Hamlet Essay;
HOW DOES THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE AFFECT YOU AS A
PERSON?
Pearl-Catherine Tita.
Mr. Santin
ENG 4U1
December 14th, 2009
Losing a loved one can take a devastating toll on one’s frame of mind. In the
Shakespearian play Hamlet, the death of King Hamlet caused many problems amongst
the royal family. This death allowed Claudius to usurp King Hamlet’s thrown and take
Queen Gertrude’s hand in marriage. It also caused Hamlet to despise both his uncle and
mother. The death of the king also caused Hamlet to undergo thoughts of suicide,
moments of loneliness and self-doubt. Also, the death of Polonious caused his daughter
Ophelia to go insane which led to her unexplainable death. The death of a loved one can
cause people to act out of character. By analyzing instances of suicidal thoughts,
irrational behaviour, and one’s insanity, it will be proven that losing a loved one can be
overwhelming to the lives of those who loved them.
Suicidal thoughts can be the result of losing a loved one. In lines Act III Scene I
in Hamlet, Hamlet is contemplating suicide as a method he might take to escape the harsh
realities that followed his father’s death; “To be, or not to be? That is the question—/
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/ And by opposing end them”(lines 56-60).
Hamlet loved and cared for his father deeply. He was content and focused in life and was
planning on attending University. But after undergoing many hardships due to his
father’s death, Hamlet begins to question whether it is better to continue living or to die.
He wonders if killing himself will allow him the ability to escape from his misery on
earth. He continues to consider suicide when he questions whether it makes sense to live
and put up with the bad luck that has come his way, or simply putting an end to it all by
going through with his suicidal plans. These thoughts contradict who Hamlet once was
before his father’s death. He once was satisfied with life but now he’s depressed and
could care less about his existence. In lines Act 3 Scene 1 in Hamlet, Hamlet is
comparing the simple act of sleeping to death by saying they are very similar, convincing
himself that death wouldn’t be so bad; “To die, to sleep/-no more- and by a sleep to say
we end/ The heartache and the thousand natural shocks/ That flesh is heir to—‘tis a
consummation/ Devoutly to be wished” (lines 60-64). Hamlet, wanting to escape the
world, begins to compare death and sleep demonstrating that they are similar. Such
thoughts are out of the ordinary for Hamlet’s character considering that before his
father’s death he appeared happy. He makes this analogy by saying that death is just a
sleep that ends heartaches. Hamlet wishes to end his heartache which leaves him planning
what he views as an easy way out, suicide. In lines Act III Scene I in Hamlet, Hamlet lists
a number of things that he wonders why anyone would put up with rather than commit
suicide and end it all;
“For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,/
Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,/
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,/ The
insolence of office, and the spurns/That patient merit
of th' unworthy takes,/When he himself might his quietus
make/With a bare bodkin?”(lines 70-76)
Hamlet wonders why anyone would put up with humiliations that come along with life.
He is puzzled at the fact that people would put up with situations like abuse or insult from
individuals who think they are above them. He also questions how an individual can put
up with not being loved by one that they love so dearly. To overcome such depressing
situations, Hamlet states that it would just be simpler to take out a knife and call it quits.
Hamlet’s change of character also worries his mother. This is because she knows that for
such a depression to come over Hamlet is quite awkward considering his usual humorous
character. In conclusion, losing a loved one can be very difficult and when one cannot
handle the pressures of it, they may seek suicide as a way to try and escape and
inescapable reality.
