Hamlet: Death and Melancholy
Introduction
The theme of death is a very prominent in the play, it could even be argued that it is the most important theme. Death as well as melancholy surrounds the characters throughout the play and since death is both the cause and the consequence of revenge, it is intimately tied to the theme of revenge and justice. Moreover, melancholy is the result of reflection on death or death being carried out.
Act 1
Act 1âs focal point is the death of Hamletâs father, which clearly triggers the other issues. This manifests itself in his âunnatural murderâ (the Ghostâs main problem) – it prevents its ascent to Heaven. Furthermore, Claudiusâs ingenuine display of grief, seen in the multiple juxtapositions of Old Hamletâs death in relation to his and Gertrudeâs marriage, seems indicative of his insensitivity around the situation. Finally, Hamletâs soliloquy is integral in emphasising the extent – and the excessiveness – of his melancholy due to his fatherâs supposed murder. Claudiusâs reaction serves to possibly seal his guilt of this crime.
Key Quotes:
- Claudius: âbear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom// To be contracted in one brow of woeâ (1.2)
- âwith one auspicious and one drooping eye// with mirth in funeral and dirge in marriageâ (1.2)
- Gertrude: âGood Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off// [âŚ] seek thy noble father in the dustâ (1.2)
- Hamlet: ânot alone my inky cloakâ (1.2)
- Claudius: âimpious stubbornness, tis unmanly grief// It shows a will most incorrect to heavenâ (1.2)
- Hamlet: âO that this too solid flesh would meltâ [âŚ] âhow weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seems to me all the uses of this worldâ (1.2)
- Ghost: âRevenge his foul and most unnatural murderâ (1.4)
- Ghost: âWas I⌠dispatched; cut off in the blossoms of my sin, unhouseled, disappointed and unaneledâ (1.4)
Act 2
The second Act mainly covers Hamletâs interaction with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to whom he relates his melancholy surrounding the death of his father. His feelings about the futility of existence come to light here – in addition to the ardent self-hatred that he emphasises in his second soliloquy.
Key Quotes:
- Claudius: âHamletâs transformation⌠Sith nor the exterior not the inward man resembles that it wasâ (2.2)
- Hamlet: âDenmarkâs a prison [âŚ] what is this quintessence of dust?â (2.2)
- âMan delights me not, nor woman neitherâ (2.2)
- âO what a rogue and peasant slave am I!â (2.2)
- âYet I, a dull and muddy-mettled rascal⌠Am I a coward?â (2.2)
- âI am pigeon-livered⌠what an ass am Iâ (2.2)
Act 3
The mystery of death is something that plagues Hamlet throughout the play, he is confused, unsure and uncertain about what will happen when he dies. The question of his own death also plagues Hamlet in this act (especially in scene 1) as he repeatedly contemplates whether or not suicide is a morally legitimate action in a world that can be unbearably painful. In his famous âTo be or not to beâ soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 1, he asks the question: is it better to live or die, to endure suffering or to fight against it? This in turn induces melancholy for Hamlet as he frequently longs for death to end his suffering, but he fears that if he commits suicide, he will be subjected to eternal suffering in hell because of the Christianityâs prohibition of suicide. In addition, his melancholy is further caused by his lack of action against Claudius as a revenger, in this way, the themes of death and melancholy become intertwined with each other, going as far as one being the cause of the other.
The burden of death also plagues Claudius, especially in Act 3 Scene 3, as he prays for forgiveness for the murder of Old Hamlet, while the promise of his own death literally hangs over his head as Hamlet tries to kill Claudius but eventually refrains. The fact that Claudiusâ death will eventually come, is the momentum that drives the play along and Hamletâs inaction to complete this task increases his melancholy.
Act 3 is also a good example of how in Hamlet death in the Elsinore court, has a ripple effect on many of the characters. Poloniusâ death in Act 3 Scene 4 affects all the characters in many ways, some positive but mainly his death has negative effects, especially on Ophelia and Laertes, who are greatly changed by the death and his death indirectly, but inevitably leads to the death of many of the characters.
