Hamlet Blog 7

11.18.16

Prompt: Explain what is revealed about human nature in Hamlet. Use characters and situations to illustrate your 4 points.

As we have seen the plot of Hamlet from its very beginning to the end, much is revealed about the human nature in the play. One of the more prime examples in the play revolves around how a single individual or a group of individuals will lie in order to benefit for themselves. For example, the death of King Hamlet was a complete lie in part by Claudius in order to obtain power. By poisoning King Hamlet, Claudius went on to wed Queen Gertrude. Another example floats around the fact that Claudius had Hamlet sent to England for his own good, which was essentially Claudius trying to kill him as well for his own good. From this moment, it helps the reader infer that Claudius was afraid that Hamlet would end up causing the downfall of Claudius's reign over Denmark. From the two prior examples, it is obviously seen that men during this time period were more driven by power, wealth, and status rather than morals and ethics. To focus on a different character, we can look at Queen Gertrude. She married Claudius not too long after King Hamlet had passed, which affected Hamlet's character greatly. When I read that she moved on so quickly from her previous marriage, I was very surprised, but at the same time I was not. I can connect this to the novel, Pride and Prejudice, because within that novel women and men marry without actually having a bond of love, but rather for financial security and well-being. This is possibly what Gertrude was also doing during this play because of how quickly she moved on from her husband.