Ina Mascardo
Mascardo1
Mr. Janky
English 1301-02
Class 2 Period 4
6 April 2015
The Melancholy of Hamlet
Melancholy is a well-known feeling on the planet Earth. Its consuming effects on one’s
thoughts and actions can make one feel as if they will never see the end of the darkness that
encases their fragile human souls. After being told that his beloved father is deceased, the young
Hamlet was drowning in the sea of melancholia. “How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable- Seem
to me all the uses of this world!”(Crowther 1. 2. Lines 133-134) Adding to the misfortune that
was set upon the young prince, Hamlet finds out that his mother, Gertrude, married his father’s
brother Claudius prior to two months’ time. These changes brooded mental and moral reactions
from the young prince which deeply worried many. He was no longer the same. Throughout the
play, Hamlet’s grief over his father’s death influenced his actions, thus making people question if
he was really mad in the brain or just simply odd. Although everyone believed that Hamlet was
insane, I have the impression that his actions were triggered by his curiosity to find answers to
his father’s sudden death so that he can find closure in his troubled soul.
In Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 2, Hamlet expresses deep displeasure among the changes that
were arranged due to his father’s death. He feels as if he were better dead than alive, which he
did wish to be. “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,—
Fie on ’t, ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature
Ina Mascardo
Mascardo2
Mr. Janky
English 1301-02
Class 2 Period 4
6 April 15
Possess it merely. That it should come to this.” (1.2.129-132; 135-138)
Hamlet continued to feel this way until his encounter with his father’s apparition. Not only did
he gain information that his mother’s current husband, Claudius, was the murderer of King
Hamlet, but he gained the willingness to live so that he can put his father’s soul to peace. With
the ghost’s words in mind, Hamlet decides to kill Claudius due to the fact that he poisoned King
Hamlet and had incest with his mother. He is drowned in troubles and his deep conflicting
thoughts. Everything that he was interested in was no more, and his moral faith was shattered.
“Everything seemed to him to have gone wrong. His father is dead, his mother dishonored, and
his country disgraced and weakened.”(Mabillard)
Although the prince had decided to kill the Claudius for his unforgivable sin, Hamlet did
not recognize that he was a victim of indecisiveness. He proved to himself that Claudius was in
fact the murderer because of the test that he ingeniously concocted, but when Hamlet had the
perfect chance to kill Claudius, he failed to and made excuses to make up for it. “No.
Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent.
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in th' incestuous pleasure of his bed,
At game a-swearing, or about some act
Ina Mascardo
Mascardo3
Mr. Janky
English 1301-02
Class 2 Period 4
6 April 15
That has no relish of salvation in ’t—
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,” (3.3. 88-94)
Throughout the play I noticed that Hamlet was indeed very good at hiding and acting, but his
conscience got the best of him until the very end.
Hamlet’s constant battling thoughts and constant criticism of himself branch from his
melancholia. Melancholia is believed to be “A mental disorder characterized by severe
depression, apathy and withdrawal.” (Arash) This term is invented by the Greeks. They
associated melancholia with black bile in one’s bloodstream. Although this very untrue, the
Greeks believed that black bile was a sign of deathly illness because of its harmful effects. When
one thinks of black, one can associate darkness which is basically what one feels whenever in a
state of melancholy. Hamlet showed these signs through his actions throughout the play. If you
think about it, Hamlet was the only person that mourned excessively, and the only reason why he
had an obsession with plays was that these plays showed great emotion. He was so intrigued
about the feelings that they emitted that he directed a great amount of energy towards the plays
in perfecting a single play. By doing all this, Hamlet gets to feel emotion, whether it be good or
bad, it was a momentary escape to his dark depressed abyss.
There were many other issues that Hamlet had that lead to his melancholic behavior. One
of them was skepticism. Hamlet suspected those around him. He questioned each and every
Ina Mascardo
Mascardo4
Mr. Janky
English 1301-02
Class 2 Period 4
6 April 15
single one of their motives, which in turn pushed his closest friends away. His mistrust towards
many characters would not benefit him in the long run. In addition to Hamlet’s skepticism, he
had a problem with stubbornness. Hamlet’s stubbornness makes him the only character in the
play that cannot bear to see the events that were unfolding right in front of him. It is like he is the
one who sees the sins of Denmark clearly.
