The beginning of the key scene is important because, Hamlet has been summoned by his mother, who is furious with him for events surrounding the play-within-the-play, in which it has been suggested clearly that Hamlet’s father has been murdered by his brother. Hamlet, however, confronts his mother, still unhappy that she is married to his uncle, Claudius. Polonius has been sent to spy on Hamlet on behalf of Claudius. Hamlet kills Polonius, apparently believing it to be Claudius. Old Hamlet’s ghost appears for the second time to remind Hamlet of his mission of revenge for his father’s murder.
Anyone who has ever been through a tragic experience in life knows that depression has different stages. In the Rouge and Peasant Slave Soliloquy Hamlet’s thoughts shift through these stages as he tries to understand his father’s death and his mother’s marriage to his uncle so soon after. Hamlet is in a fragile emotional state and begins a course of self examination. His thoughts and feelings begin to shift and by the end of the soliloquy Hamlet has decided how he will handle the situation, he has come up with a plan to “catch the conscience of the king.” (II, ii, 568). The main theme of the soliloquy is that Hamlet feels ashamed that he has taken so long in avenging his father’s death.
“Thou poor ghost.” (I, v, 97) Hamlet pities his father, as he was murdered and was not given the chance to pray. This conjures frightening thoughts in his mind, for if he were to be murdered as well, would he be sent to burn in purgatory? Towards the middle of the play, though Hamlet’s thoughts still point towards suicide, he begins to toy with the possibilities of what death could be like. “To die, to sleep; … perchance to dream.” (III, i, 60-65) He may find some comfort in death if death
Old Hamlet informs his son that he was murdered by his brother. He then asks Hamlet to avenge him, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.v.25). Old Hamlet refers to himself as “his”. This is the first time Hamlet hears that his father was murdered. He almost immediately begins planning his course of action towards revenge.
Here Hamlet enters with a dilemma: “To be or not to be”. Hamlet outlines a long list of the miseries, and asks who would choose to bear those miseries if he could choose to die. Hamlet goes on to describe miseries, specifically his disgust at his mother’s marriage. He thinks for a while that death may end all the troubles of life. But then he is unsure o the consequences of death.
To begin, Hamlet suffered overwhelming grief when he had to deal with the sudden heart wrenching loss of his father. Then, only two months later, Hamlet had to deal with the frustration of his mother marrying his uncle. Lastly, Hamlet became unsure of Ophelia’s love due to his mother’s actions which lead to his emotional breakdown. Therefore, Hamlet demonstrated significant signs of grief and disturbance as a result of the difficult situations he had to cope with. Initially, Hamlet found out devastating news of his father’s death that was very difficult for him to digest.
The ghost asks Hamlet to avenge his “most foul murder.” However, he warns Hamlet not to let revenge consume his mind. Ironically, Hamlet states “I’ll wipe away all trivial, fond records, all saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, that youth and observation copied there, and thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain, unmixed with baser matter”(Shakespeare I.V.106-111). In order for Hamlet to avenge his father, first he needs the proper evidence. Hamlet decides to create a play about a man who kills his brother, hoping that when Claudius sees it, he has a reaction showing his guilt. It is when Hamlet gets proof of Claudius’ guilt that he allows his emotions to dictate his actions.
The personality traits of insanity and intellectuality also contribute greatly to the death of Hamlet. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his procrastination. Without a doubt, Hamlet portrays procrastination and indecisiveness multiple times in the play. The ghost of Hamlet’s father visits him in the beginning of the play informing Hamlet that he was murdered by his own brother, Claudius: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears the crown”(I.v.44,45). Furthermore, Shakespeare exhibits how Hamlet chose to devise a plan of acting mad, rather than avenging his father’s death immediately, progressing to his demise.
He was totally disdained by their union and considered it an incestuous one. To further intensify Hamlet’s contempt, early in the plot Hamlet encountered a ghost. The ghost represented himself as the spirit of Hamlet’s father, the late king. He told Hamlet he had been murdered by his brother, now King Claudius. The demised king commissioned Hamlet to execute revenge against Claudius.
King Hamlet's ghost uttered to Hamlet, “The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown” (1.5.39). Hamlet agreed to avenge his father's death. Now, his life had a purpose, which is to kill Claudius. Aside from his father's death, there was something else that sent him spiraling down. He was denied access to his love, Ophelia.