Themes in Hamlet

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Themes with comparison in Hamlet

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Hamlet is a complex and rich play that explores various themes, such as revenge, action and
inaction, appearance and reality, women, religion, honor, and death. Some of these themes can be
compared and contrasted to show how they are related or different. For example:

Revenge and action vs. inaction: Both Hamlet and Laertes seek revenge for their fathers’ deaths, but
they have different approaches and outcomes. Hamlet is hesitant, reflective, and philosophical,
while Laertes is impulsive, rash, and violent. Hamlet delays his revenge until he has proof of
Claudius’s guilt, while Laertes does not care about the consequences of his actions. Hamlet’s
indecision leads to more deaths, including his own, while Laertes’s recklessness causes his own
downfall and reconciliation with Hamlet.

Appearance and reality: Many characters in the play pretend to be something they are not, either to
deceive others or to hide their true feelings. Claudius appears to be a good king, but he is actually a
murderer and a usurper. Hamlet pretends to be mad, but he is actually sane and cunning. Ophelia
appears to be obedient and innocent, but she is actually rebellious and suicidal. Polonius appears to
be wise and loyal, but he is actually foolish and meddling. The play-within-a-play is a device that
exposes the contrast between appearance and reality, as it reveals Claudius’s guilt and Hamlet’s
awareness.

Women and death: The two female characters in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, are both victims of
the patriarchal society and the male characters’ actions. Gertrude is seen as a weak and lustful
woman, who marries her brother-in-law soon after her husband’s death. She is unaware of
Claudius’s crime and Hamlet’s plot, and she dies by drinking the poisoned wine meant for Hamlet.
Ophelia is seen as a passive and fragile woman, who obeys her father and brother and loves Hamlet.
She is driven to madness and suicide by Hamlet’s rejection and Polonius’s death. Both women
represent the theme of death, as they are associated with flowers, water, and graves.

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Some other themes that can be compared and contrasted in Hamlet are:

Religion and honor: The play explores the conflict between the Christian and the pagan views of
honor and justice. Hamlet is torn between his duty to avenge his father’s murder and his fear of
committing a sin by killing Claudius. He also questions the validity of the ghost, which could be a
devil in disguise. Claudius is hypocritical, as he pretends to be devout but he cannot pray sincerely or
repent for his crime. He also uses religion as a tool to manipulate others, such as when he sends
Hamlet to England under the pretext of a pilgrimage. The play also shows the contrast between the
Protestant and the Catholic beliefs, as Hamlet is from a Protestant Denmark, while Laertes and
Ophelia are from a Catholic France.

Madness and sanity: The play examines the thin line between madness and sanity, as well as the
effects of grief, guilt, and betrayal on the human mind. Hamlet feigns madness to conceal his true
intentions and to test the loyalty of others. However, his madness also reflects his inner turmoil and
confusion, as he struggles with his moral dilemma and his identity. Ophelia’s madness is genuine, as
she loses her reason after Hamlet’s rejection and her father’s death. She expresses her feelings
through songs and flowers, which reveal her innocence and sorrow. Claudius and Gertrude are also
mad in a way, as they are blinded by their lust and ambition, and they ignore the signs of danger and
corruption around them.

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Some more themes that can be compared and contrasted in Hamlet are:

Corruption and decay: The play depicts the moral and political decay of Denmark, as a result of
Claudius’s usurpation and murder of King Hamlet. The imagery of disease, poison, rot, and weeds is
used throughout the play to convey the sense of corruption and decay. For example, Hamlet says
that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Act I, Scene IV), and that “the time is out of
joint” (Act I, Scene V). The ghost of King Hamlet also describes how Claudius’s “leperous distilment”
(Act I, Scene V) infected his whole body and soul. The play also shows how corruption and decay
affect the individual characters, such as Hamlet, Ophelia, and Gertrude, who suffer from madness,
despair, and death.