Towards the end of the play, Hamlet and Laertes engage in a fencing duel because of
Laertes’s rage towards the death of his sister. However, Laertes and Claudius secretly teamed up
so that they could kill Hamlet. Claudius’s plan backfired since Laertes accidentally got hit by the
poisoned tip of the fencing sword. In addition, Gertrude drank the wine in which Claudius
poisoned just for Hamlet. Gertrude announced the wrong-doings of Claudius as she died.
Enraged, Hamlet finally kills Claudius for his sinful acts. This was of no use since Laertes’s
poisonous sword had affected the young prince. In the end, his melancholic suspicions were
right. He shouldn’t have trusted anyone.
Through every cause, there’s an effect. Because Claudius decided to kill the king, Hamlet
became melancholic. The king’s spirit was unhappy, thus the reason why it became a ghost that
instructed Hamlet to kill Claudius on account of his impure ways. Hamlet composes plans to kill
Claudius, thus acting irrationally. Once Claudius knew that the young prince knew about his
shameless murder against his own brother, he forces Hamlet to leave the country and head for
England. Hamlet, of course, did not obey, which only resulted to doom for all of the characters
Ina Mascardo
Mascardo5
Mr. Janky
English 1301-02
Class 2 Period 4
6 April 15
due to King Claudius’s thirst to exterminate Hamlet. “A few commentators see The Tragedy of
Hamlet as one of the Elizabethan ambition plays. For them, the primary reason for Hamlet’s
desire to kill his uncle is not to avenge his father- but rather to make possible his advancement to
the throne.” (Lowers) However, I think of it differently. “… Melancholy is an experience which
combines the pleasure of feeling sad with sober self-reflection.”(Smith).Hamlet was not insane at
all; it was his melancholic personality that made him stand out from the others. His ambitions
were purely for justice in order to find answers, peace, and closure.
Ina Mascardo
Mascardo6
Mr. Janky
English 1301-02
Class 2 Period 4
6 April 15
Works Cited
o Arash. "Literary Articles." <i>: Hamlet: The Epitome of Melancholy</i>. Web. 6 Apr.
2015. &lt;http://www.literary-articles.com/2009/12/hamlet-epitome-ofmelancholy.html&gt;.
o Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Hamlet.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web.
31 Mar. 2015.
o Lowers, James K. "Hamlet ,Motivated by Ambition." <i>Hamlet: Notes</i>. Lincoln,
Neb : Cliff's Notes., 1971. 11-12. Print.
o Mabillard, Amanda. "Hamlet's Melancholy: The Transformation of the Prince."
<i>Hamlet's Melancholy: The Transformation of the Prince</i>. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
&lt;http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/hamletmelancholy.html&gt;.
o Smith, Steven. Melancholy and Happiness. South African Journal of Philosophy, 2014.
447. Print.
Ina Mascardo
Mascardo7
Mr. Janky
English 1301-02
Class 2 Period 4
6 April 15
Plagiarism is the act of copying a work or idea from somebody and passing it as your own.
The act of plagiarizing can cause serious consequences, however it is sadly one of the most
common acts that students do while they are in school. There are two types of students: ones who
intentionally do it, and the students who accidentally do it. To avoid plagiarism, one should
know the rules and regulations of plagiarism. Try to study the rules to avoid future
complications. Another tip is to never copy the text word for word. Find synonyms, rearrange the
words, and re-write it in your own words. You can find many ways to avoid this predicament. In
conclusion, although finding things in the internet is great, one must respect the owners who took
their time making the website in order for people to find inspiration.
For my peer evaluation, I met up with Sammy and Valerie to discuss my thesis on the cause
for Hamlet’s Melancholy. My thesis stated, “Although everyone believed that Hamlet was
insane, I have the impression that his actions were triggered by his curiosity to find answers to
his father’s sudden death so that he can find closure in his troubled soul.” Sammy at first was
confused on my statement. Did I think Hamlet was crazy? The answer is no. I thought that
Hamlet was doing it for the sake of his beloved father. Valerie read my thesis, and made a few
corrections on it, but agreed on the central idea. Hamlet’s melancholia was targeted towards the
loss of his father, thus the reason why he changed. So, if King Hamlet wasn’t killed, Hamlet
wouldn’t be suffering from depression as of right now, and he wouldn’t be concocting plans to
kill his uncle.