Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Family in Hamlet

Good Essays
749 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Family in Hamlet
Claudius: “But now, my cousin Hamlet and my son,” Hamlet: [Aside] “A little more than kin, and less than kind”
Claudius: “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?

”
Hamlet: “Not so, my lord; I am too much i' the sun.” Gertrude: “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off”. (1.2.66-70)
Hamlet's continued mourning while Claudius is needfully desirous that Hamlet stop mourning his father's death and start celebrating his mother's new husband, the country's new King and his own new father.
“Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, To give these mourning duties to your father; But you must know, your father lost a father; That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound In filial obligation for some term to do obsequious sorrow. But to perserver in obstinate condolement is a course of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief" (1.2.89-96)
Claudius telling Hamlet he is just being stubborn and should get over his father as it has been a month and the time for mourning has passed.
“A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears:--why she, even she--
O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules” (1.2.151-158)
Hamlet is frustrated with his mother and her lack of mourning for his father after his funeral. She had married Hamlet’s uncle less than a month after the funeral. Hamlet is disgusted and compares Claudius as being as much like his father as he to Hercules.
“She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
with such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not nor it cannot come to good:
But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.” (1.2.161-164)
Hamlet not only takes issue with his mother's quick remarriage after his father's death, he's also and accuses Gertrude of being guilty of "incest." The death of his father and marriage of his uncle were so close that the sheets may not have been changed.
“but you must fear,
His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own;
For he himself is subject to his birth:
He may not, as unvalued persons do,
Carve for himself; for on his choice depends
The safety and health of this whole state;
And therefore must his choice be circumscribed
Unto the voice and yielding of that body
Whereof he is the head.” (1.3.19-27)
Laertes tells Ophelia that Hamlet can't marry who he wants to—he has to marry for the safety of the entire state and Ophelia is just entertainment for the time being until he takes the throne. Laertes insists that a marriage between Ophelia and Hamlet is impossible. Marrying for love? That was for the commoners.
“Then if he says he loves you,
It fits your wisdom so far to believe it
As he in his particular act and place
May give his saying deed; which is no further
Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.
Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain,
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmaster'd opportunity.” (1.3.27-36)
Here, Laertes tells Ophelia that, if she sleeps with Hamlet, she'll lose her honor. Ophelia's chances for a future marriage could be compromised if she does.
““But if’t be he I mean, he’s very wild, addicted so and so.” and there put on him
What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank
As may dishonour him; take heed of that;
But, sir, such wanton, wild and usual slips
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.” (2.1.20-26)
Polonius spies on his kid while he's away at college. And he's not the only one. Claudius, Hamlet's step-father/uncle, also goes to great lengths to find out what Hamlet's up to.
“O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, 
A brother's murder.” (3.3.40-43) As King Claudius prays, he acknowledges that, by murdering his brother, Old Hamlet, he has brought upon himself the oldest and first curse, which is a reference to the biblical story of Cain, who committed the first murder when he killed his brother Abel.
Gertrude: “Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.”
Hamlet: “Mother, you have my father much offended.” (3.4.12-13)
Ugh, mom, it’s not like he’s my real dad…

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet returns home after he receives the devastating news about the death of his father. When he arrives in Denmark, he is welcomed by the incestuous marriage between his mother and uncle, Claudius. Hamlet cannot wrap his head around the fact that his mother was able to get over the death of his father after one month. Due to his inability to understand his mother, Hamlet starts to ponder the idiocy of the world, "How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world" (1.2.137-138). This is the start of the sense of morality and ethics around Hamlet begins to decay. He is angry at his mother and begins to isolate himself from everyone else. King Hamlet's ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius murdered him. The rest of the play consists of Hamlet trying to prove that Claudius murdered his father. However, Hamlet always seems to be reflecting in deep thought , sometimes even ruminating. He overuses his intellect while disregarding what he believes "feels…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet opens up about his disgust towards his mother and compares her to “a beast that…would have mourned longer!”(lines 151-152). As she had only mourned the death of her caring husband for less than a month before marrying his brother, Hamlet relentlessly calls her weak and believes she is unfaithful in doing so. Hamlet exhibits signs of obvious betrayal by his mother. He believes she disrespected her previous marriage in remarrying too soon, and takes this to heart. Hamlet clearly still thinks highly of his late father and this sets him into a defensive tone when thinking of the disloyalty his mother has put towards his…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Indecisiveness In Hamlet

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hamlet’s indecisiveness to act leads to the deaths of his beloved mother Gertrude, his only love Ophelia, her father and brother, along with his old friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hamlet is a young, childlike character who is also a student of life due to his contemplating nature in which he is always questioning everything “to be, or not to be: that is the question” (Act III, Scene I). Hamlet delays to act because he does not know how to respond to Claudius’ action because secretly that is what he wanted—to kill his father and marry his mother. Not in actuality, but deep down in the recesses of psychological turmoil almost all sons love their mothers to such an extent that they are jealous of their fathers, and wish to take their…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Book Report Hamlet

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hamlet, Prince of Denmark who has come home from Germany only to find his father dead and his mother married to his father’s brother, Claudius.…

