The Sociological Hamlet Essay, Research Paper

In William Shakespeare s drama Hamlet, cultural individuality is explored through Hamlet s isolation which is created by the struggle between his responsibility to his male parent, and his responsibilities to the throne and society. Hamlet is isolated from his society due to his disruptive emotions, which result from his indecisiveness on how to react to his male parent s slaying. Hamlet s responsibility as a boy is to revenge the decease of his male parent and he would be supported by society if the liquidator was believed to be guilty. Hamlet s responsibility as a citizen and a Prince is to protect the King and to guarantee the stableness of the throne. In order for Hamlet to avenge his male parent he would hold to kill the King, which creates a struggle between his two chief duties. Because of this, Hamlet has a difficult clip in make up one’s minding how to travel forward and which duty to concentrate on. However, Hamlet decides to garner grounds as cogent evidence of Claudius guilt so that his retaliation is justified to society and to himself.

Hamlet s responsibility as a boy, in his societal state of affairs and fortunes, is one which encourages him to seek retaliation for his murdered male parent. For Hamlet to be perceived as a baronial and faithful boy, he would hold to kill his male parent s liquidator. In Hamlet s foremost soliloquy after being told by his male parent s shade to seek retaliation, Hamlet rapidly acknowledges his responsibility as a boy.

Hamlet: I ll pass over off all fiddling fond records, / All proverbs of books, all signifiers, all force per unit areas past / That young person and observation copied at that place, / And thy commandment all entirely shall populate /

Within the book and volume of my encephalon, / Unmixed with baser affair. ( I.v.99-104 )

Hamlet seems to make up one’s mind with strong finding that he will pass over off all of his memories of young person, and all past force per unit areas so that the shade s commandment to revenge his decease would be his lone focal point, without the distraction of baser affair. Hamlet s trueness as a boy is shown clearly as he accepts the shade s counsel, and he appears to make up one’s mind that he must carry through his responsibility and kill Claudius. If he were to make otherwise, Hamlet would non be following the values that he believes in and besides the values of the society that raised him.

Hamlet s responsibility to the land and his function in society are in direct struggle with his responsibility as a boy. Hamlet s duty to the throne is to protect the King and his function in society as a Prince is to populate an honest and model life, and guarantee the stableness of the land. Socially, Hamlet is expected to protect the King and to obey the moral values of the people who he reigns over. In order for Hamlet to stay a baronial and respectable individual in the eyes of the populace, he must seek to carry through the outlooks laid upon him. Dir

ect struggle would happen if Hamlet were to kill Claudius because he would carryout his responsibility as a boy, but society would see his actions as betraying. If Hamlet executes one duty, the other is left behind. He would be moving against socially implemented values and in the sentiment of society, and perchance in his ain head, he would be perpetrating the highest signifier of perfidy. Since his duty to the monarchy and to society is in direct struggle with his duty to his dead male parent, Hamlet is torn and his indecisiveness and isolation consequence. Claudius illustrates society s position of slaying a King as the most blasphemous of all offenses when he reflects on his unhallowed actions in killing his brother.

King: Oxygen, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven ; / It hath the cardinal eldest expletive upon T, / A brother s slaying. Pray can I non, / Though disposition be every bit crisp as will. / My stronger guilt lickings my strong purpose. ( III.iii.36-40 )

Claudius is unable to pray even though his disposition is every bit crisp as will, and his finding is overpowered by his stronger guilt which defeats his strong purpose to happen peace with God. This shows society s position of this offense as being unhallowed. Claudius emphasizes the world of slaying a brother by depicting the offense as rank and as holding the cardinal eldest expletive upon T. Through Claudius words, society s positions on slaying a King and a close comparative become clear, and this leads to a better apprehension of the struggle confronting Hamlet and of his vacillation to move, which finally leads to his isolation and decease.

The uncertainness of Claudius guilt and the importance Hamlet topographic points on garnering grounds against the King is demonstrated when Hamlet plans to form a trap for the King in his monologue at the terminal of Act II when he says, I ll have evidences / More comparative than this. The dramas the thing / Wherein I ll catch the scruples of the King. ( II.ii.615ff ) Hamlet knows that society would non digest him slaying Claudius as an act of retaliation if there was no confirming grounds to turn out the King s guilt. Hamlet besides wants to be positive of Claudius guilt to reassure himself that what he is making is right. Claudius reaction to the drama is the more comparative grounds that Hamlet is looking for. An of import portion of Hamlet s retaliation is for Claudius to be perceived as the slayer he truly is. Even though Hamlet uses the deficiency of grounds to warrant his ain old inactivity in this monologue, he besides realizes that he needs cogent evidence for society to believe that Claudius is guilty in order to maintain his baronial position as Prince. The program to utilize Horatio as a informant to any possible reaction of the King shows Hamlet s consciousness that cogent evidence will be necessary to warrant his retaliation.

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