Love and loyalty: The play explores the different types and degrees of love and loyalty among the
characters, as well as the conflicts and consequences that arise from them. Hamlet loves his father
and seeks to avenge his death, but he also loves his mother and tries to save her from Claudius’s
influence. He also loves Ophelia, but he rejects her and insults her to protect her from his dangerous
mission. Ophelia loves Hamlet, but she also obeys her father and brother, who warn her against
Hamlet’s affections. She also loves her father, but she is devastated by his death and Hamlet’s role in
it. Horatio loves Hamlet, and he is the only one who remains loyal and faithful to him until the end.
He also respects Hamlet’s wishes and agrees to tell his story to the world.

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Sure, I can provide some references to the original text of Hamlet that support the themes I
mentioned. Here are some examples:

Revenge and action vs. inaction: Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act III, Scene I, where he contemplates “To be
or not to be”, reflects his inner conflict between action and inaction. He wonders whether it is better
to live or die, to suffer or to fight, to avenge or to forgive. He also questions the morality and validity
of his revenge, as he says “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all” (line 83). Laertes’s reaction
to his father’s death in Act IV, Scene V, shows his impulsive and violent nature. He storms into the
palace with a mob of followers, demanding justice and threatening to kill Claudius. He also vows to
avenge his father and sister, as he says “To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! / Conscience
and grace, to the profoundest pit!” (lines 128-129).

Appearance and reality: The play-within-a-play in Act III, Scene II, is a device that exposes the
contrast between appearance and reality, as it reveals Claudius’s guilt and Hamlet’s awareness. The
play, called The Murder of Gonzago, is a reenactment of King Hamlet’s murder by his brother.
Hamlet hopes to catch Claudius’s reaction and confirm his guilt, as he says “The play’s the thing /
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” (Act II, Scene II, lines 605-606). Claudius’s reaction is
that of a guilty man, as he rises from his seat and calls for light. He also confesses his crime in a
soliloquy in Act III, Scene III, where he says “O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven” (line 36).

Women and death: Ophelia’s madness and death are depicted in Act IV, Scene VII, where Gertrude
reports how she drowned in a brook. She says that Ophelia was singing and weaving flowers, when a
branch broke and she fell into the water. She also says that Ophelia did not try to save herself, but
continued singing until she sank. She says “Her clothes spread wide, / And mermaid-like awhile they
bore her up; / Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds, / As one incapable of her own
distress, / Or like a creature native and indued / Unto that element” (lines 175-180). Gertrude’s
death is shown in Act V, Scene II, where she drinks the poisoned wine meant for Hamlet. She does
not know that the wine is poisoned, and she drinks it to toast Hamlet’s success in the fencing match.
She says “The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet” (line 272). As she dies, she accuses Claudius,
saying “No, no, the drink, the drink! O my dear Hamlet! / The drink, the drink! I am poisoned” (lines
316-317).

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Some references to the original text of Hamlet that support the themes I mentioned are:

Religion and honor: Hamlet’s dilemma between the Christian and the pagan views of honor and
justice is expressed in his soliloquy in Act I, Scene II, where he wishes he could die, but he
remembers that “the Everlasting had not fixed / His canon 'gainst self-slaughter” (lines 131-132). He
also wonders why his father’s ghost, who he believes is from purgatory, would ask him to commit a
murder, which is a sin. He says “The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil, and the devil hath power
/ T’assume a pleasing shape, yea, and perhaps / Out of my weakness and my melancholy, / As he is
very potent with such spirits, / Abuses me to damn me” (Act II, Scene II, lines 596-601). Claudius’s
hypocrisy and manipulation are shown in his speech in Act IV, Scene III, where he sends Hamlet to
England under the pretext of a pilgrimage. He says “And, England, if my love thou hold’st at aught
— / As my great power thereof may give thee sense, / Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red /
After the Danish sword, and thy free awe / Pays homage to us—thou mayst not coldly set / Our
sovereign process, which imports at full, / By letters congruing to that effect, / The present death of
Hamlet. Do it, England, / For like the hectic in my blood he rages, / And thou must cure me” (lines
61-70).

