Theme Of The Human Condition In Hamlet

Hamlet explores themes that are universal and transcend time. The dichotomy of order and disorder that characterises the human condition and the struggle to make sense of the world are major themes in Hamlet. These timeless concerns that everyone can identify with, have given Hamlet textual integrity and an enduring power to sustain interest since the sixteenth century.

Created in the Elizabethan period of the late sixteenth century, Hamlet depicts a country that is in political and social disorder. My own understanding of the text is that it is in Hamlet’s nature to desire order out of turmoil. Betrayal is the cause of Denmark’s political turmoil, as well as Hamlet’s personal disarray. To restore order, Hamlet seeks to elicit the truth
In Act 3 Scene 1, Hamlet contemplates suicide. He says, “to die, to sleep”, “perchance to dream” for “in sleep what dreams may come”. The repetition of “sleep” and “dream” illustrate Hamlet’s sense of displacement in the world. He asks himself if the “grunt and sweat of a weary life” is worth enduring. Such animal imagery reduces the notion of existence to bestial levels. Hamlet’s desperate personal struggle brings him to confront the deeper mysteries of death, as revealed by the metaphor of the after-life as the “puzzles” of an “undiscovered country”. Furthermore, Hamlet’s personal disarray can be seen in his language in Acts One and Two. For example, reflecting on his mother’s sexual appetite, Hamlet says, “she would hang on him as if increase of appetite had grown by what it fed on, and yet within a month – let me not think on’t; frailty, thy name is woman – …”. Hamlet’s stream of consciousness is shown through the fragmented sentence structure highlighting his confusion and lack of self-identity. Furthermore, Hamlet says that he mopes “like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of [his] cause”. This simile compares Hamlet to a daydreamer who is therefore inactive. Hamlet is shown to be discontent with himself, emphasising his personal disorder. Hamlet’s desire to escape the struggle in making sense of himself and the world, by suiciding,
Towards the end of the play, Hamlet comes to refer to himself as “Hamlet the Dane”, symbolic of the resolution of his personal disorder and his existential crises. The word choice is significant as it reveals he has come to accept himself as a Dane. He refers to a “divinity that shapes our ends” and explains that “the readiness is all”. The underlying religious connotations illustrates that Hamlet has achieved personal order and an increased understanding of the world. This notion reflects the ideology of Christianity – the fulfilment of man within the framework of Christian principles. The universality of those themes contributes to Hamlet’s textual integrity.
The restoration of political and social order occurs when Claudius dies and the ownership of Denmark is returned to Fortinbras. Hamlet says in his dying moments, “I do prophesy th’election lights on Fortinbras; he has my dying voice. So tell him [all the events]…the rest is silence”. The chain of being is restored because there is no more political corruption or injustice. Despite the personal and political turmoil Hamlet has experienced, he is satisfied and at peace – symbolised by the word “silence” which is resounding and