The death of a loved one may cause one to act irrationally. In of Act III Scene IV in
Hamlet, Hamlet attempts to make his mother feel bad for her actions of re-marrying her
husband’s brother after only one month of him being dead; “No, by the rood, not so./ You
are the queen—your husband’s brother’s wife,/ And—would it were not so, you are my
mother” (lines 14-16). Only after a month had passed, Queen Gertrude gives her hand to
Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, in marriage. Gertrude’s act of selfishness upsets Hamlet and
causes him to despise both Gertrude and Claudius. Gertrude’s action of such an early
marriage is unexpected by Hamlet since he believed that the relationship between his
mother and father was so strong. Hamlet sarcastically reminds Gertrude about who she is,
what she has become, and due to her unforeseen actions, he wishes that she was not his
mother. In Act III of Scene IV in Hamlet, Hamlet is giving his mother further insight on
her actions after the king’s death;
“Such an act/ That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,/
Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose/ From the fair
forehead of an innocent love/ And sets a blister there, makes
marriage vows/ As false as dicers oaths- oh such a deed/ As
from the body of contraction plucks/ The very soul and sweet
religion makes/ A rhapsody of words/ Heaven’s face doth glow/
O’er this solidity and compound mass/ With trustful visage
as against the doom is thought – sick at the act” (lines 40-51)
In this quote, Hamlet is informing Gertrude about the extremities of her actions. He lets
her know that she has not only hurt him, but she makes the marriage between herself and
King Hamlet appear as it meant nothing. Hamlet also demonstrates that Gertrude’s
actions are so bad that God is sick at the thought of what she’s done. Hamlet’s reactions
to Gertrude’s actions depicts her acting out of character because what she had done was
out of the norm and unexpected by those around her. In conclusion, the
death of a loved one can cause individuals to act in ways that others may seem unfit.
One can go insane as a result of losing a loved one. In Act IV Scene V in
Hamlet, after witnessing Ophelia’s distraught words and actions pertaining to her dead
father, a gentleman describes what he witnesses as actions of insanity to Gertrude; “She
speaks much of her father, says she hears/ There’s tricks i’th’world and hems, and beats
her heart,/ Spurns enviously at straws, speaks things in doubt/ That carry but half sense./
Her speech is nothing,/ Yet the unshaped use of it doth move/ The hearers to collection”
(lines 4-9). Prior to her father’s death, Ophelia had a stable frame mind. But after refusing
to see Ophelia, Gertrude is informed about Ophelia going insane. A gentleman tells
Gertrude that Ophelia’s thoughts have been consumed by the death of her father. The
gentleman informs Gertrude that Ophelia speaks of the world being corrupt and she
becomes angered at the littlest of things. The gentleman also says that everything Ophelia
says is nonsense. He says that her words don’t have any meaning and her babbling just
draws unwanted attention to her. In Act IV Scene V in Hamlet, Ophelia randomly begins
singing a song pertaining to her father’s death which further depicts her insanity; “Say
you? Nay, pray you mark./ He is dead and gone lady, He is dead and gone; At his head a
grass—green turf,/ At his heels a stone” (lines 28-32). Gertrude attempts to talk to
Ophelia but she isn’t listening. She casually sings a song that acknowledges her father’s
death. In her song, she speaks of her father being buried. This random song is derived
from her unexpected insanity. In Act IV Scene V in Hamlet, fearing for her well-being,
Claudius has asked that Ophelia is watched over; “Follow her close, give her good watch
I pray you” (line 73). Knowing that she’s gone mad and could possibly harm herself,
Claudius asks that she is closely watched over. This is to ensure her safety in the royal
kingdom. Before her father’s death, Ophelia never needed to be watched over because
she had the mental capacity to take care of herself. But now that her father’s death has
caused her to act out of character, the conditions in which she abided by had to change. In
conclusion, not being able to cope with the loss of a loved one can alter a
person’s state of mind to the point that they reach insanity.
In conclusion, the death of a loved one can cause people to act out of character. Death
may cause problems amongst family members where issues of betrayal may arise. It can
also lead to suicidal thoughts, loneliness and one doubting themselves because they feel
that they can’t handle the pressures of death. Individuals who lose a loved one may also
feel obligated to avenge the death of a loved one if their death was unnatural. The death
of a loved one can also overpower one’s mind to the point that they lose their sanity
which may take a drastic toll on their well-being. The death of a loved one can have a
devastating impact on one’s life.