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ghost In Hamlet

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hamlet was considered to be wallowing in self-pity over everything that had recently transpired. His father’s death, his mother’s marriage to his uncle as well as he had been stripped of his rightful place as King of Denmark. Hamlet was of high morals and religious background. He was raised within the Lutheran Christian Faith and was appalled by everyone’s behavior. Resentment now raised its ugly head towards his mother in her “incestuous” union when Hamlet during his soliloquy, proclaims “Frailty, thy name is Woman!” to reflect his disgust of her weakness. But due to the love for his mother Hamlet keeps his resentment and disappointment to himself at this time. Faced with the realization of the murder of his father, who he had idolized and compared to a Greek sun-god and whose ghost has demanded revenge in order to leave purgatory, Hamlet is further torn between his moral values and his Christian faith, as his faith does not allow murder (“Thou shall not…

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Because of Hamlet's loss of his father, Gertrude tries to force Hamlet to accept Claudius as a replacement father figure. Hamlet refuses which causes a barrier between him and his mother. Her forceful actions also cause dramatic meetings with Hamlet and other characters. When speaking with Hamlet, Gertrude says "Hamlet, thou has thy father much offended," (III,iv,10). When…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In life there are various unpleasant and distressing situations that people have to go through, but do not like to face. One of them is death. Death is a fact of life. Regardless of how wonderful, kind-hearted, and modest or extremely horrible a person is, death is inevitable. Being a teenage girl, I know one of the things I do not like to think about is the death of my parents. It is unquestionably difficult to think about how someone can be taken away from this world in just a blink of an eye. In spite of how great one’s love is for another person, it does not stop a person from dying. That being said, one of the most painful facts of life that Hamlet went through was the death of his father. Although the play never truly introduced King Hamlet, it was so clear that the King and Prince had an exceptionally close relationship. Hamlet not only looked at King Hamlet as a fatherly figure, but as a role model and inspiration to those in Denmark. In addition, at the time, Hamlet did not even know how has father had died. There were many questions still waiting to be uncovered, but Prince Hamlet felt as if he had nothing. With his father not around, Hamlet feels as if he does not belong and is depressed for months. He wishes as if he could disappear and that the world is meaningless. “How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” (1364). Thinking life is featureless; Hamlet would highly consider killing himself if it was not a sin.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Claudius is Hamlet’s Uncle and Stepfather. That is an unusual relationship. Claudius loves Hamlet like his own son but Hamlet does not accept it feeling that his mother married quickly. In I.ii.90-121, CLaudius is giving a speech to Hamlet. He…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hamlet Questions

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages

    With knowledge of the book from previous research and actually reading the play itself in my opinion, the play “Hamlet” is about a troubled man going through very difficult time in his life after his father is murdered by his uncle which is now married to his mother (which would have been his sister in law). Hamlet throughout the play seeks revenge on Claudius for the murder of Hamlet’s father.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prince Hamlet, having returned home from school in Germany arrives to an upsetting scene to say the least. His father, King Hamlet is dead and his mother Gertrude has already remarried. Not just to any man either, the king’s brother Claudius who has already taken possession of the throne. As the gravity of the situation continues to sink in for Prince Hamlet he begins to suspect correctly that his uncle Claudius was responsible for his father’s death.…

    • 577 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    proclaims that Claudius killed him in lust for power. Hamlet is asked, "If thou didst ever thy dear father love - oh God - Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." (27) Here begins Hamlet's quest to avenge his father by laying ruin to King Claudius. To be certain of the King's guilt, Hamlet puts on a play bearing a resemblance to how the ghost described the murder. When King Claudius views it, he feels a sudden pang of conscience and abruptly leaves. This flinch provides a first glance by the reader, and…

    • 629 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet's Paranoia

    • 2158 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Hamlet once saw his mother as the epitome of virtue. This image is dashed against the rocks when he finds her married, incestuously, to his uncle less than two months following his father’s death. Having only seen his mother with his father, Hamlet perceives that he has lost her after she marries Claudius. Hamlet has, “All his life he has believed in her, we may be sure, as such a son would” (Bradley, 98). Hamlet looks down upon his mother’s second marriage as disrespect to the memory of his father. Hamlet cries out “O, most wicked speed to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (I. 2. 161-62). Now alone save for Horatio, Hamlet’s madness is left to grow unchecked.…

    • 2158 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Character Diary - Hamlet

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Day 1 - I was once again reminded of my mothers’ marriage to my uncle, Claudius. To this day I still feel disgusted and outraged that either of them would think it is morally okay to do such a thing. My father had only past away under a month before my mother had married my father’s brother. I think it’s terribly disrespectful and ignorant towards my father. He would have given the world and more. He loved her more then anything, and I don’t understand how she marry his brother in such short time, and not feel guilty or disgusted by herself. It just astonishes me.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    in all words Hamlet is talking to his mother (gertrude) hinting his depression,the whole fact of his mother marrying his fathers uncle already sickens him, and the fact that his mother show no grief or sadness about king hamlet ( Hamlets father) hurts hamlet more and that whole crazy sitoution is whats making him act so depressed and gloomy. Yet his mother and claudius completely void out their incest marriage, they put all his gloom from just his fathers death.…

    • 80 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love is one of the most prevailing themes in Hamlet; the characters involved demonstrate a number of intricate emotions as the play progresses. We see Hamlet's filial love for his mother, esoteric love for Ophelia and Hamlet's platonic companionship with Horatio. However, Hamlet’s filial love for his father is foremost which causes conflicting thoughts to overwhelm him once an apparition in his father’s figure returns. The play opens when two guards, Marcellus and Barnardo, apprise Horatio about the appearance of an impression in the king’s image.…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays