William Shakespeare s Hamlet - Hamlet s Inhumanity

Hamlet’s Inhumanity Shakespearean tragedies all have their fair share of death, but Shakespeare’s Hamlet stands out among the others in it’s overall revolvement around the idea of death and the afterlife. The play itself begins in act 1 with the ghost of Hamlet’s father, the dead king, setting Hamlet on a mission to exact revenge on the ghost’s brother and murderer, the new king Claudius. John Carroll expands on Hamlet’s mindset through the use of metaphysical sociology in, â€Å"Death and the Modern Imagination† explaining, â€Å"Hamlet was rather paralyzed by his encounter with death, in the form of his father’s ghost, to whom he swore an oath. It was when death became meaningless for Hamlet, and as a result all-encompassing, that life became meaningless† (565). Death loses meaning to Hamlet and, in turn, so does life, causing him to become resentful and detached, leading to his mental torment of the people closest to h im and the eventual widespread death of almost every character in the play. Hamlet’s newfound indifference for both life and death develops into a cynical and almost inhumane attitude, infesting his lively surroundings with venomously negative ideals and eventually becoming a metaphor for death himself. Hamlet’s preoccupation with the afterlife will eventually lead to his own death. Hamlet makes no secret of his grief over his father’s passing and, after speaking with his ghost, his resentment of his uncle, Claudius (1.5.25). Though his focal point shifted, heShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Heidi s The Great Gatsby 2003 Words   |  9 PagesHeidi s tragic side is fully revealed in this entire speech where humor and drama are perfectly blended to emphasize her moment of realization. She becomes a diminished character who no longer knows who she is and decides to leave New York to sort out her future. Like a true dark comedy protagonist, she is vulnerable and has l ost control. She realizes her downfalls and the comedy lies in the superiority felt by the spectator due to man s delight in man s inhumanity to man (Capp 220).