Madness and sanity: Hamlet’s feigned madness and its effects on his mind are evident in his
conversation with Polonius in Act II, Scene II, where he pretends to be nonsensical and rude, but also
reveals some truths and insights. He says “Slanders, sir; for the satirical rogue says here that old men
have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum,
and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams. All which, sir, though I
most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down; for yourself,
sir, should be old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward” (lines 197-204). Ophelia’s genuine
madness and its expression through songs and flowers are portrayed in Act IV, Scene V, where she
enters singing and distributing flowers to the king, queen, and Laertes. She says “There’s rosemary,
that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts. /
There’s fennel for you, and columbines. There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me. We may call it
herb of grace o’ Sundays. O, you must wear your rue with a difference. There’s a daisy. I would give
you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. They say he made a good end. / For
bonny sweet Robin is all my joy” (lines 175-184). Claudius and Gertrude’s madness and blindness are
revealed in their reaction to Ophelia’s death in Act IV, Scene VII, where they lament her fate, but
also show their guilt and fear. Claudius says “O, this is the poison of deep grief. It springs / All from
her father’s death, and now behold! / O Gertrude, Gertrude, / When sorrows come, they come not
single spies, / But in battalions” (lines 163-167).
Corruption and decay: The imagery of disease, poison, rot, and weeds is used throughout the play to
convey the sense of corruption and decay. For example, Hamlet says that “something is rotten in the
state of Denmark” (Act I, Scene IV, line 90), and that “the time is out of joint” (Act I, Scene V, line
188). The ghost of King Hamlet also describes how Claudius’s “leperous distilment” (Act I, Scene V,
line 63) infected his whole body and soul. He says “But know, thou noble youth, / The serpent that
did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown. / … / Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand / Of
life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched, / Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, / Unhouseled,
disappointed, unaneled, / No reckoning made, but sent to my account / With all my imperfections
on my head” (lines 39-40, 44-45, 74-79). The play also shows how corruption and decay affect the
individual characters, such as Hamlet, Ophelia, and Gertrude, who suffer from madness, despair, and
death.

Love and loyalty: The different types and degrees of love and loyalty among the characters, as well
as the conflicts and consequences that arise from them, are explored throughout the play. Hamlet’s
love and loyalty to his father and his mother are shown in his soliloquy in Act III, Scene III, where he
decides not to kill Claudius while he is praying, because he thinks that would send him to heaven,
while his father died without a chance to repent. He says “Now might I do it pat, now he is praying, /
And now I’ll do ‘t. And so he goes to heaven, / And so am I revenged. That would be scanned. / A
villain kills my father, and for that, / I, his sole son, do this same villain send / To heaven. / … / 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 / That has no relish of
salvation in 't— / Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, / And that his soul may be as
damned and black / As hell, whereto it goes” (lines 73-78, 88-95). Ophelia’s love and loyalty to
Hamlet and her father are shown in her conversation with Laertes in Act I, Scene III, where she
listens to his advice to be careful of Hamlet’s affections, but also defends him and expresses her
hope. She says “I shall th’ effect of this good lesson keep / As watchman to my heart. But, good my
brother, / Do not as some ungracious pastors do, / Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, /
Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine, / Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads / And
recks not his own rede. / … / And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose / Will be some danger, which
for to prevent / I have in quick determination / Thus set it down: he shall with speed to England / For
the demand of our neglected tribute. / Haply the seas, and countries different, / With variable
objects, shall expel / This something-settled matter in his heart, / Whereon his brains still beating
puts him thus / From fashion of himself” (lines 45-51, 161-171). Horatio’s love and loyalty to Hamlet
are shown in his speech in Act V, Scene II, where he agrees to tell Hamlet’s story to the world, and
also tries to kill himself to join him in death. He says “Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet
prince, / And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! / Why does the drum come hither? / … / I am
more an antique Roman than a Dane. / Here’s yet some liquor left. / … / If thou didst ever hold me in
thy heart, / Absent thee from felicity awhile, / And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, / To
tell my story” (lines 334-337, 343-344, 351-354)