Hamlet Theme of Death
Fields of Elysium
In Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, death makes itself known as an unwelcomed guest that never cares to leave, from the opening scene with the ominous ghost to the bloodbath of the final scene. However, the appearance of the tortured spirit of Old King Hamlet and the deaths of all the significant characters in the play (excluding one) are more obvious demonstrations of death in its simplest (physical) form. However, there must be some further meaning, deeper connotation, and purpose to which Death is made so apparent in the play (physically and spiritually) from its depart. This more profound outlook and investigation into death is made primarily through the mind of Hamlet to which the audience follows throughout the play.
Hamlet’s thought provoking and introspective nature cause him to contemplate the physically of death and its most intimate complications. In Act 1, Hamlets is torn and tortured by grief and misery from the death of his father and the “incestuous marriage” of his mother with Claudius, that he sees the world only for its evil and destruction; So much so, Hamlet laments the thought of suicide but restrains himself from doing so due to the possibility of eternal suffering in the afterlife (Sin,christian theology): “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt/ Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd/ His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!”. Hamlet again delves further into contemplation of the afterlife and suicide, is his infamous “To be or not To be” soliloquy. He notes that the afterlife is “[t]he undiscover'd country from whose bourn / No traveller returns” and it is this unchangeable fact - this question that has plagued mankind since its beginning, that holds people captive in a world that is treacherous, miserable, and rotten. Hamlet provides his own insight that “conscience does make cowards of us all”. In otherwords, that the fear of what is ultimately but surely to come makes humans cowards. And perhaps, in a more broader perspective, Hamlet hints to what he believes to the be one’s primary motivation and reason to follow a religion.
Further in the play, Hamlet appears to have a somewhat creepy yet serious obsession with the physically of deaths - the implications it causes on the deceased. When in face of Yorick’s skull, he witness the ultimate physical transition between life and death; what could have once been the vibrant head of a politician or singer, is now reduced through decay to an empty skull: “That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once”. Likewise, Hamlet realizes and becomes fascinated with the notion that death is the impartial, unalterable, and permanent equalizer of men: “Though your fat king and your lean beggar is but/ variable service, two dishes, but to one table:/ that's the end”. What one does in life, even those as powerful as Julius Ceaser or Alexander the Great (Hamlet references these kings) becomes completely futile in the end. Even more so, Hamlets becomes intrigued with the natural cycle surrounding death; that dead corposes will disintegrate into soil, and it is with this soil humans plant their crops, and so forth: “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a/ king, and cat of the fish that hath fed of that worm”. However, it is with Hamlets final inner resolution, that he brings the facet of Death into a new light, and finds peace within himself.
He indicates that “the readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is ’t to leave betimes? Let be”. Hamlet already knew that death is inevitable but hes comes to accept it and sees the futility in living in fear and desperation in trying to avoid. He references the "fall of the sparrow" which is from Matthew 10.29 – "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father" – which is taken to mean that God oversees and determines the life and death of every single creature, even the sparrow. In other words, he concludes that is all is controlled by destiny, and should he die now or later is irrelevant, as ultimately whatever comes will come and there is no use in trying to avoid it (if it is meant to be). Hamlet however is not cynical in his speech, but speaks of death in a tone that is neither filled with fear or longing. He comes to term with death as part of the natural sequence of life - for without death, can there be life? There are several other allusions to death made by other characters in the play (Gertrude describing Ophelia’s death) but they fall short and do not strike nearly as much impact as Hamlet’s inner workings. Shakespeare’s play does not provide answers to the most prominent questions surrounding death but it does however provide an interesting discussion and a different perspective on Death and its implications.
Hamlet’s thought provoking and introspective nature cause him to contemplate the physically of death and its most intimate complications. In Act 1, Hamlets is torn and tortured by grief and misery from the death of his father and the “incestuous marriage” of his mother with Claudius, that he sees the world only for its evil and destruction; So much so, Hamlet laments the thought of suicide but restrains himself from doing so due to the possibility of eternal suffering in the afterlife (Sin,christian theology): “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt/ Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd/ His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!”. Hamlet again delves further into contemplation of the afterlife and suicide, is his infamous “To be or not To be” soliloquy. He notes that the afterlife is “[t]he undiscover'd country from whose bourn / No traveller returns” and it is this unchangeable fact - this question that has plagued mankind since its beginning, that holds people captive in a world that is treacherous, miserable, and rotten. Hamlet provides his own insight that “conscience does make cowards of us all”. In otherwords, that the fear of what is ultimately but surely to come makes humans cowards. And perhaps, in a more broader perspective, Hamlet hints to what he believes to the be one’s primary motivation and reason to follow a religion.
Further in the play, Hamlet appears to have a somewhat creepy yet serious obsession with the physically of deaths - the implications it causes on the deceased. When in face of Yorick’s skull, he witness the ultimate physical transition between life and death; what could have once been the vibrant head of a politician or singer, is now reduced through decay to an empty skull: “That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once”. Likewise, Hamlet realizes and becomes fascinated with the notion that death is the impartial, unalterable, and permanent equalizer of men: “Though your fat king and your lean beggar is but/ variable service, two dishes, but to one table:/ that's the end”. What one does in life, even those as powerful as Julius Ceaser or Alexander the Great (Hamlet references these kings) becomes completely futile in the end. Even more so, Hamlets becomes intrigued with the natural cycle surrounding death; that dead corposes will disintegrate into soil, and it is with this soil humans plant their crops, and so forth: “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a/ king, and cat of the fish that hath fed of that worm”. However, it is with Hamlets final inner resolution, that he brings the facet of Death into a new light, and finds peace within himself.
He indicates that “the readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is ’t to leave betimes? Let be”. Hamlet already knew that death is inevitable but hes comes to accept it and sees the futility in living in fear and desperation in trying to avoid. He references the "fall of the sparrow" which is from Matthew 10.29 – "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father" – which is taken to mean that God oversees and determines the life and death of every single creature, even the sparrow. In other words, he concludes that is all is controlled by destiny, and should he die now or later is irrelevant, as ultimately whatever comes will come and there is no use in trying to avoid it (if it is meant to be). Hamlet however is not cynical in his speech, but speaks of death in a tone that is neither filled with fear or longing. He comes to term with death as part of the natural sequence of life - for without death, can there be life? There are several other allusions to death made by other characters in the play (Gertrude describing Ophelia’s death) but they fall short and do not strike nearly as much impact as Hamlet’s inner workings. Shakespeare’s play does not provide answers to the most prominent questions surrounding death but it does however provide an interesting discussion and a different perspective on Death and its implications.