Hamlet
Issues
Morality
Power
Deception
Death
Madness
Revenge /honour
Truth
Isolation
Uncertainty
Structure:
Present a detailed central thesis – introductory paragraph. Then move to two or three sub
ideas which demonstrate a progression in the ideas in the play.
Personal Response – Statements to introduce your personal response.
1. The play holds universal value because it explores the individual’s need to
contemplate life and death.

Hamlet’s melancholy leads him to contemplate death first on spiritual terms:
Suicide – unknown country, religious uncertainty about the afterlife (To be or
not to be)


Then later in physical terms – the graveyard scene (consideration of Yorrick
and the death of Alexander)
Comes to the conclusion that death is the great equaliser. That is, death
leads to his acceptance of the human condition and his own fallibility as an
avenger. It is precisely this fallibility (inability to take action) that renders
Hamlet morally superior at the end of the play. His indecision enables him to
be elevated morally and spiritually at the end of the play.
2.
Hamlet is a transitional character who must assert his moral sensibilities in an
ambiguous world.
'Ethical Dilemmas' and JStor article ' Vows to the Blackest Devil'. Hamlet's desire to fulfil
familial obligations in accordance with the old chivalric code of revenge is in opposition to his
understanding of the emerging Elizabethan codes of honour and revenge - Hamlet's
response is a reflection of the Renaissance scholar.
Critic: Consider Bradley who states that Hamlet's inability to act is due to his melancholy
(find an appropriate quote). Bradley's theory does not consider the conflicting ideals of
honour and revenge which perhaps underpin this manifestation of melancholy.
A scaffold of a response
3. Shakespeare’s Hamlet presents a protagonist caught in an ambiguous world. The
power of external forces exerts an overwhelming influence on Hamlet who must
assert his moral sensibilities.

The tensions between old and new codes of honour and revenge lead to
Hamlet’s inner turmoil as he attempts to reconcile the two conflicting codes.
Bradley states “Let me now try to show how much melancholy can account for - it accounts
for his inaction”, he does not consider the conflicting philosophical ideals on honour and
revenge Hamlet is caught between. His indecision arises due to the complexities of the
emerging Renaissance ideals.

Although Hamlet expresses disdain towards corruption of Elsinore Castle, he
is forced to conform in order to survive. Hamlet is therefore forced to deceive
those around him.
As Ian Johnson affirms “Hamlet in a very real sense is the biggest liar in the play…He is
always challenging, acting, lying, deceiving…using others to promote his own ends”. Here
Johnson illuminates a key fact, Hamlet is a liar and hence has become corrupt, yet he fails to
recognise why this occurs. The overwhelming force of a corrupt world overcomes the moral
philosophiser who must conform in order to survive. An action which ironically results in his
death.

Hamlet is a disillusioned and confused humanist trapped in an environment of
corruption and decay.
Or

4.
A study of Hamlet’s disenchantment with mankind and his self-reproach
reveals a disillusioned humanist in an atmosphere of guile and decay which
simply cannot sustain his ideals, allowing Shakespeare to probe into the
place of humanist philosophy in a corrupt world.
Hamlet's disenchantment with mankind - a disillusioned humanist.
 Establish corruption of the court - Hamlet sets himself apart in his 'inky cloak'
and constant punning.
 Consider the role of soliloquies as an outlet for his disillusionment with the
state of mankind and his world - 'decay referred to in imagery "unweeded
garden".
 For all Hamlets’ despair - he still sees the potential of mankind but is
frustrated by man's inability to fulfil his potential. Hamlet is frustrated with his
own inability to act yet sees this as the product of the disease which pervades
his world. Point - in order to survive, Hamlet must conform to a corrupt court
by putting on and 'antic disposition'. He must navigate his way through the
Machiavellian court symbolised by Polonius and Claudius and is thus
complicit in the duplicity of his world in order to survive and discover truth and
honesty.
Critic: Maynard Mack points to Hamlet's need to act within a rotten world (find
an appropriate quote).
5.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a play focused on the psychological impact of the
uncertainty created by Hamlet’s conflicting views and ideals within himself and with
society around him.

Hamlet, a morally enlightened character is presented to the audience to exist at odds
with the corrupt and deceitful society of Elsinore. His uncertainty surrounding the
value of truth and the necessity of deception generates intense inner conflict as he is
unable to reconcile his own moral understanding of honesty with the deception which
surrounds him.
- Leads him to put on an “antic disposition”. A façade of madness, taking on
the deceptive qualities of Claudius

An atmosphere of moral ambiguity surrounds the potential courses of action between
which Hamlet must choose. This causes him immense uncertainty as he is forced to
make the impossible decision to divide his loyalty between the old and new values of
society as well as between his religious dedication to God and his loving respect for
his father’s wishes.

Hamlet is conflicted in terms of his perception of women and struggles with
uncertainty as to how to treat Ophelia