An in-depth study guide to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Explore a detailed character sketch of the Prince of Denmark, his feigned and real madness, psychological complexities, obsession with death, and the play's enduring themes. Perfect for A-Level, IB, and undergraduate students.
Introduction: The Enduring Enigma of Elsinore
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark stands not merely as a play but as a cultural monument, a work that has fascinated and perplexed audiences and scholars for over four centuries. At its heart lies one of literature's most complex and psychologically profound characters: Prince Hamlet himself. This study guide delves into the intricate layers of Hamlet’s character, moving beyond simplistic readings of madness and revenge to explore the profound existential, psychological, and philosophical crises that define him. We will dissect his relationships, his feigned and genuine psychological turmoil, his evolving relationship with death, and the very nature of his tragic delay, providing you with a robust framework for understanding this seminal work of English literature.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
No study of Hamlet is complete without acknowledging its creator, the Bard of Avon. William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. His extant works, including approximately 39 plays and 154 sonnets, demonstrate an unrivalled understanding of human nature, mastery of language, and dramatic form.
Context: Writing at the turn of the 17th century, during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I, Shakespeare’s work reflects the intellectual and social ferment of the English Renaissance. Hamlet, written around 1599-1601, sits at the peak of his tragic period. The play synthesises the popular Elizabethan revenge tragedy genre with profound philosophical inquiry, drawing on sources like Saxo Grammaticus’s Historiae Danicae and a lost earlier play (the so-called Ur-Hamlet). His ability to transform a conventional revenge plot into a deep exploration of doubt, mortality, and identity is what elevates Hamlet from a mere tragedy to a timeless psychological study.
Character Sketch: Hamlet, The Melancholy Dane
Hamlet is not a character defined by a single trait but by a constellation of conflicting qualities. He is a scholar, a prince, a son, a lover, and an avenger, and these roles are often in violent opposition.
1. The Intellectual and the Man of Action: The Central Conflict
The most prominent conflict within Hamlet is the schism between thought and action. He is a product of Wittenberg, a Renaissance university synonymous with humanist learning and intellectual scepticism. This scholarly background equips him with a penetrating, analytical mind but also paralyses him.
Analysis Paralysis: As noted by critic A.C. Bradley, Hamlet’s powers of action are "eaten up by thought." He requires absolute certainty in a world of shadows and deception, leading to his infamous delay in avenging his father’s murder. The play-within-a-play (The Mousetrap) is a quintessential example: rather than acting on the Ghost’s word, he stages an elaborate experiment to “catch the conscience of the king.”
Coleridge’s Perspective: Samuel Taylor Coleridge saw in Hamlet an overabundance of intellectual activity, which creates an aversion to real, concrete action. He is more comfortable in the world of ideas than in the messy, violent world of the court.
2. The Problem of Madness: Feigned or Real?
A central question that has dominated Hamlet criticism for centuries is the nature of his madness.
The Antic Disposition: Hamlet explicitly states his intention to "put an antic disposition on" as a strategic disguise to investigate Claudius without raising full alarm. This feigned madness grants him a "licence" to speak uncomfortable truths, acting as a critical observer of the corrupt Danish court, much like a traditional court fool.
The Thin Veil: However, as argued in Prithvi Rai’s research, the line between performed and genuine madness is often blurred. The psychological trauma of his father’s death, his mother’s "o'erhasty marriage," and the burden of revenge push him to the brink. His erratic behaviour towards Ophelia, his obsessive fixation on female sexuality ("Frailty, thy name is woman!"), and his violent outbursts (e.g., the killing of Polonius) suggest a mind under immense, potentially pathological, strain. His madness is thus a complex amalgam of cunning performance and genuine, trauma-induced neurosis.
3. A Psychological Profile: Depression, Grief, and Paternal Deprivation
Modern psychological frameworks offer powerful tools for understanding Hamlet’s character.
Clinical Depression: Hamlet exhibits classic symptoms of severe depression, as outlined in Cathérina Kubresli’s thesis. His soliloquies are saturated with nihilism, fatigue, and a profound sense of worthlessness ("What a piece of work is a man... and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?"). His contemplation of suicide in the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy is a profound meditation on the appeal of oblivion as a refuge from life’s "slings and arrows."
Existential and Paternal Crisis: Drawing on the work of psychoanalyst Michael J. Diamond, one can interpret Hamlet’s paralysis as a crisis of autonomy stemming from "paternal deprivation." The sudden loss of the powerful, heroic father-figure (King Hamlet) shatters young Hamlet’s sense of identity and guidance. This is compounded by the usurpation of his throne, leaving him symbolically and psychologically castrated. His inability to act is, in this reading, an inability to step into the autonomous, decisive role his father once occupied.
4. The Evolution of a Relationship with Death
Hamlet’s relationship with mortality is not static; it undergoes a significant transformation, a key argument in Kubresli’s analysis.
Phase 1: Death as a Refuge: Initially, death is a passive escape from existential pain. He longs for his "too too sullied flesh" to "melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew," seeing death as a peaceful release from a corrupt world.
