Hamlet and his character

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Hamlet Essay

In ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet, the main character, brings about his downfall by putting on an ‘antic disposition’ which gradually becomes actual madness. The plot reveals this madness as it develops, and the personality of Hamlet changes throughout the play, showing his progression into madness. The main theme of the impossibility of certainty shows how indecision is a key factor in the forces from within that defeat him.

At the start of the play, Hamlet is seen to still be grieving over the death of his father, Old Hamlet. He conceals his grief when Claudius, the new king and Hamlet’s uncle, is addressing the Danish court and uses wit to control his anger and bitterness, saying to Claudius that he is “A little more than kin, and less than kind.” Hamlet is also heartbroken by his mother’s hasty re-marriage to his uncle, as is evident in his soliloquy in Act One, once everyone else has left. He reveals that he is depressed and has contemplated suicide, claiming:

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                           “How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable

Seem to me all the uses in the world!”

The audience learns that Hamlet feels very strongly about his mother’s recent marriage, and how he cannot believe how quickly she got over her previous husband’s death:

“A beast that wants discourse of reason

Would have mourn’d longer.”

Hamlet blames his mother for his depression, but realises he must keep his opinions to himself. It is the gradual build-up of storing his emotions inside that eventually brings ...

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