Hamlet Argumentative Essay

The following academic paper highlights the up-to-date issues and questions of Hamlet Argumentative Essay. This sample provides just some ideas on how this topic can be analyzed and discussed.

Although Hamlet is a revenge tragedy, it is unique in its portrayal of the protagonist. Far from being a typical one-dimensional revenge hero, Hamlet displays immense depth of character. Shakespeare has chosen to focus on the psychological aspect of a revenge hero.

Typically, revenge heroes are men of action. With Hamlet this is not the case, as he is practically defined by his lack of action.

We can see this contrast by comparing Hamlet to the characters Laertes and Fortinbras, both of whom have been placed in similar situations to our hero. Laertes follows the path of a typical revenger. After learning of his father’s death, he immediately springs into action, ready to kill and to accept damnation as a result.

To hell allegiance! Vows to the blackest devil!

Conscience and grave, to the profoundest pit!

Module B Hamlet Essay

I dare damnation.

This disturbing imagery shows Laertes’ great commitment to his cause. Shakespeare has accentuated his rage through the use of superlatives. Laertes has already decided what he must do, and was prepared to kill almost anyone in order to get revenge. This decisive reaction is in direct contrast to Hamlet’s. Even though Hamlet’s first response is positive:

“Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift

As meditation or the thoughts of love may sweep to my revenge”

However this is not mirrored in his actions.

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In fact, his first decision, after hearing the ghost’s revelation, was not to exact his immediate revenge but to feign madness; an excellent example of the procrastination that Coleridge refers to.

As I perchance, hereafter shall think meet

To put an antic disposition on

This is indicative of Hamlet’s philosophical detachment from events. The decision to appear mad shows some resolve, but does not really advance his cause. He has almost resolved to procrastinate. The veil of madness allows him to observe and distance himself from the other characters. Shakespeare has employed this as a means to isolate Hamlet further from his family and friends. This clearly adds weight to Coleridge’s view of Hamlet as a more deliberate revenger. Even before the ghost appeared to Hamlet, he was distant, as we saw him sullen and inattentive in the court, still preoccupied with his father’s death and mother’s remarriage.

Claudius: But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son –

Hamlet: [Aside] A little more than kin and less than kind

Claudius: How is it that the clouds still hang on you?

Hamlet’s play on words shows his contempt for Claudius and also his general discontent. Hamlet’s withdrawal is also recognised by other characters, like Claudius at this early stage.

The antic madness increases his remoteness from the other characters, to an almost total isolation. This may be typical of revenge heroes in the sense that they are isolated by their cause, but not on such a psychological level. Hamlet’s internal isolation and depression causes him to have little regard for his own life, as is shown by his contemplation of suicide on more than one occasion.

To be, or not to be – that is the question.

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them

Although this famous soliloquy is often interpreted in different ways, I believe it refers to suicide. In my opinion, it is indicative of Hamlet’s desperation here that the only other option, in his mind, to enduring the suffering, is to kill himself. He sees ending his life as ‘taking arms’ against the troubles. ‘Taking arms’ would normally be interpreted as confronting ones dilemma and finding a way to defeat them; this would most certainly be the belief of a traditional revenger. Hamlet’s limitations as a revenger then, are clearly shown by the fact that he contemplates a course of action, that would not normally be considered by a revenge hero.

However, his fear of what might come prevents him from executing this plan of action.

To sleep! Perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

It is the fear of the unknown and of retribution in the after life that makes him hesitate. Shakespeare’s use of metaphor is intended to convey the ease with which Hamlet feels he could let himself die. The fact that he compares death to sleep shows that he sees it as easy and relaxed, far preferable to the stress of his current life. Again, Hamlet’s careless attitude to his own life supports Coleridge’s idea of Hamlet being “brave and careless of death”. The idea is neatly verified by many of Hamlets lines, “I do not set my life at a pins fee” (said when asked by Horatio if he feared the ghost) being a good example.

His fear of what may come after death could also prove a barrier to his success, as all revengers are doomed to die. In Christianity, revenge is a sin as it is only God who can take revenge. Committing revenge is damnable offence, and in Hamlet’s case the punishment would be far more serious. He would also be committing regicide, in an Elizabethan context this means killing God’s representative on Earth. The contemplation and fear of damnation also quite clearly contrasts with Laertes’ response and that of revengers on the whole.

These religious undertones are extremely relevant to the period in which the play was written. Elizabethan audiences were, on the whole, strongly religious. They would have sympathised with his religious quandaries, and as the monarchy still held enormous power, the prospect of regicide would have been even more shocking. The genre of revenge tragedy was also very appropriate for the period as it was extremely popular. The play then, would have had a greater impact, as it strongly contrasted with an Elizabethan audience’s traditional view of revenge tragedies, or at least revenge heroes.

