his own life has no meaning. Hamlets situation is not a unique one; Fortinbras, Laertes and Ophelia have all abruptly lost their father but their reactions differed greatly. Initially, it seems as if Hamlet is taking his time to logically plan out his revenge

Hernandez-Lopez 5 on Claudius, but after many missed opportunities to take revenge, it is apparent he is procrastinating. He comes up with excuse after excuse to delay action. First, he wanted to make sure Claudius was really guilty so he set up a trap, but after Claudius manifests his guilt, Hamlet still hesitates to act. As Claudius was in church praying for forgiveness, Hamlet found himself in a perfect position to take action, yet on the brink of killing Claudius, he comes up with another excuse. Oh, this is hire and salary, not revenge (III, iii, 84). Since his father died in purgatory, he wanted Claudius to die the same way. His logic was that if Claudius were confessing his sins, he would go directly to heaven and instead of making him suffer, he would have done a favor. His logic does seem plausible, but after the second encounter with his father, he still doesnt seem motivated enough to act on his thoughts. While having a conversation with Gertrude, King Hamlets ghost reappears to remind Hamlet that he still hasnt avenged his murder and Hamlet vows, My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth! (IV, i, 285-286), but his vow is worthless. Not long after he says it, he gets on a ship to go to England, further delaying his plans. Furthermore, he doesnt express that his actions should be bloodyonly his thoughts. Were he serious about revenge, he would have said his actions be bloody instead of his thoughts because, since he first saw his fathers ghost, hes been overthinking the situation. Even Hamlet realizes that he is procrastinating, Of thinking too precisely on th event (IV, v, 65-69) yet his lack of convictions allows him to remain stagnant. At that moment, Fortinbras, who is foil to Hamlet, marches through Denmark in order to get to Poland to invade it. In order to give a more clear perception of Hamlets character, Characters like Fortinbras, Laertes and Ophelia are used as foils. Foils are characters that are put in

Hernandez-Lopez 6 similar circumstances, but take a different course of action. As explained by the captain, they plan to invade Poland for a piece of land that is practically worthless and Hamlet marvels at their courageous move, To my shame, I see/ The imminent death of twenty thousand men,/ That for a fantasy and trick of fame (IV, iv, 58-60).They march to go fight against Poland, knowing that many of them will die for worthless land and Hamlet cant even kill a defenseless person. The actions of Fortinbras perfectly contrast the actions of Hamletor lack thereof, because Fortinbras was in a similar situation as Hamlet. His father was also unfairly killed and he was seeking to avenge his death. He started by sending threats to the King of Denmark, saying that he was going to invade take the land back, which was a serious threat, yet Fortinbras had the gumption to do it. Hamlet on the other hand was totally inactive and even marveled at the actions of the prince. Witness this army of such mas and charge,/ Led by a delicate and tender prince But greatly to find a quarrel in a straw/ When honors at stake (IV,iv,50-59).Hamlet witnessed the power of Fortinbras as he watched him march his army to invade Poland, all for a little piece of land that was virtually worthless, all the while, aware that many men will die. Fortinbras did not sit around and mope, like Hamlet, instead he raised a huge army and took his anger out on Poland. In the first encounter with Hamlet, it seems like he mourns excessively over the loss of his father, but his grief pales to that of Ophelias. Her grief was so great that it caused her to go mad, but unlike Hamlet, She wasnt feigningor showed signs that she recognized her deliriousness. While Hamlet merely contemplated suicide, Ophelia actually went through with it. This emphasized Hamlets intellectual and passive nature, where he questioned the consequences and moral legitimacy of suicide, Ophelia did not.

Hernandez-Lopez 7 Furthermore, Hamlet suppresses his real feelings while Ophelia is quick to express hers without considering the aftermath. In her deranged state of mind, she sings about Hamlets faults. Young men will do t, if they come to t./ By cock, they are to blame.(IV,v,6567.) She lets it be known that he took her virginity, and promised to marry her, but it was a lie. Hamlet has to muster up all his courage before he can confront Gertrude about her misdeeds. Another quite obvious foil is Laertes, whose father was harshly murdered and abruptly buried. He rushes home and literally walks into the castle and sticks a sword in the Kings face, an act that is considered treasonous, yet Laertes does it without even batting an eye. Meanwhile, we have Hamlet who cant bring himself to kill Claudius and constantly comes up with elaborate plans to further delay his revenge. When Laertes comes home, he brings with him a great rebellion that even the King is baffled. What is the cause, Laertes,/ That thy rebellion looks so giantlike? (IV, iv, 50-59). He has the people of Denmark turned against Claudius and asking Laertes to be king, unlike Hamlet who turns the people against him when he feigns madness. The great difference between them is that Laertes asks questions last, Hamlet asks questions before he even gets around to avenging his father. Hamlet seems to have a problem getting things done yet his real problem is a psychological one called the Oedipus complex. The Oedipus complex is a concept that a son, unconsciously, wants to kill his father and marry his mother. This is a completely normal stage of psychological growth, but it seems as if Hamlet hasnt been able to outgrow that stage and transfer the love he has for his mother to another woman. When he finds out his other has married his uncle,

Hernandez-Lopez 8 he responds by calling woman weak and stupid. Frailty, thy name is woman (I, ii, 150.) In a way he is just making up an excuse for his mother saying she was too weak to bear the grief of her husbands death and thats what made her so vulnerable to someone like Claudius. Gertrude doesnt seem to regard the impact that her marriage had on Hamlet because after he confesses to her how he really feels, she immediately tells Claudius, causing their relationship to be severed. Hamlet practically made Gertrude take Claudius side by asking her to not sleep with him, Not this by no means that I bid you do; Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed (III,iv,203-204), a request that no son has the right to ask his mother, no matter how close they are. Although Hamlet was initially beating himself up, there were times when he showed hubrisexcessive pride that leads to ones downfall. When he sees Ophelias funeral procession, he breaks down and declares that he really did love her. I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/ Could not with all their quantity of love/ makeup up my sum (V,i,285-286). Hamlet as being too prideful, and maybe exaggerating when he said the love of forty thousand brothers could not match the love he had for Ophelia because he had been treating her poorly. He had rejected her when she thought they were going to get married and killed her father. This was too much for fragile Ophelia to bear and she committed suicide. Hamlet may have been in love with her, but he didnt have any regards towards her feelings, he didnt even apologize or show remorse for his actions. It would be difficult to say that it was only one fatal flaw that led to Hamlets downfall, but rather a combination. His sarcasm and madness made people dislike him, his procrastination allowed Claudius to get to him first, and his low self-esteem wasnt helping either.

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