Key Quotes:
- âTo be or not to be that is the questionâ (3.1)
- âtis nobler in the mind to suffer⌠or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them.â (3.1)
- âOh bosom black as death!â (3.3)
Act 4
Act 4 is another example of how Hamletâs own melancholy is very closely associated with the health and well-being of the state of Denmark; his sickness reflects that of the country and vice versa. Again, in Act 4 Scene 4, Hamletâs melancholy is brought about as he reflects on the fact that he is unable to act, but others are able to give their lives for a cause that is insignificant. Hamlet says that âThis is thâimpostume of much wealth and peaceâ, his melancholia reflects that of the sickness that he talks about and until the sickness in Denmark is dealt with, his melancholy can also never leave him.
This act also shows Ophelia dealing with the theme of death in Act 4 Scene 5, as not only is she driven to mental breakdown by her fatherâs death but the songs she sings talk about death and loss; the literal loss of her father and the more figurative loss of her lover, Hamlet. Ophelia being driven to madness emphasises the true effect that death has upon the different characters in the play. In essence, Opheliaâs situation somewhat mirrors Hamletâs as the death of their fathers, arguably drove them both to real madness or in Hamletâs case heightened melancholia.
However, another alternative explanation for Ophelia talking about death in her songs could refer to her sexuality, as death in Elizabethan literature, could also refer to sexual climax meaning that her references to death in this song could be an extended metaphor. Ultimately, Opheliaâs death is one that has lasting consequences and effects in the play as it inspires action and revenge, in some ways, it answers Hamlets earlier questions about whether it is better to live or die, as now that Ophelia is dead her suffering has been relieved and she can finally rest and be at peace, it could be said that her death, accident or suicide was merciful.
Key Quotes:
- âThis is thâimpostume of much wealth and peace.â (4.4)
- âGo to their graves like beds.â (4.4)
- âHe is dead and goneâ (4.5)
- âFor goodness, growing to a plurisy, dies in his own too much.â (4.7)
Act 5
Act 5 is the fruition of the idea that death inspires action as the melancholy within the characters disappears as the revenge among all the characters is fulfilled emphasising the strong link between the two themes. This act also shows Hamletâs long emotional journey as his melancholy fades over time as he goes from the anxiety and melancholy of âto be or not to beâ in Act 3 Scene 1 to the simple acceptance of âlet beâ in Act 5 Scene 2. It seems that Hamlet is ready to accept whatever fate has in store for him and his journey to acceptance of and readiness for death and the afterlife grows, in contrast to his melancholia which diminishes over the course of the play. For Claudius, death is a quick but painful downfall from power as he calls for his friends to save him, but no one answers as his only allies desert him in his greatest hour of need. Repeatedly throughout the play and in the previous scene, death is shown to humble people, which is essentially what has happened to Claudius as well as Laertes who forgives Hamlet. Overall, Act 5 shows death as a very central theme as all of the characters learn to cope with the inevitable as well as the uncertainties that come with death, as Shakespeare shows that no amount of youth, cunning, charm, wit and thought can spare anyone from death.
Key Quotes:
- Hamlet: âLet be.â (5.2)
- Hamlet: âThe readiness is all.â (5.2)
- Claudius: âOh yet defend me friends, I am but hurt.â (5.2)
- Hamlet: âThe rest is silence.â (5.2)
- Clown: âif this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been out oâ Christian burialâ (5.1)
- Hamlet: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and why of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-barrel?â (5.1)
- Hamlet: âwhat is he whose grief bears such an emphasisâ (5.1)
- Hamlet: âwooât weepâŚwooât tear thyself? Wooât eat a crocodile?â (5.1)
- Gertrude: âthe drinkâ x4 … âI am poisonedâ (5.2)
- Hamlet: âthe potent poison quite oâercrows my spiritâ (5.2)
- Clown: âshe drowned herself wittinglyâ (5.1)
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