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Essay / Hamlet's Alienation Analysis - 1367
Hamlet is tasked with seeking retaliation on behalf of his murdered father from the King of Denmark, Claudius. In an attempt to murder Claudius, Hamlet risks alienating himself within multiple psychological parallels. The variants of indifference that endanger Hamlet's sense of psychological identity are his religion, his morality, his countrymen, his mother, and the alienation of women. Hamlet feels fulfilled by following religious principles of life. This is seen in Hamlet's refusal to commit murder, thus preventing him from committing suicide. At the time, he wanted to do it to avenge his father's death. Both murder and suicide are considered sins (Cahn, 1996, p. 97). To be or not to be, that is the question: whether it is nobler in the spirit to suffer the slings and arrows of scandalous fortune, or to take up arms against a sea of troubles, and in opposing it, put an end to it. (3. 1. 1749-52) Hamlet wonders whether it is worth living in such misery or not, as he is forced to try to avenge his father's death every day. In this context, Hamlet is self-destructive and at risk of drifting away from his religion as he begins to think about suicide. If he were to kill Claude, he would be violating a central religious principle prohibiting the murder of another human being. Although it is easy to hate King Claudius for his actions, we wait and hope that he will confess to his crimes, but he never will (Stockton & Shakespeare, 2000, p. 09). Suicide and murder would make Hamlet feel guilty by violating his religious quota, thus representing an alienation at the level of his religious conscience (Knights, 1966, p. 14). Hamlet has the duty to avenge his father by killing the murderer, the king, at the risk of alienating himself on a religious level.Hamlet......middle of paper......with women in general. This boredom of women intimidates his self-esteem because it is a challenge. Hamlet, a heterosexual man, feels incapable of leading an ordinary sexual life if he feels alienated by women (Cahn, 1996, p.91). By seeking to eliminate Claudius, Hamlet risks emotional alienation. He would probably experience it on many levels. He would feel alienated from his bond of maternal love, feminine love, friendships, professional allies, compatriots, bond with his religion and normative principles. The many modes of alienation that occur simultaneously endanger one's intellectual sense of identity. With this awareness, he faces an immense burden that shapes his bizarre behavior, as well as his struggle with the gravity of his duty to send Claudius away. All of this is beyond his basic concern for execution if he attempts to assassinate Claudius..