Hamlet
Noah Mitchell
William Shakespeare wrote the classic tragedy, Hamlet, around the end of the 16th century. It was first performed in July 1602, and has become the most-performed Shakespeare play in history.
Plot Summary
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The story of Hamlet involves a prince of Denmark's dilemma with revenge. Confronted by the Ghost of his murdered father, Hamlet is instructed to kill his uncle Claudius, the new king, as vengence for King Hamlet's death. Hamlet ponders the meaning of life and death as he tries to rile up enough rage and courage to commit murder. All the while, his friends and family think he is mad, his lover Ophelia is ordered to avoid him, and the prince of Norway tries to establish a sphere of influence and domination for his country. Hamlet, in a moment of fury, kills his uncle's right-hand man, Polonius, who is also his lover's father. Ophelia commits suicide in a state of insanity, and Hamlet has his former schoolfellows killed in England. Finally, Hamlet murders King Claudius by poison before he, too, is poisoned. The final bloody scene also includes the death of Queen Gertrude and Ophelia's brother, Laertes.
Moral Lessons
This classic work reveals the nature of revenge and pride. The moral dilemma originally was whether or not Hamlet should take revenge on a man purely based on the Ghost's word; he does not have proof of the murder itself. Once he convinces himself of King Claudius' guilt, the dilemma then shifts to a purely personal one. Hamlet believes that the price of his revenge is his everlasting soul; he believes that damnation is ultimately worth accepting for his name's honor. Should he kill Claudius, please his restless, dead father, and thereby bring judgement upon himself? Should he show mercy to his political superior (and his step-father), torture his dead father's restless soul, and thereby save himself from judgement? Hamlet chooses revenge. This points out a great deal of pride in his name and his honor. In his perception of the universe, he would rather stir up such a bloody mess and ignore God's will for the sake of his earthly honor. This reveals the worst of sins: pride. However, it also reveals a dismissal of the importance of his own earthly life. His decision is ultimately self-sacrifice. The dualism of his decision shows that the emphasis of Hamlet's morals is not his own life, which he names "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," but rather it is on his earthly honor.
Hamlet's tale provides an analysis of life and death and its inevitible cycle, expecially in the scene in which Hamlet speaks with a gravedigger and comments on how all people become the same in death. He asks,�Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now . . . ?� Hamlet's view of death influences his morality: if all people die, no matter what they do, then one's actual life becomes less significant than its purpose. In Hamlet's case, this means that his death is not of great concern, but his revenge is.