Hamlet Essay: Question: How does the loss of a loved one affect one’s life?
Karleen San Juan
Mr. C. Santin
Fri. Dec. 4/09.
ENG 4U
The gravity of the loss of a life can have varying affects on many corresponding
individuals. For example, in the play, Hamlet, the theme of death which is constantly replayed
has a great influence on each character. Specifically, when one character is murdered, another
reacts to their loss in a certain manner. Therefore, the loss of a loved one can drive a person to
insanity, revenge, or irrepressible rage. This will be shown through the emotions displayed by
the characters Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes, who all suffer through the loss of their loved ones.
As a result of the loss of his beloved father, Hamlet is driven to depression. Originally,
Hamlet suffers quietly after the tragic death of his father and the immediate marriage of his
mother to his uncle, Claudius. He then begins to contemplate suicide. “O, that this too too solid
flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His
canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!” (Act I. Scene II. l 129-131)
Hamlet, who continues to mourn the loss of his father, is suddenly faced with his mother’s
remarriage to his uncle, Claudius. As a result, he is unable to deal with his sudden fragility and
turns to suicide as a means to cope with his beloved father’s death. However, after learning of
the ghost which roams the castle, Hamlet’s depression turns to action so that he can avenge his
father and kill the current king. Hamlet then chooses to plot revenge and plans the use of the
players to prove his uncle’s guilt in the Mousetrap play, “I’ll have these players Play something
like the murder of my father Before mine uncle, I’ll observe his looks, I’ll tent him to the quick;
if he do blench, I know my course.” (Act II. Scene II. l 596-600) Hamlet truly hates his uncle for
murdering his father, and believes that his father was a far superior king in comparison to
Claudius. Therefore, after his conversation with the ghost he is filled with an even greater
contempt and chooses to take revenge for the loss of his father. However, Hamlet’s inability to
turn his hatred into action causes him to feel greater depression ultimately damages his self-
esteem. In conclusion, the loss of Hamlet’s father changes the course of Hamlet’s entire life due
to his dramatic turn towards revenge and depression.
The character, Ophelia suffers an insurmountable amount after the death of her father and
the loss of the love of Hamlet, driving her to insanity. The death of Poloius occurs during
Hamlet’s confrontation of his mother, the queen, when he discovers someone is listening to their
conversation and immediately stabs him believing him to be his uncle. After Ophelia hears of her
father’s murder she becomes insane. “Spurns enviously at straws, speaks things in doubt that
carry nothing but half-sense: her speech is nothing yet the unshaped use of it doth move the
hearers to the collection.” (Act IV Scene 5. l. 6-9) A gentleman tells the queen of Ophelia’s
sudden insanity due to the tragedy of her father’s death. Since the shock of hearing her father
was murdered by someone she believed loves her, her mental state deteriorates. Similarly, the
loss of the love of Hamlet, contributed to her insanity. “Young men will do’t, if they come to’t,
By cock they are to blame. Quoth she, before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed.”(Act
IV. Scene 5 l. 58-61.) Ophelia sings of Hamlet’s betrayal after she has already gone insane
showing that it has affected her to her subconscious. It is possible that Ophelia sings of Hamlet,
where he had promised to marry her, however after sleeping with and using her, Hamlet shows
that he had not truly loved her. Ophelia had believed that Hamlet’s love to her was honest, but
after seeing him betray her twice, once with his love, and a second time with the murder of her
father, Ophelia becomes insane. Therefore, Ophelia’s insanity is the result of the loss of those
she loves.
Due to the loss of his sister, Ophelia and father, Polonius, Laertes craves for revenge
against Hamlet. Specifically, when Laertes returns from abroad at news of his father’s death, he
demands to avenge him believing his death was caused by Claudius, only to discover he had
been murdered by Hamlet. Through this news, he joins forces with Claudius in the plot to murder
him. “And for that purpose I’ll anoint my sword. I bought an unction of a mountebank, so mortal
that but a dip of a knife in it… it may be death” (Act IV. Scene 7. l. 140-148) Laertes is easily
manipulated by Claudius since he is blinded by his lust for revenge in the name of his father. In
this way, he is the exact opposite of Hamlet since his first instinct is to act and avenge his father,
rather than contemplating the consequences. In addition to his father’s death Laertes, also blames
Hamlet for the insanity and loss of his sister, Ophelia. “ A sister driven into desperate terms,
whose worth is praises may go back again… but my revenge will come” (Act IV. Scene 7. l. 2629) Laertes has lost all his loved ones at the hands of Hamlet since his sister was driven insane
by his actions. Therefore, his immediate reaction is to act, and get revenge. Therefore, Laertes is
powered completely by revenge after the loss of his sister and father.
The loss of a loved one can have an immense affect on a person’s psyche, feelings and
thought process and these distresses may lead to complete insanity or a lust for revenge. The
characters in the play Hamlet, all suffer heavy losses at the hands of one another. Specifically, in
the cases of Laertes, Hamlet, and Ophelia, they react according to each other’s actions in the
dealings of their loved ones.