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Contemplation And Self-Realization In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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Contemplation And Self-Realization In Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet is a play that involves a lot of contemplation and self-realization in both the characters and the readers. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the story of a man’s inner conflictions about killing his uncle Claudius. Hamlet is told by the ghost of his late father, the once king of Denmark, that he must avenge his death by the poison of his own brother, Claudius. He also tells hamlet that Claudius had the intent to marry Hamlet’s mother, the queen, and become king of Denmark after the king's death. Distraught, Hamlet is now furious at Claudius, but is still not fully committed to murder his uncle.
Joseph Campbell, the author of The Hero with One Thousand Faces, has many ideas that help us comprehend the complex themes, thoughts and emotions …show more content…
Claudius does this because assumes Hamlet knows what he has done, and also Hamlet killed an innocent man with no hesitation. Hamlet was meant to die in England, by the work of Claudius and is in a state of deep anger, his “thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth” (4.4.69). After Hamlets trip to England he returns as a different person, he is no longer driven with anger and is no longer seeking revenge. Hamlet was at a “remote land of exile,” but “he returns to perform his adult deeds among men” he is a new person after that trip, he has matured and is no longer motivated by hate (Campbell, 287). Now that his mind is clear, “after the long period of obscurity, his true character is revealed,” he now express his love for Ophelia, a lady he loved but denied in a state of major distrust, apologies for the wrongs he has done and takes part in a fight to express his sorrows. Hamlet is truly Hamlet when he returns, even if it is only for a short while. Hamlet’s story was quite a complicated one, and the play itself was less about revenge, but more about Hamlet’s inner conflict with himself. Through all the deaths, betrayals, and drama Marcellus definitely was correct in saying that "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
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