Bidinger 1

Mandy Bidinger
Carter
AP Lit 3A
7 February 2014
Hamlet as a Melancholic Character
During Elizabethan times, melancholia was known as a disease coinciding with
depression. Since the beginning of the disease, multiple interpretations have been taken on what
it truly is and how it is diagnosed. Despite the varying opinions, melancholia tends to focus on
four important aspects: grief, fear, time, and mood. Through these four characteristics of the
disease, Shakespeares Hamlet can be established as a melancholic character.
Hippocrates in one of his aphorisms said: If a fright or despondency lasts for a long
time, it is a melancholic affection (Hippocrates np). After discovering his father was murdered
by his uncle and that his own mother married the murderer, Hamlet was undoubtedly
overwhelmed with grief and fear. Not only did his family betray him, but he had to let go of his
lover, Ophelia, in order to take out his plan of revenge against his uncle, King Claudius.
Enveloped in this state of despair and trepidation of Claudius capabilities, Hamlet considers
suicide. To be, or not to be Hamlet debates taking his own life in order to end the heartache
and the thousand natural shocks / That Flesh is heir to (H III. i). Hamlets desire to die because
of the pain and anxiety for the future is one of the main reasons he can be described as a
melancholic character.
After this dramatic scene, Hamlet resolves a plan for revenge on Claudius, but delays to
take action bringing about another aspect of melancholia, time. The impact of time on
melancholia is shown through a famous engraving made in AD 1514 by Albrecht Durer, titled
Comment [Ab1]: Delete: This creates an unsure
beginning. Need to state fact.
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Melencolia I. In the engraving, there is a female figure that is turned away from the light, and
above her head are an hourglass and a scale. The act of turning away from the light symbolizes
dark despair and the hourglass and scale portray the influence of time and morality. This
engraving interprets melancholia as the state of waiting for motivation to take action, a theme
that often occurs within the play. While Hamlet postpones his plan of vengeance, actors visit
Hamlet in his castle and perform a scene. Although the characters in the scene are irrelevant to
the actor, he devotes so much passion into the performance and even begins to cry. Reflecting on
his own actions, Hamlet feels guilty because he has not acted on his promise, a cause that truly
matters to him: That I, the son of a dear father murdered / Prompted to my revenge by heaven
and hell, / Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words / And fall a-cursing like a very drab
(H II. ii). Hamlet is now not only disheartened because of his situation, but also because of his
lack of action against the King, displaying more symptoms of a melancholic character.
Correlating to time, mood also affects melancholia. In an article written by Michael Kerr
on Melancholic Depression, Kerr states that melancholia can be understood more clearly when
differentiating between emotions and moods: Emotions are constantly changing and respond to
a persons thoughts and experiences throughout the day. Moods, on the other hand are extensions
of emotions over timeit can change a persons behavior, alter how others perceive him, and
color his view of himself and the world. This interpretation of melancholia relates to Hamlets
disposition throughout the play. In the very beginning of the play when Hamlet is first
approached by the ghost, Hamlet goes to say that he is not afraid and states I do not set my life
in a pins fee (H I. iv) indicating that he does not value his life. This mindset is the precedent
towards the rest of the play, depicting Hamlets mood as vulnerable, depressed, and consistent.
When Hamlet becomes aware that his two childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, take
Comment [Ab3]: Change to *an actor visits
Comment [Ab4]: *about not seeking revenge on
his uncle
Comment [Ab5]: *but has delayed the time it
takes to kill the King
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Comment [Ab7]: *Hamlets disposition
throughout the play relates to the role of mood in
diagnosing melancholia.
Comment [Ab8]: *his fathers
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orders from the King, Hamlet does not feel guilty about sentencing to execute them: Why, man,
they did make love to this employment. / They are not near my conscience (H V. ii). This shows
his true alteration into an unwavering mood of depression and misery. The last scene where
Hamlet shows his melancholic character is after everyone has died and he speaks with Horatio:
But let it be.-Horatio, I am dead (H V. ii). Although Hamlet has not physically died yet, he
realizes that psychologically, he has. It can be interpreted that Hamlets character died when he
discovered his father was murdered, and that is when his true melancholic character began.
Hamlet went through stages of grief and fear, accompanied by the anticipation of the
right time to take action, and an overall mood characterized by a consistent state of depression,
which defines him as a melancholic character. These stages followed the plot as Claudius
violent murder of King Hamlet caused Hamlets grief and fear, the time it took to take action
against Claudius troubled Hamlet, and the ending scene where Hamlet comprehends his
psychological death.



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