Hamlet by Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hamlet by Shakespeare - Essay Example From this study it is clear that Hamlet seems to be seduced, as well as repelled by the notion of suicid. In the gravedigger scene, in Act 5, Hamlet seems captivated by the reality of death. Although Hamlet’s fascination with death is intensely entrenched in his character, such fascination could also be a result of his grief following his father’s untimely death. In a sense, Hamlet is an extended dialogue between Hamlet and the element of death. This paper will examine how death permeates Hamlet from the opening scene to the end of the play. Death, in Hamlet, comes with a set of consequences that ultimately affect all characters and the nation, as well.As the essay stresses  death permeates Hamlet from the opening scene when Hamlet’s dead father appears to Hamlet and introduces the aspect of death and its consequences. The ghost of Hamlet’s father signifies a disruption to the conventional social order. This form of disruption emanates from the unnatural death of the country’s (Denmark) figurehead and which is soon followed by a wave of revenge, suicide and accidental deaths. Perhaps Hamlet’s most powerful reflection on death comes in Act 4. Here, Hamlet refuses to tell Claudius where he hid Polonius body. The theme of death is perhaps the main theme of Hamlet especially considering that the plot of the play is set in motion by the unnatural death of Hamlet’s father. Throughout the play, we encounter a number of deaths, either from suicide or murder.  ... Death emerges in the play once again as Hamlet arranges to have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed. However, the notion of spiritual terror keeps characters such as Hamlet from committing suicide despite their despair. Such terror emerges as Hamlet finds himself in a difficult position of desiring his death, but also fearing death intensely. This form of double pressure provides the play most of its drama and thrill. However, the aspect of death that Hamlet finds most intriguing is its bodily reality as he argues that mankind is ultimately made of meat and bone, but no matter how much humans value their bodies, they are innately decomposing machines (Act 5). In the scene at the graveyard, Hamlet’s fascination with death emerges as he ponders over Yorick’s skull asking whether a piece of the skull or dead earth has any personality or connection to a being. Hamlet ponders the spiritual aftermath of death as embodied in the form of a ghost and physical aftermath embodied in physical remainders such as the decaying corpses and Yorick’s skull. Moreover, the theme of suicide serves to augment the element of death in Hamlet. Just like the theme of madness, the theme of suicide links characters such as Ophelia and Hamlet and typically shapes the concerns of the play on a larger scale. This is because Ophelia perhaps commits suicide although the act is shrouded in mystery. Hamlet, on the other hand, merely contemplates suicide but is too scared by the notion of death and the spiritual ramifications of suicide to commit it. In both Hamlet and Ophelia’s cases, the most significant outcome of suicide is its religious ramifications. Within Hamlet’s two suicide soliloquies, he reflects on religious mysteries and laws that argue that the