Whereas traditional revenge tragedies have become less popular with the course of time, Hamlet has retained its relevance. The play’s examination of Hamlet’s psyche may have actually become more relevant as previously, critics tended to examine Hamlet through comparisons to contemporary revenge tragedies. Obviously, Hamlet does not conform to the conventional idea of a revenge tragedy. Prior to Coleridge, many critics actually saw it as a inferior piece of work

“Hamlet is a monstrous farce, haphazardly scattered with terrible soliloquies”

Written by Voltaire in 1727 in his letters on the English nation.

Coleridge was one of the pioneers of modern criticism of Hamlet and his work formed the basis for many of our ideas on Hamlet today, influencing as it has, my own opinions on Hamlet as a revenger.

In my view, Hamlet has retained its relevance as people are able to empathise with Hamlet. As a society, we are constantly exposed to psychoanalysis. Seeing therapists and psychiatrists is increasingly common, as we are encouraged to examine ourselves in the same way that Hamlet does throughout the play.

Hamlet: Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,

That I , the son of a dear father murdered ,

Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,

Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words.

The simile here refers to Hamlet’s general lack of action, but is ironic in that he is talking at length about the fact that he talks too much.

There is clearly an element of self loathing in this quotation and the frustration shown here might give some reason for Hamlet’s suicidal tendencies. This is another aspect of the play that modern audiences could relate to, as even though Hamlet’s reasons for not committing suicide would be more relevant to an Elizabethan audience, the contemplation of suicide is definitely a current issue. According to a survey, almost half of all people under twenty one have considered suicide at some point.

One major limitation of Hamlet as a revenger is his mistrust of the messenger, his father’s ghost. His initial reaction upon their first encounter is one of fear.

“Angels and ministers of grace defend us!”

This feeling persists for a major part of the play. Hamlet’s mistrust represents a crucial part of Hamlet’s character, his analytical mind. He refuses to take what he sees at face value . This causes deep suspicion in several situations which comes to the fore in a confrontation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

“Why, look how unworthy a thing you make of me!

You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops.”

Hamlet’s state of mind has led him to doubt his friends (with good reason). His fear of being taken advantage of is effectively represented by the metaphor of being played like a musical instrument.

Hamlet’s deliberation and instinctive mistrust again strongly contrasts with the mind of a traditional revenger. They possess a mind of action, not of careful thought and consideration. When we compare Hamlet’s uncertainty over the provenance of the ghost to Laertes’ reaction to his father’s death, Laertes is clearly far more decisive.

Hamlet’s mind is far more academic than that of a typical revenge hero. His ability to analyse leads to careful consideration of all actions. However, this intense analysis often prevents Hamlet from carrying out a productive course of action, he “loses the power of action in the energy of resolve”. A good example of this is when he comes upon Claudius at prayer

Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;

And now I’ll do’t – and so he goes to heaven ;

And so I am revenged – that would be scanned.

Hamlet clearly states here that he must consider his actions, and eventually decides not to kill him at that point, but instead to wait until, “when he is drunk asleep or in his rage”. The irony comes when Claudius reveals that he could not pray, saying “my words fly up, my thoughts remain below”. This makes a mockery of Hamlet’s careful deliberation and shows that a conventional revenger would have been more suitable for this task.

A major cause for Hamlet’s seclusion at the beginning of the play is the emotional trauma he had suffered due to his mother’s remarriage. His constant references throughout the play show his obsession.

“Horatio: My lord, I came to see your father’s funeral.

Hamlet : I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student;

I think it was to see my mother’s wedding.”

He is clearly bitter and makes no attempts to conceal his view of the situation. As a result of his sense of betrayal, Hamlet feels a shadow has been cast over the moral purity of the entire world.

“How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable

Seem to me all the uses of this world!

Fie on ‘t! O, fie! ‘Tis an unweeded garden

That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature

Possess it merely.”

This constant analysis of moral values clearly limits his effectiveness as a conventional revenger. As a revenger he must be able to put morals to one side as he completes his task. Laertes apparently does this with ease, as is shown by his determination to have revenge,

“To cut his throat i’ the church.”

Nearing the end of the play, Hamlet is fatalistic. This lack of fear of his own death causes him to shed the constant suspicion that burdened him earlier in the play.

“If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come; it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come”

He suspects no foul play, when previously it would have been uppermost in his thoughts. It is here then, at the end of the play, that he finally accepts his role as a revenger.

I believe that Hamlet is a far more realistic portrayal of a revenger than typical revenge heroes. The confusion and distrust he feels towards the ghost is a rational reaction. It is much more easy to sympathise with the obviously fallible Hamlet than the self-righteous heroes of old revenge tragedies. As a modern reader, I feel that I can identify with his individualist stance. Hamlet cannot be shaped by conventional form and expectations.