How do you respond to Shakespeare's presentation of the responsibilities and obligations placed on sons, by fathers, in Hamlet, as a whole?

The first 200 words of this essay...

How do you respond to Shakespeare's presentation of the responsibilities and obligations placed on sons, by fathers, in Hamlet, as a whole?

The theme of fathers and sons, and responsibilities and obligations placed on sons, by fathers, is arguably one of the more important themes in the play. Shakespeare puts forward three main interpretations of father and son relationships, and each brings out interesting viewpoints about responsibilities and obligations for the reader.

The first father and son relationship that Shakespeare presents is that of Hamlet and his father, old Hamlet. In the encounter between Hamlet and the ghost of his father, Hamlet has the 'responsibility' of revenge thrust upon him, and he cannot reject it,

List, list, O, list!

If thou didst ever thy dear father love -

If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not.

Shakespeare presents old Hamlet as being pathetic and incapable of avenging himself. The ghost, therefore, does not incite Hamlet's initiative by instilling fear in him, but rather through putting him in a guilt-trap, making Hamlet feel that he is somehow obliged to carry out the vengeful murder in place of his father, as