Brenna Speasl

Mrs. Jewell

ERWC 12: Period 6

March 18, 2022

Hamlet’s Emotional Rollercoaster

Conflict and tension are the first ideas we come across when we sit down to watch a

movie. Everyone decides who the heroes and the villains are within the first few minutes. We do

the same during the opening acts of Shakespeares’s tragedy, Hamlet. The King Hamlet was just

murdered, possibly by his own brother. Nobody knows this information except Young Hamlet

who is now trying to find out the true story, despite still being devastated by his fathers passing.

In the drama, Claudius’ characters throws Young Hamlet through a whirlwind of emotions that

deeply effects his mental health from Claudius’s two-faced behaviors in group setting compared

to alone, making degrading comments, and ultimately murdering King Hamlet.

Claudius reveals different sides of himself to the town and to the Prince with very

opposite behaviors. In Claudius’ debut speech to the town, he tries to act very trustworthy, kind,

likable and sympathetic in order to have the people like him:

Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death

The memory be green, and that is us befitted

To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom

To be contracted in one brow of woe,

Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature

That we with wisest sorrow think on him

 Together with remembrance of ourselves (1.2.1-7)

Claudius is trying to win over the hearts of the people by acting compassionate about the death

of his brother, however, when Claudius speaks to Hamlet alone he becomes a completely

different person:

To give these mourning duties to your father.

But you must know your father lost a father,

That father lost; lost his, and the survivor bound

In filial obsequious sorrow (1.2.92-96)

Claudius is trying to downplay the death of King Hamlet by giving the reason that everyone's

father dies at some point so he should not be mourning anymore. Young Hamlet is very angered

and saddened by these words because he is being treated with disrespect. He is the only one

aware of the two faced behavior but believes there is a reason behind why he is acting this way.

As the play progresses, we see Claudius making incredibly degrading comments to

Young Hamlet such as, “But to persevere/ In obstinate condolement is a course/ of impious

stubbornness. ‘Tis unmanly grief” (1.2.96-98). This exhibits just a small portion of the hurtful

words said to the Prince that really affects his emotional state. At this point, he feels he has no

purpose in life as his father just died and his new father is invalidating his feelings by telling him

to stop grieving as it is “unmanly.” Hamlet was feeling suicidal and as if he had no more reason

to live because Claudius just took his fathers life and now his spot in the throne.

Later on, Young Hamlet is talking to what is believed to be the ghost of King Hamlet.

The ghost gives the Prince some heavy information about Claudius, “The serpent that did sting

thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown” (1.5.46-47). This ghost reveals that Claudius killed King

Hamlet. This information quickly turns Hamlet's feelings around because this gives him a
purpose to keep living because he wants to find if the ghost was telling the truth. Here,

Shakespeare introduces a metaphor that the King was actually murdered by a snake, with the

snake rumored to be Claudius. Hamlet decides he needs to be here when he finds out the entire

truth about Claudius’s actions. He plans to have Claudius watch a play so he can analyze his

body language to see if any of his actions confirm this theory. When speaking to himself, Hamlet

says, “The play’s the thing/ wherein i’ll catch the conscience of the king”(2.2.633-634). This

establishes that Hamlet will attempt to get revenge on Claudius for all he has done and the pain

he has caused. This highlights how, yet again, Hamlet's mental state is all over the place as he

wants to stay alive so that he can find out the real story behind his fathers tragic death.

Throughout Acts 1 and 2, Young Hamlet has felt emotional extremes from feeling

depressed, suicidal, and having no purpose to now having a motive to stay alive. Claudius plays

a major role as he is the reason for all Hamlet’s pain. He has hurt Hamlet by treating him with

blatant disrespect, saying inconsiderate comments, and murdering late Hamlet. So the question

remains, what would you do if your uncle became your father after murdering your real father?

Many, just like Hamlet, want revenge.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012.

Notes on commentary:

- Elaborates on evidence

- Explains significance of the evidence

- Analyzes characters actions/emotions

 - Reveal relationship between evidence and sub-claim and claim

- Provides “opinion” language

- Analyze events and the effect on other areas of plots

- Elaborates on character motivation

- Talks about what evidence means not just what happened in it

- Insight and inference

Where does it belong: after the evidence, thesis/claim, sub-claims, conclusion,

Summary: restating other people's ideas into your own words. Not your ideas/original thoughts.

“Gist” of a passage or story

- Where it belongs: as a paraphrase (evidence), background info in introduction, lead in

before evidence (context)

Body para: -sub argument, lead in, “evidence”, commentary-reveals its connection to

sub-explains how it ties to main claim (transition to next piece of evidence)