What Is Hamlet's Identity

One’s identity is what makes one unique and different from others. It consists of the values that structure one’s life and in the end; it is how one defines him/herself. Therefore, when a tragic event occurs in one’s life, it is no surprise that one will go through a stage of identity crisis: the psychological distress concerning one’s sense of oneself and his or her value and role in society. Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, portrays the struggle of Hamlet to search for his true identity. Exemplified mainly through his seven soliloquies, Hamlet struggles to re-establish his place in society and regain his identity after the loss of his father. The seven soliloquies allow readers to connect and understand the inner turmoil of Hamlet throughout the play and, without them; the play would not be the complex masterpiece that it is. Hamlet’s identity crisis stems from the loss of his idol, King Hamlet, and his mother’s hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius. Before the tragic events, Hamlet was a scholar studying in Wittenberg. As Ophelia described him, Hamlet was the pride of the nation with his grace, wit, and strength (III. i.
It is not until his final soliloquy, when Hamlet seems to become rejuvenated after watching the army marching to their deaths. He realizes that they are willing to fight for a worthless plot of land, yet he cannot bring himself to kill the murderer of his father. He sees their bravery, courage, and pride and he feeds off of their energy (IV. iv. 61-66). At the end of his final soliloquy, it seems as though Hamlet finally accepts his identity as an avenger, but in the end, Hamlet ends up letting fate decide his outcome: “[…] If it be now, ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not/ now, yet it will come […]” (V. ii. 186-187). He never finds his true identity, and, due to his death at the end of the play, Fortinbras gives Hamlet his “true identity” – a brave soldier (V. ii. 360-