Phase 2: Death as an Existential Puzzle: In the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, death becomes an intellectual and philosophical problem. The "undiscover'd country" inspires fear and uncertainty, preventing action. His fixation is evident in the graveyard scene (Act V, Scene i), where he holds Yorick’s skull, confronting the brutal, physical reality of decay and the ultimate levelling of all humanity.
Phase 3: Death as an Instrument of Honour: After his sea voyage and return to Denmark, Hamlet exhibits a newfound resolve. Influenced by the bold, if foolish, honour of Fortinbras, death is no longer a passive refuge but an active choice in the pursuit of justice and honour. His final acceptance of the duel—"the readiness is all"—signals his acceptance of fate and his willingness to die to expose Claudius’s treachery and redeem his name.
5. Key Relationships: The Mirrors to His Soul
Claudius: Represents the Machiavellian man of action Hamlet cannot be. He is the poison in the "unweeded garden" of Denmark, the embodiment of the corruption Hamlet must purge.
Gertrude: His relationship with his mother is intensely fraught, bordering on the Oedipal. Her betrayal is, in many ways, more devastating than Claudius’s murder, fuelling his deep-seated misogyny and general disgust with the world.
Ophelia: She is the tragic collateral damage of Hamlet’s psychological war. His cruel treatment of her ("get thee to a nunnery") stems from his disillusionment with his mother and all women. Her genuine, heartbreaking descent into madness and subsequent death serves as a foil to his own performed and existential madness.
The Ghost: A catalyst and a psychological projection. Whether a genuine spirit or a manifestation of Hamlet’s super-ego, the Ghost imposes the unbearable burden of revenge, shattering Hamlet’s worldview and setting the tragedy in motion.
Horatio: The faithful friend and confidant, representing the stoic, rational balance Hamlet lacks. He is the witness who will survive to tell Hamlet’s story, ensuring his "wounded name" is restored.
Conclusion: The Anatomy of a Tragedy - Key Takeaways
Hamlet is the Quintessential Psychological Tragedy: The play’s primary conflict is internal. The real battle is not between Hamlet and Claudius, but within Hamlet’s own mind, between his moral conscience, his thirst for revenge, and his intellectual scepticism. Keywords: Hamlet psychological analysis, Shakespeare and the human mind, Renaissance tragedy.
Madness as a Multifaceted Dramatic Device: Shakespeare uses madness not as a single state but as a spectrum. Hamlet’s "antic disposition" is a strategic tool, Ophelia’s madness is a genuine result of trauma, and the line between them explores the fragility of the human psyche under extreme pressure. Keywords: Feigned madness in Hamlet, Ophelia’s madness analysis, mental health in Shakespeare.
The Theme of Death is Central and Transformative: Hamlet’s journey is a profound education in mortality. He moves from seeing death as an escape, to a philosophical problem, and finally to an accepted part of a divine plan, which allows him to act. Keywords: Hamlet’s soliloquy "To be or not to be", memento mori in literature, Shakespeare and death.
A Revenge Play That Subverts the Genre: Unlike straightforward revenge heroes, Hamlet is crippled by the moral and metaphysical implications of his task. The play is less about the act of revenge and more about the devastating psychological cost of pursuing it in a corrupt and uncertain world. Keywords: Elizabethan revenge tragedy, Hamlet delay analysis, morality in Hamlet.
A Scathing Critique of Political and Moral Corruption: The court of Denmark is a microcosm of a diseased state. From Claudius’s fratricide and incest to the spying of Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern, the play exposes the hypocrisy and rottenness that underpin a corrupt regime. Hamlet’s feigned madness allows him to become a truth-teller in this world of lies. Keywords: Corruption in Hamlet, political intrigue Shakespeare, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark".
A Character of Enduring Relevance: Hamlet’s existential doubts, his struggle with inaction, his grief, and his search for authenticity in a deceptive world continue to resonate deeply with modern audiences. He is, as T.S. Eliot noted (though critically), a character who embodies the artistic struggle to express inexpressible emotion, making him a perennial figure in the Western literary canon. Keywords: Hamlet modern relevance, existentialism in Hamlet, why is Hamlet so popular.
Further Reading & Study Prompts:
Critics to Explore: A.C. Bradley (Shakespearean Tragedy), Ernest Jones (Freudian interpretation), Jan Kott (Shakespeare Our Contemporary), Marjorie Garber (Shakespeare After All).
Study Questions:
To what extent is Hamlet’s delay a result of external circumstances versus his own internal nature?
Compare and contrast Hamlet’s "madness" with Ophelia’s. What does this reveal about gender and sanity in the play?
How does Shakespeare use imagery of disease, poison, and decay to reinforce the play’s central themes?
Is Hamlet’s final act one of triumphant vengeance or tragic failure?
We hope this detailed study guide provides a solid foundation for your exploration of this inexhaustible play. The enigma of Hamlet is one that rewards continual re-reading and re-interpretation.
