Melancholy in Hamlet Essay - 1039 Words

Melancholy in Hamletnbsp;nbsp; Melancholy has caused many to look down on the world and themselves, driving themselves to suicide or treating their life like it has no meaning. Hamlet is a lonely and melancholic soul who doesnt think highly of women or his own life. Melancholy forms the basis of Hamlets character starting with the moment he arrives in Denmark and hitting a low note when Ophelia dies. Thoughts of suicide loomed throughout the play commencing with the news of old Hamlets death and showing in his To be or not to be soliloquy. Throughout the entire play, Hamlet has various opinions and views, which show how he disrespects women, especially the one he should love the most, his mother. All of these character traits†¦show more content†¦Hamlet shows the reader that although melancholy has entered into his soul and that everything that he loved left him, he will still do anything to sanctify what has been corrupted with his hidden perseverance. His first thought of suicide comes up in his first soliloquy when he says, O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, or that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon gainst self-slaughter, (I; ii; 129-132). Hamlet is unable to kill himself because of a proposed law that states you are not permitted to kill yourself. Hamlet opts to stay alive, as he does not want to be known as a coward in Denmark. Foreshadowing is used in this scene to inform the audience that Hamlet will live to correct the wrong doings of Denmark. Hamlet makes another reference to ending his life when he says 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, (III; i; 56-60). He contemplates suicide by comparing it to dreams and that to sleep, saying death would end the heartache and dreams tis a consummation devoutly to be wished (III; i; 63-64). He, again, prefers to live, to avenge the death of his father. Hamlet is also afraid of the afterlife, seeing the dread of something after death and theShow MoreRelated Melancholy Hamlet Essay1977 Words   |  8 PagesMelancholy Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In Shakespeare’s tragic drama, Hamlet, the multi-faceted character of the hero is so complex that this essay will enlighten the reader on only one aspect of his personality – his melancholy dimension.    Our understanding of the true extent of the protagonist’s melancholic mental state needs to be informed. A.C. 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