“To be or not to be? That is the question” (Act 3 Scene 1). This line, delivered by the
titular character of Hamlet, shows his inner moral predicament of whether to kill himself, or to
live. In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlet and the other characters in the play react in
different ways to the many deaths that occur. Some people respond with violence and anger,
while others react with sadness and despair. Other characters are unable to overcome their
anguish and die by their own hand, while different individuals are killed at the hand of others.
Shakespeare uses many different kinds of death to demonstrate that one’s reaction to a
circumstance is what determines who you are, not the circumstance itself. Shakespeare uses
the reactions to the varied kinds of death to explore universal motivations and psychology.
Murder can often cause a domino effect, leading to more death and murders. Claudius
probably had no idea how many dominos he would knock down in his act of killing King Hamlet.
When Claudius suspects young Hamlet knows that he killed King Hamlet, he begins this domino
effect in an attempt to cover up his unlawful act, causing many more deaths to happen,
culminating in murdering Hamlet. As Hamlet dies, he says, “O, I die, Horatio. / The potent
poison quite o’ercrows my spirit” (Act 5, Scene 2). Shakespeare uses this storyline to emphasize
humanity’s instinctive reaction to cover up our dirty tracks. Claudius’ calculating plot extends to
include convincing Laertes to kill Hamlet. Laertes is a bit off his rocker with the grief of losing his
father and he is open to any suggestion of how to retaliate against Hamlet. Claudius is right
beside Laertes, whispering in his ear. Claudius’ quiet, destructive words come as a scheme to
choose a sharpened sword to fence with, rather than a dull one which was the usual when
Laertes and Hamlet fenced together, in the hopes that Laertes could inflict a killing wound.
Claudius prodded, “Or with a little shuffling/ you may choose a sword unbated, and in a pass of
practice/ requite him for your father” (Act 4, Scene 7). Laertes, typically an ethical man, is
driven by the desire for revenge on his father’s killer, and agrees to this dishonorable plan. He
even comes up with an idea to ensure that Claudius’ plot would actually kill Hamlet -- poison.
There was a chance that even had Laertes cut Hamlet with the sharp sword, the damage might
not have been fatal; however, if Laertes applied poison to the sword, it would surely kill
Hamlet. Laertes vengefully said, “I will do’t. / And for that purpose I’ll anoint my sword/ … I’ll
touch my point/ with this contagion, that if I gall him slightly/ it may be death” (Act 4, Scene 7).
With Laertes’ story, Shakespeare is exhibiting how grief affects a person and can drive them to
do acts they would never consider doing in their right state of mind. Hamlet is also a bit
obsessed with avenging his own father’s murder. He, too, is driven by the agony of losing his
beloved father and later his mother to the point of injuring, and a short while later, murdering
Claudius, his parents’ killer. Hamlet said furious words to Claudius as he cut him with the
poisoned sword, “The point envenomed too – Then, venom, to thy work” (Act 5, Scene 2). As he
forced Claudius to drink from the poisoned goblet that had just killed his mother, Hamlet said,
“Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? / Follow my mother.” (Act 5, Scene 2). With the death
of his father, and subsequently his mother, Hamlet’s whole outlook on life and what it means is
changed and he does what he feels he needs to do- retaliate against his parents’ killer.
Shakespeare is showing humankind’s innate need to protect those we love and the motivation
that can come to attack the attacker when offence is given.
Suicide is a decision that causes devastation to all those affected by it. Hamlet briefly
toys with the idea of committing suicide,
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? ... But that dread of something
after death, / the undiscovered country from whose bourn/ no travelers return,
puzzles the will/ and makes us rather bear those ills we have/ than fly to others
that we know not of? / Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, / and thus
the native hue of resolution/ is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought (Act 3,
Scene 1).
Hamlet eventually decides not to commit suicide because of his fear of the unknown and his
belief that suicide is immoral. Shakespeare uses this soliloquy to express our occasional inner
thought and desire not to suffer, but then he leads us to the reason why we live: hope and love.
Ophelia goes a bit mad by grief after her father’s death and consequently decides to kill herself.
A saddened Gertrude brought the news to Laertes, “Your sister’s drowned, Laertes. / … But long
it could not be/ till that her garments, heavy with their drink, / pulled the wretch from her
melodious lay/ to muddy death” (Act 4, Scene 7). Ophelia slowly slipped down into a watery
grave and made no attempt to stop her descent even as grief overwhelmed her. Shakespeare
uses the water in Ophelia’s death scene to symbolize Ophelia’s grief as well as her madness and
her slow fall in to them. Ophelia’s decision and death affects many of those around her
especially Laertes. In strong reaction to his sister’s death he states these forceful words, “Too
much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, / And therefore I forbid my tears. But yet/ it is our trick.
Nature her custom holds, / let shame say what it will. When these are gone, / the woman will
be out – Adieu, my Lord. / I have a speech of fire that fain would blaze, / but that this folly
doubts it.” (Act 4, Scene 7). Laertes is expressing his sorrow over his sister’s death in the way
humans have been designed to in crying. Shakespeare employs this to capture the natural grief
one would feel after losing someone so close to them, especially from suicide.
Wrongful death wreaks havoc among all those touched by the loss. The pain commonly
felt at a death is magnified, knowing your loved one died in vain, or by mistake. This
catastrophic pain was felt by the family of Polonius. Hamlet mistakenly killed Polonius when he
thought that Claudius, instead of Polonius, was hiding behind a tapestry. As Hamlet stabbed
Polonius through the curtain, he declared, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead” (Act 3,
Scene 4). Hamlet’s misjudgment of the situation and who was behind the tapestry forever
changed Polonius’ family. This wrongful death led to the further deaths of Ophelia and of
Laertes. Hamlet’s motivation of mad revenge took a wrong turn as he assumed something that
was not true. Shakespeare utilizes this case of mistaken identity to remind us that not
everything is what it appears to be. Shakespeare seems to be prompting us with an old adage,
‘Look before you leap.’ Gertrude’s death came as a surprise to everyone in the fencing room as
Hamlet and Laertes fought. Her wrongful death came at the hands of her brother-in-lawturned-husband, by the way of a poisoned cup meant for Hamlet. As Gertrude died, she
warned Hamlet, “No, no, the drink, the drink! -- O my dear Hamlet! / The drink, the drink! I am
poisoned” (Act 5, Scene 2). Gertrude’s death sends Hamlet over the edge. Even as the poison
from Laertes sword works through his veins, Hamlet throws himself towards Claudius, with the
strong desire to kill him. Claudius had no intention of killing Gertrude when he set out to kill
Hamlet; it was merely a tragic accident. Shakespeare points out the problems that can arise
from one tiny slip up, even if the one who caused the death meant no harm to anyone or
anything. Wrongful death is no less hurtful than murder or suicide, perhaps it is even more so.
Death of others is difficult for everyone. The difficulty of the experience is perfectly
captured by Shakespeare in his characters in Hamlet. The emotions felt by those left behind are
complex and grueling. Shakespeare uses reactions to the varied kinds of death as a lens to
explore universal motivations and psychology. He uses many different kinds of death to
demonstrate that one’s reaction to a circumstance is what determines who you are, not the
circumstance itself. Although many characters in the play demonstrate this, the major example
of this is Hamlet, who seemed, at first, to be a moral person, fiercely loyal to his parents.
However, when faced with his father’s murder, and his mother’s remarriage to King Hamlet’s
murderer, Hamlet slowly goes from trying to expose his father’s murderer to becoming a
murderer himself.