Hamlet Character Analysis

Paper Summary:

The character of Hamlet in Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet", is probably the most analyzed characters in literary history because, even though he is difficult to comprehend, he is real. It explains that Hamlet is a complex man because his problems are internal initially. In short, his psychological disorders are a direct result of what is happening in his mind. It shows how Hamlet moves through a series of drastic emotions in the play, beginning with depression and anxiety, moving to madness and more stress. Each of these emotions paves the way for a deeper, more compounded emotional state, which ultimately causes Hamlet to lose his grip on reality.

From the Paper:

"Hamlet's melancholy, or depression, is given no reprieve during the play and the ghost is the primary reason for this. In fact, the ghost is the dominant force behind Hamlet's internal conflict. Hamlet comes from a background of teaching that suggests that murder is wrong and from this perspective, the ghost is literally asking him to commit a grievous sin. Bloom notes that Hamlet has "no desire to cut down Claudius" (Bloom 70). Because of this, Hamlet at first tries to deny who or what the ghost is, referring to it as a "goblin damned" (Shakespeare i.iv.44). After some speculation, Hamlet then decides that maybe the ghost is not as evil as he once suspected. Here we see Hamlet's big problem with inconsistency, which will come back to haunt him sooner than later. Hamlet calls the ghost, "King, father, Royal Dane" (I.iv.50), which indicates Hamlet's inability to trust his instincts. The ghost, what it means, and what it is asking Hamlet to do leads to an increased level of anxiety for Hamlet because he does not have a clue about what he should do."

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