Essay, Research Paper: Hamlet Essay

IS THE SOURCE OF HAMLET S GRIEF THE LOSS OF EVERYTHING THAT HE HOLDS DEAR?
There is no doubt at all that the source of Hamlet s grief was associated with all of the different traumas he experienced during his life. His perfect little world crumbled,
Leaving but a lonely and unhappy man, with the promise of avenging his father s death. Everyone that Hamlet cared for let him down in one way or another. This caused Hamlet to feign madness. The loss of his father is but one loss. It is all the other losses that destroy him.
Hamlet s perfect world was shattered when his mother, whom he held the utmost respect for, remarried Claudius. The fact that she did this within two months of the king s death, made it even harder to bear. Hamlet lost all faith in his mother and their once close relationship slowly disintegrated. This was the central point at which Hamlet s madness evolved, causing devastating consequences that had a bearing on the madness in which Hamlet presented himself throughout the play.
Hamlet s mixed feelings towards his mother disrupted his great relationship he had with Ophelia. He turned bitter towards Ophelia and pushed her further away from him (Act 3 Scene 1). Hamlet lashed out at Ophelia, frustrated that his world was not as he hoped it would be. Hamlet freed himself of his stress; he did that by blaming Ophelia. If Hamlet did not have Ophelia to focus his feelings on, then he would have bid the world farewell and taken his own life. In the end it was Ophelia who sacrificed her life.
Hamlet, paralysed by reason, could not avenge his father s murder. His father s death was not the reason of his insanity but merely the starting point from which it unfolded. His father s ghost, that was doomed to walk the night, put false ideas into Hamlet s head, which lead him to believe that betrayal and incest had occurred (Act 1 Scene 5). He became bitter and put on and act that he had gone mad and taunted people with it. This was Hamlet s strange way of dealing with the events that had begun to change his life.
Hamlet continued to remind Gertrude that she was wrong for remarrying so soon and he tried to get her to see Claudius for who he really was (Act 3 Scene 4). He was subconsciously trying to make Gertrude feel guilty and was trying to regain her trust and make her good in his eyes again. Hamlet once again pushed away a person he loved and cared a lot about and wanted to be alone. Hamlet was confused about his feelings towards his mother and did not know what to do about them.
Hamlet sheltered himself from everyone around him. Even his close friends Rosencrantz and Gildernstern betrayed him by spying on Hamlet for Claudius and Gertrude (Act 2 Scene 3). Hamlet alone, had no one to turn to for help, this is where he lost total control over his life and snapped. Hamlet did not give a second thought to the people he hurt as he became a selfish man who cared only for himself, and that which affected his life. Hamlet reached his lowest point.
From the evidence stated above, there is no doubt at all that it was all the traumatic events in Hamlet s life that lead him to grieve. Hamlet not only lost his father, but everything that he holds dear. All of the characters in the play Hamlet tried to pin point his grief to one event; little did they know that it was the build up of events that broke Hamlet s back (Act 2). This just proves the theory that Hamlet could not handle all the pressures of life at that particular part in time. It was just too much for one man to bear.