Tragedy of Hamlet William Shakespeare\'s

¶ … Tragedy of Hamlet

William Shakespeare's most famous play, Hamlet, has a relatively simple plot on the surface: the son is asked to revenge the murder of his father. Still, as critical opinion observed many times, the play has many psychological and metaphysical implications: it is, in fact a meditation on the nature of man, as well as a meditation on life in general. To reveal these implications, Shakespeare has chosen a character that would best suit his purpose: the prince of Denmark shows all the signs of the melancholic disposition: he is a philosopher and a man with strong moral principles, that make him revolt against the double crime that forms the core of the play: the murder of his father, the king of Denmark, by his own brother Claudius, and the latter's marriage to Gertrude, Hamlet's mother and the wife of the dead king.

Hamlet's attitude in front of this "foul play," his deferral in taking action and the final resolution of the conflict are the facts that most reveal the philosophical and psychological themes of the play.

At both the psychological and philosophical levels of the play, the Shakespearian text reveals a very important theme- that of the contrast between appearance and reality. The structure of the play and its main events unfold this contrast: the double crime is called a "foul play" by Hamlet upon his hearing from Horatio about the apparition of the ghost of his father. This term intimates that the events as apparent in the play have a hidden meaning. Also, play becomes again important in what was called the "play within play" scene, where it is Hamlet's turn to play and stage a tragedy for Claudius with the aid of some actors, in which he inserts a few lines that speak of his father's murder. Thus, the "play" or the act of playing at reality becomes a central theme of Hamlet.

Thus, first of all, Hamlet's own nature is most characterized by his repulsion towards appearances, and the feigned grief that his uncle and his mother show at the death of the king. As critic W. Thomas MacCary observed, Hamlet best suits Hegel's description of the "beautiful soul," the romantic hero who condemns the world and withdraws from it, not realizing that he himself is a product of it and carries its form impressed on him." (MacCary, 95)

One of Hamlet's own statements about himself upholds the commentary above:

But I have within me that which passes show,

These but the trappings and the suits of woe." (Ham. I. ii. 85-86)

The death of Hamlet's father is termed as something "common" by the queen and king, and Hamlet revolts against this. Here, it is obvious that he cannot see the world in such a simple terms. This attitude establishes Hamlet's views on human nature and life, as stated in his famous soliloquies.

First, Hamlet, as a witness and an avenger of his father's murder and of the sinful relationship of his mother to the murderer, is driven to consider that man is nothing more but a "quintessence of dust," although he admits to the wonderful faculties that make man unique among the other creatures:

What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, (...) in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals, and yet, to me what is this quintessence of dust?"(Ham. II.ii. 303-308)

Thus the contrast of between appearance and reality is seen in the nature of man: although Hamlet praises man's spirit and intellect, he sees very well that his being is no more than flesh or dust- that is, a material body that is given to sin and base desire, and which is moreover perishable.

The same attitude is observable in the way Hamlet thinks about life itself. His most famous dilemma, expressed in the question:" To be, or not to be" (Ham. III.i, 56), is a meditation on the same contrast between appearance and reality, in the sense that Hamlet wonders if life has sufficient meaning behind its appearance, so that it might be worth living. Life is perishable itself, and the only thing that detains Hamlet from the suicidal act is the thought of the unknown that lies beyond life.