Good Essay On Hamlet: Thematic Interpretation

Hamlet is of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. The main character is Hamlet who is the Prince of Denmark. Hamlet is the son of the late King Hamlet. The spirit of his father appears to him in a dream and informs him on the causes of his death. He is informed that his uncle King Claudius killed him and hastily married Gertrude ‘King hamlets widow’ for him to resume the throne. Claudius had killed king Hamlet by poisoning him in the ear. Hamlet decides to obey his father’s spirit by killing King Claudius to get his revenge. He gets into a relationship with Ophelia ‘Polonius’ daughter’. She does not find out the truth about Hamlets mission to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet plots a way to determine his uncle’s innocence or guilt. He stages a play and in the play, the king is murdered by poisoning him in the ear. King Claudius reacts angrily and leaves the place confirming his guilt. Hamlet is now sure that King Claudius murdered his father and he is keen to utilize every opportunity to get vengeance. Claudius gets his opportunity immediately when he finds the king in his prayers. He fails to kill him thinking that if he killed him while he was praying he would go to heaven. Hamlet gets into a serious argument with his mother over the issue. He kills Polonius (Ophelia’s father) who is spying on him. He thought that he King Claudius. Fearing for his life Claudius banishes Hamlet to exile in England. Ophelia is greatly affected by his father’s death and commits suicide by drowning herself. Her brother Laetres arrives from France after learning of his father’s death. King Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is entirely to blame for the misfortunes that had fallen on them. Hamlet and Laetres meet to resolve their enmity. Laetres stabs Hamlet with a poisoned knife and kills him. In his dying moments, they reconcile with Laetres and he manages to kill King Claudius. Gertrude accidentally drinks poisoned wine meant for Hamlet. Hamlet names Fortinbras’ as his successor before his death.
One of the evident issues in the play that affects the modern way of life is spiritualism. Unlike the modern society, hamlet was keen on his spiritualism. He believes a dream of his father’s spirit and embarks on a revenge mission. He exhibits a great sense of belief in the play he even refuses to kill the King when he had an opportunity because he feared that he might go to heaven. The modern day American people do not believe in the kind of spiritualism that he did exhibit in those days. His mission for revenge is entirely based on a dream he had. He proves the truth of his dream and begins his revenge mission. In his revenge mission, he ends up killing many other many people and loses his life as well.
The other issue in Hamlet that would affect the modern society is gender discrimination. The gender figure in the story shows that the women at the time did not know their rights. The first women character we meet in the story is Gertrude ‘Hamlets mother’. After the death of his husband King Hamlet, she quickly remarries to his brother to allow him to take care of the community. In the modern day, America the people perception of women and leadership has changed. In those days, the woman could not have become the queen to rule over the people. The position of women in the society has greatly changed the modern day women are more conscious of their rights. In the situation, they would have fought for their rights and even take the leadership position as queen. The other female character in the play was Ophelia. Ophelia exhibits weak traits in the play. Torn between His love for Hamlet and his loyalty to his father she loses her sanity and eventually dies. The figures used to develop women in the play exhibit them as weak creatures unlike the stereotype of women in the modern day world. The story of Hamlet is an illustration of a modern day scenario. Women empowerment is one of the main issues in today’s world. We are trying to break away from the notion that women are weak creatures and give them power and freedom to be independent.
Hamlet is in faces a dilemma faced by many people in the modern society. Many people in the modern society face such kinds of dilemmas in their lives. Hamlet, like many people in the modern society makes wrong decisions in dealing with his dilemma leading to the death of many characters. Personal behavior, the social obligation, and personal capabilities are some of the defining features that define the way in which one deals with such dilemmas. Hamlet’s situation can be sited as a common case in which individuals develop the process of disintegration following strenuous tasks or tasks that interfere with the natural human balance. Human selfishness is a common incidence and to some extent a norm, that defines most human beings. Implicitly, many people will tend to maneuver various hurdles through whichever means in order to ensure that they attain a significant length in the ladder of success. Little do they know that equivalent attributes such as honesty and natural justice play a significant role to counter certain human advances. In certain regard, it is possible to deceive human nature, but it is impossible to deceive the natural aspects from without. This is a clear indication of the manner in which various people strive to address certain incidences of human development but then get disappointed when bizarre incidences.
Psychological torments are common in human nature. However, the need to understand the process through which certain incidences are developed call for a strong understanding of how incidences occur within the circle of life. Psychological battles are hard to conquer because they hold a true magnitude of the entire situation as perceived by the given individual.
Thematically, the story of Hamlet is a critical relation of the manner in which different incidences are regulated by the general understanding of the aspects that define the human life. In his quest for revenge, Hamlet had a strong psychological battle, which he failed to conquer. Consequently, he ended up killing the entire family and dying on the process. To a modern day scenario, acquire a personal conviction before you make advances to suit personal or selfish needs. Additionally, it is extremely difficult to fight the battle of the dead, or the spirits. Human life is no mortal; hence so dispensable.