Riley Herrin

Mrs. Bernhard
AP Literature
Hamlet Research Paper
Hamlet is revealed as a person who desires revenge and feels the need to
gain power. All people possess good and evil tendencies. Although, it is human
nature for people to change their personality when they undergo adversity. Hamlet
is a perfect example of this. Hamlet feels and experiences difficulties throughout the
whole story. The most vital difficulty he experiences is the family mishap where
Claudius kills his own brother, which happens to be Hamlets father. After the
murder, Hamlets mother Gertrude marries Claudius. In Hamlets seven soliloquies,
he is revealed as a noble man whose circumstances brings out the evil tendencies
in him.
Hamlets circumstances caused his desire to avenge his father to corrupt. In
Hamlets soliloquy in Act I, Scene 5, lines 92112, Hamlets dark personality begins
to show. Having heard the Ghosts testimony, Hamlet becomes extremely furious.
He is disgusted by the behavior of Claudius and Gertrude and is convinced he must
get revenge for his fathers murder. He then begins to become frantic and very
paranoid. The soliloquy that occurred in Act III, Scene 3, lines 7396 is when Hamlet
is saying he could easily kill Claudius at that moment. He knows Claudius was the
one who killed his father and he believes revenge is needed. When King Hamlet was
suddenly murdered, he wasnt able to ask for forgiveness of his sins because he had
no chance to prepare for death. At that moment, Claudius is praying so is it really
revenge if Claudius is killed when he is confessing his sins? Once Claudius sins are

confessed, he has a free pass to Heaven. According to Irving T. Richards, Hamlet

certainly does quite roundly child himself for procrastination (Richards). Hamlet
decides to wait until Claudius has committed more sins so he can kill him, he
believes Claudius will then go to hell.
Hamlet starts to realize that nobody knows the truth about what Claudius did.
No one knows the story behind the Kings death. If Hamlet kills Claudius, Claudius
looks like the victim and Hamlet looks like the villain. Hamlet has had multiple
debacles throughout the play and in Act II scene 2 lines 546603, Hamlet stops
having a meltdown and starts plotting to make Claudius reveal his sins and
wrongdoings. His plan is to put together a play that tells the story of how his father
was murdered by Claudius. His goal is to guilt Claudius into admitting to the murder
himself. If Claudius admits, Hamlet wouldnt look like the bad guy by murdering him.
Hamlets desire for revenge would not be occurring if it wasnt for Claudius
and the pain that was caused to the family. That certain circumstance caused
Hamlets evil side to overrule his good side. In act III scene 2 lines 395406, Hamlet
is beginning to realize that all revenge should be directed at Claudius and Claudius
only. His mother should not receive any punishment besides the punishment of
knowing people are disappointed in her for her actions. Gertrude has yet to realize
what has happened within her family. Shes completely clueless to the fact that
Claudius killed her husband, and that devastates young Hamlet.
The stress that Claudius put onto Hamlets family didnt only reveal the evil
tendencies in Hamlet, but also took an emotional toll on him. In Act I scene 2 lines
12959, Hamlet is talking about how is life is pointless. He is suicidally depressed.
The death of his dear father has affected his life in multiple ways. Not only did it

affect the way he lives his everyday lives because he was king prior to the murder,
it affected him emotionally. Hamlet is in constant remembrance of all the memories
his family made and how happy they all were before he was killed. The death hit
Hamlet very deeply and on top of the loss from his father, he is livid at the fact that
his mother moved on so quickly. His mother already remarried. She remarried
quickly, but not to some random man, but to Hamlets very own uncle. Because of
the actions of his mother, he is mad at women in general. Act III scene 1 lines 5689
is one of Shakespeares most famous quotes or soliloquies. In this soliloquy, Hamlet
is asking himself if it is better to die or to stay alive. According to N.B. Allen from his
The Shakespeare Association Bulletin, he explains that scholars have two different
opinions about this soliloquy. One side believes that it is focused around his
thoughts of suicide. In other words, he is again listing the pros and cons on suicide.
The word opposing has a figurative meaning of suicide Lewis). Dying is just like
sleep: a way to get away from the pain, just never waking up.
Hamlets obsession of revenge prevents anything from stepping in the way. In
act IV scene 4 lines 3266, Hamlet is thinking about a battle with Fortinbras. Before
the murder occurred and the tragedy attacked the family, Hamlets dad fought
Fortinbras dad over land. As a result, Fortinbras father was struck and killed while
King Hamlet received the land. and killed Fortinbras main mission in life is to get
the land that his family rightfully deserves back. Fortinbras is wanting armies and
wars, while Hamlet only wants revenge on Claudius. According to Mathew Harkins in
Making Young Hamlet, Hamlet reveals that Fortinbras is still denied power, even
after the death of his father (Project). The fight over the land is the last thing on his
mind. He has more important things to take care of. This scene emphasizes his

passion of revenge and the evil in his eye. Nothing else matter but this death of
King Claudius.

Bibliography
Cox, Marian. Hamlet. Deddington: Philip Allan Updates, 2011. Print.
Lewis, B. Roland. Shakspere's Audience as Viewed by Dr. Harbage. S.l.: s.n., 1942.
Print.
Project MUSE - Making Young Hamlet. Project MUSE - Making "Young Hamlet".
Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
<http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/sel/summary/v049/49.2.harkins.html>
Richards, Irving T. The Meaning of Hamlet's Soliloquy. 1933. Print.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet. William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamletscenes.html>