The Theme Of Suicide In Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet and Thoughts About Suicide
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet the topic of death is a pervasive thread throughout the play. From the opening acts dealing with King Hamlet’s ghost through to the lethal finale, death is central to the narrative. One aspect of death that is of importance to the play, and to the character of Hamlet is the notion of suicide. From both an intellectual rumination of the concept, to a practical understanding (the fate of Ophelia) the play explores the myriad ways the idea of suicide is considered. Examined with consideration of the religious viewpoint of the prevalent dogma of the time, the philosophical morality, and Hamlet’s personal ideology presented in his soliloquies, the nature of suicide is explored. …show more content…
Fie on ‘t, ah fie! (Hamlet, I .2, 133-139)
He is, in his depression over his father’s death, and mothers remarrying his uncle expressing a desire to escape the dreary world and let his body return to nature if only God had not outlawed suicide. His concern over the treatment a suicide would receive is later confirmed when the priest attending to Ophelia burial espouses: As we have warranties: her death was doubtful,
And, but that great command o’ersways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodged
Till the last trumpet. (Hamlet, V .1, 233-237)
It was the priest’s belief that Ophelia’s death was a suicide and that only due to a royal association the full disgrace was spared her. The harsh stigma attached to a suicide to condemn, bury in unconsecrated ground for eternity, all unforgiving and damning of the soul was a strong influence in restraining Hamlet from self …show more content…
Her clothes spread wide, And mermaid-like awhile they bore her up, Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds, As one incapable of her own distress (Hamlet, IV .7, 197-203)
The imagery the Queen provokes is of a serene Ophelia, dress flowering out, wistfully singing all unawares to her situation.
It is Hamlet’s contentions that while all humans are capable of suicide; most choose to live on with the pain and suffering of life. While he first attributed his own reluctance of the act of suicide to the sin inherent in its consummation, he later bares his soul to his true belief. He assures that when contemplating the self ending of a life one may: Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep – To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. (Hamlet, III .1, 72-76)
It is this uncertainty that gainsays most people from the act of suicide. He further expounds on this point by adding Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet the topic of death is a pervasive thread throughout the play. From the opening acts dealing with King Hamlet’s ghost through to the lethal finale, death is central to the narrative. One aspect of death that is of importance to the play, and to the character of Hamlet is the notion of suicide. From both an intellectual rumination of the concept, to a practical understanding (the fate of Ophelia) the play explores the myriad ways the idea of suicide is considered. Examined with consideration of the religious viewpoint of the prevalent dogma of the time, the philosophical morality, and Hamlet’s personal ideology presented in his soliloquies, the nature of suicide is explored. …show more content…
Fie on ‘t, ah fie! (Hamlet, I .2, 133-139)
He is, in his depression over his father’s death, and mothers remarrying his uncle expressing a desire to escape the dreary world and let his body return to nature if only God had not outlawed suicide. His concern over the treatment a suicide would receive is later confirmed when the priest attending to Ophelia burial espouses: As we have warranties: her death was doubtful,
And, but that great command o’ersways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodged
Till the last trumpet. (Hamlet, V .1, 233-237)
It was the priest’s belief that Ophelia’s death was a suicide and that only due to a royal association the full disgrace was spared her. The harsh stigma attached to a suicide to condemn, bury in unconsecrated ground for eternity, all unforgiving and damning of the soul was a strong influence in restraining Hamlet from self …show more content…
Her clothes spread wide, And mermaid-like awhile they bore her up, Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds, As one incapable of her own distress (Hamlet, IV .7, 197-203)
The imagery the Queen provokes is of a serene Ophelia, dress flowering out, wistfully singing all unawares to her situation.
It is Hamlet’s contentions that while all humans are capable of suicide; most choose to live on with the pain and suffering of life. While he first attributed his own reluctance of the act of suicide to the sin inherent in its consummation, he later bares his soul to his true belief. He assures that when contemplating the self ending of a life one may: Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep – To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. (Hamlet, III .1, 72-76)
It is this uncertainty that gainsays most people from the act of suicide. He further expounds on this point by adding Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose