How Has Your Personal Response to Hamlet Been Shaped by the Strong Values of Love and Friendship; Hatred and Revenge. Base Your Answer on Detailed Reference to the Text.

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The theme of action vs inaction was most striking in my personal response. This theme is shaped through the strong values of hatred and revenge, characterising Hamlet and his existential dilemma. Hamlet is a man uncertain of which course to take in the circumstances he has been presented with; should he murder the murderer of his father, seducer of his mother, the man who pushed in front of his claim to the throne and made an attempt on his life? Existentialism, particularly Soren Kiekegaard's works, focus on individual existence, freedom and choice, and the existence of the afterlife. Hamlet's courses of action, shaped by his hatred and revenge, and the consequences each bare lead to his existential dilemma. He debates within himself the eternal damnation he could experience if there is an afterlife versus the responsibility he has to revenge his murdered father in his present life. Existentialism is a philosophical movement or tendency emphasising individual existence, freedom and choice. This philosophy is emulated in Hamlet's wildly flailing mind. Existentialists argue that because individuals are free to choose their own path, they must accept the risk and responsibility of following their commitment wherever is leads, something Hamlet is unable to do. This is Hamlet's existential dilemma, he is unable to act upon his responsibility of revenge as he is uncertainty of what awaits in his afterlife prevents him from taking action. “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. To die, to sleep...” This soliloquy identifies Hamlet's debate with himself about personal immorality; life after death. He poses the question of whether he should suffer the circumstances he is dealt or take arms and

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