A young man undergoing education away from home, Hamlet’s father dies and soon after, his mother marries Claudius; his uncle. Hamlet watches his life go haywire and in his natural contemplative manner, he is unable to come to terms with all that has happened with firm resolve to recover. He cannot accept the speedy marriage of his mother to Claudius, and he is adverse to the idea that the new King and Queen expect him to get over his mourning just because they obviously have.
His first lines in the play were “A little more than kin, and less than kind” (Act 1, Scene 2)- uttered aside, a caustic remark that reflected his bitterness over the current state of affairs.
Yet, these words being said in discretion implies that Hamlet nursed his wounds in secret- the true nature of his grief is concealed within him. The gloomy clothes that he wears and the bereaved countenance of his face are not the true signs of his sorrow:
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly: these indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play:
But I have that within which passeth show;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
(Act 1, Scene 2)
Thus Hamlet tells his mother and Claudius that his grief is indeed true, but he never really reveals how deeply it runs- perhaps, because he never realized it himself until he saw his father’s ghost. This lack of self-mastery is also characteristic of Hamlet; half the time, one is left wondering whether his actions and statements are part of his mad charade or he truly doesn’t have any control over himself.
The complications actually arise when Old Hamlet’s ghost appears to his son and tells the young man the true cause of his death- the treachery of Claudius. Here, not only was Hamlet left with grief- he was also compelled to avenge foul play.
This adds to the complexity of Hamlet’s character, and further proves that his actions are altogether in contrast with his views. He abhors the duplicity and the falseness of Claudius and Gertrude, yet he employs this duplicity and pretension in the very methods of his revenge. Hamlet pretends to be insane by doing strange things, like detaining the shocked Ophelia with his wild ranting, answering with riddles and puzzles when being spoken to and sometimes acting with uncharacteristic insolence towards his mother- all to facilitate his own investigations about Claudius guilt
When he finally proves his uncle’s guilt, Hamlet is aghast. For Hamlet, all this was too much and he laments, in his famous “To be or not to be”soliloquy:
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin?
(Act3, Scene 1)
Hamlet evokes pity, as he mourns the calamities that have befallen his otherwise normal life. He thinks of suicide as a much more suitable option instead of going through insurmountable problems; yet he does not kill himself. For this, the concept of Hamlet as a brave and strong person is reaffirmed, and the reader pats him on the back for not giving up the fight and for actively pursuing it instead.
The irony is that, while Hamlet dismisses suicide as an un-Christian thing to do, he then moves to homicide as an alternative course. Not only death to Claudius; but a more damning death instead, for Hamlet wanted to make sure that Claudius would not only pay for his crime with his life- but with his after-life as well:
Up, sword; and know thou a more horrid hent:
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed;
At gaming, swearing, or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in't;
(Act 3, Scene 4)
The reader, who has just recently applauded Hamlet for not committing the un-Christian act of suicide, tends to commend this decision of Hamlet as most appropriate. Why indeed kill Claudius when he will only be sent to heaven with such a death? This is the general response to Hamlet’s character- the readers do not think: why not just let Claudius live, seize the throne and banish him?
This lateral thinking, this notion of killing the traitor Claudius effectively is part of Hamlet’s enigmatic effect- one is led to sympathize, even though his cause- to avenge his father through Claudius murder- is also un-Christian and uncharitable. Why not pursue justice, instead of revenge? And why do we forgive Hamlet for pursuing revenge?
This is why Hamlet was a perfect murderer; he dies, but the honor of his name got away with it unscathed, and was awarded the burial of an honorable man- even if he had the blood of practically the entire court in his hands. Furthermore, he had Horatio- a man who has always been on his side, to tell his tale- and from that re-telling Hamlet will not be the mad man whose role he played, rather the devious, clever prince whose own indecision, tragically caught up with him.
Yet for all that, he was able to rid Denmark of a treacherous ruler and he was able to bring Claudius to his own brand of justice.
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