Post by Stephanie Kleckner
54 days ago
Hamlet Character Analysis
Hamlet is often indecisive and hesitant, but ironically at other times prone to rash and impulsive
acts. Even though Hamlet is an over thinker to the point of obsession, which not only indicates
higher levels of anxiety, but he also has the potential to behave both rashly and impulsively.
These tendencies make him appear as a paradoxical figure and one of more substance at that,
ultimately creating a more intriguing character in the play for readers to study. For example,
when he is faced with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, Hamlet becomes obsessed
with proving his uncle’s guilt before trying to act. He seems to easily take on the role of a
madman by behaving strangely and upsetting the other characters with his erratic speech and
outburst of seemingly random raging violence. When he does act, it is with a surprising swift
accordance, but surprisingly with little or no premeditation. He really is incapable of controlling
his emotions, therefore acts out in rage and violence. A specific impulsive act example is when
he stabs Polonius through a curtain, especially without even checking to see who he is.
Through this rash act, he ultimately kills an innocent life, and Ophelia’s and Laertes’s father at
that. Likewise, Hamlet is a university student whose studies are interrupted by his father’s death,
which seems to enhance his extremely philosophical and contemplative nature. He is particularly
drawn to questions that cannot be answered with any certainty. He is overwhelmed with
questions about the afterlife, about the wisdom of suicide, about what happens to bodies after
they die. Perhaps Hamlet’s most famous line, “To be, or not to be- that is the question” really
pinpoints the idea that in numerous points in the play, he even contemplates his own death, and
considers suicide (3.1.1749). Hamlet also shows symptoms of extreme depression, feeling
unsatisfied with the state of affairs in Denmark, with his supposed love affair with Ophelia, and
with the relationships within his own personal family life. He is distressed with his mother for
marrying his uncle so quickly, and he harshly rejects Ophelia, a woman he once claimed to love.
He uses inductive logic reasoning with the relationships of the women in his life, and habitually
projects his thoughts and his words, and aligns these feeling and emotions with his disgust and
distrust with women in general.