Hamlet

This essay simbolizes the growth of Hamlet throughout the play, what was once a boy dies man. Please tell me what you think and feel free to give me some suggestions and pointers on how to improve my writings.

3/23/09

Growing up

“To be or not to be” are meaningful words coming from a young youth in a time of despair. Losing his father, losing his mother to remarriage, and almost losing himself, Hamlet has to be one of literatures most diverse and meaningful characters ever portrayed in writing. Hamlet is the prince of Denmark in the late 1500’s, troubled by his father death Hamlet contemplates many time about suicide, and about his nation. Knowing that his uncle was the one that stained his father, Hamlet goes from “to be or not to be” a contemplation of suicide, to “the readiness is all” a significant passage portraying his maturity and well preparedness as to assume his own death to lead a country and avenge his father passing. Although how has Hamlet mature from the time of his fathers death to the end of the play. Hamlet depicts his readiness in many ways, as to his cleverness, his realization of the meaning of death, and to the murders the he commit to avenge his father.

After his father’s death, Hamlet becomes the most melancholy figure in literate, although it is very questionable if all of that was a façade. The world perceives Hamlet as being completely mentally disabled. When the “player” also known as actor show up to Hamlets castle he devises a plan to make Claudius confess his guilt by putting on a play mimicking the way Hamlet’s father was murdered: “The play’s the thing/wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” (III.ii. 581-582). Finally Hamlet is putting his brain to work other than moping around like a little kid. It’s evident that Hamlet has become more of a man and less of a child. This shows that his maturity level has had a small increase. The goal of the play was to find out if Claudius had any hand in murdering King Hamlet. During the play Hamlet coordinates the actors to do everything that the ghost of Hamlet had describe to prince Hamlet. During the play Claudius’s guilt grew upon him, and he screamed “ Give me some light-away!” (III.ii. 243). At that point Hamlets plan was a great success, proving that Claudius indeed partook in the murder

of King Hamlet.

Throughout the play Hamlet has a tough time figuring out who he is, but with the help of his father’s ghost, Hamlet has decided on vengeance. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern confront hamlet, they confront him saying that his mother wanted to have a word with him. Hamlet was already convinced that his mother married his father murdered, so he intended to be very foul with her. What was not known was that the Queen had been talking to Polonius (the father of Hamlets Girlfriend) to spy on Hamlet. Polonius says to the queen

“He will come straight. Look you lay home to him:

Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with,

And that your grace hath screen'd and stood between

Much heat and him. I'll sconce me even here.

Pray you, be round with him.”

The queen responds saying “I'll warrant you, Fear me not: withdraw, I hear him coming”. The queen was planning this all along, with Polonius in order to find out what hamlets real motives were. Hamlet come along into the room, and completely degrades his mother, until he pulls out a sword that frightens the queen and caused her to scream, exposing Polonius hiding behind the curtain. Hamlet says “How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!” Right then and there Polonius is dead. This shows Hamlet’s maturity level because he is avenging his father death, and as well he is looking out for himself. Hamlets objective was to avenge his father at all costs, and by killing a “rat” he is eliminating his chances of being slain by the king and his men.

With intellect and cleverness on his side, Hamlet devises a plan to relieve himself from the constant monitoring of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The king send Hamlet to England along with R & G, R & G has a letter from the king address to the English parliament saying that Hamlet must be beheaded. Hamlet discovers this

Up from my cabin,

My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark

Groped I to find out them; had my desire.

Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew

To mine own room again; making so bold,

My fears forgetting manners, to unseal

Their grand commission; where I found, Horatio,--

O royal knavery!--an exact command,

Larded with many several sorts of reasons

Importing Denmark's health and England's too,

With, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life,

That, on the supervise, no leisure bated,

No, not to stay the grinding of the axe,

My head should be struck off.

Horatio, Hamlets best friend is flabegasted to hear this occurrence, but Hamlet say wait, do you want to know how I did it? Horatio says yes, and Hamlet goes on saying

An earnest conjuration from the king,

As England was his faithful tributary,

As love between them like the palm might flourish,

As peace should stiff her wheaten garland wear

And stand a comma 'tween their amities,

And many such-like 'As'es of great charge,

That, on the view and knowing of these contents,

Without debatement further, more or less,

He should the bearers put to sudden death,

Not shriving-time allow'd.

Hamlet made the letter to seem that the bearers of it would be the ones being executed by the leaders of England. How does this show his maturity? Hamlet made a pact with his father ghost that he would avenge his death by all means. By keeping his word Hamlet is not letting anyone get in his way. He has retained his responsibility and his word to his father.

The interesting thing about Hamlet is that he has a tough time dealing with death, which is his great flaw. The understanding of death does not come easy to Hamlet. Although he comes to understand death when he is at a graveyard and come along a wise gravedigger that speaks very well like Hamlet. The gravedigger has conversation with Hamlet about the body that was previously buried there. Hamlet asks him “Whose was it?” (V.ii. 143). There gravedigger responds “A whoreson mad fellow's it was: whose do you think it was? A pestilence on him for a mad rogue! a' poured a flagon of Rhenish on my head once. This same skull, sir, was Yorick's skull, the king's jester” (V.ii. 145-147). Hamlet grabs the skull and realizes the we live to die. The true meaning of life is death, although the bricks and mortars of life are all accomplished during out lifetime. Death to Hamlet was only accomplished by murder, by someone taking it away from someone. Although he come to realize that his poor jester Yorick’s, died of old age. “Thus Hamlet faces and accepts death in general, then the death of Ophelia, and still goes on with his life to plan and achieve his purpose, the death of Claudius” (Walker).

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow

of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath

borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how

abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at

it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know

not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your

gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment,

that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one

now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen?

Now get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let

her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must

come; make her laugh at that. Prithee, Horatio, tell

me one thing.

After this occurrence Hamlet is mind set on what he is going to do “the readiness is all”. Hamlet will avenge his father’s death. During a duel set by Laertes and King Claudius the came up with a plan that would kill Hamlet. Laertes is a master swordsman, and decided to taint his sword with poison. The king had his plan of his own, in the event that Hamlet would succeed in battling Laertes, he would have Hamlet drinks a cup of poisoned wine to celebrate his victory. When both are dueling Hamlet strikes Laertes first, as well he strikes him the second time. In an act of excitement the queen drink the tainted cup of wine in an effort of celebrating Hamlets combatant skills. The king looks to the side and see his wife drinking the cup and tell her not to but it was too late “ It is the poison’d cup: it is too late” (V.ii. 235). Hamlet confused jerks to see his mother falling on the floor, to which Laertes strikes Hamlet poisoning him. Laertes and Hamlet scuffle during the fight to which the exchange swords. Hamlet now with Laertes swords wound him. Both men dying exchange some words, although Hamlet had the strength to wrestle down Claudius and made him drink the rest of the poison. The queen, kind and Laertes dead, Hamlet says to Horatio

O, I die, Horatio;

The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit:

I cannot live to hear the news from England;

But I do prophesy the election lights

On Fortinbras: he has my dying voice;

So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less,

Which have solicited. The rest is silence.

This is where Hamlet shows his true colors and his full maturity. He has already accomplished his goal of avenging his father’s death. Most importantly Hamlet shows a sign of patriotism by giving his power to young Fortinbras to lead the country of Denmark. After his conquest of the king and Laertes, Hamlet was worried for his country and decides to choose the best option for the success of his people. “ He urges Horatio to stay alive to retell the play's story lest the prince bear a wounded name forever” (Bloom).