ObsessedDeath is the end of the road. However, what follows is just as important as death. Almost every culture or religion features some sort of afterlife, whether it is the Valhalla and Hel of Norse religion, the underworld of the Greeks, or the heaven and hell of Christianity. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the main character is obsessed with what happens after death, driving much of his action (and inaction) throughout the play; however, in the end, his struggles teach him a key life lesson that is still preached today. Hamlet's desire for revenge begins indirectly with his obsession with death. When he learns from Horatio that a ghost resembling his father haunts the castle, he decides to go and speak to the apparition. In Shakespearean times, this decision would likely have been considered irrational due to the various fears and superstitions regarding ghosts. When he sees the ghost with his own eyes, Hamlet is so obsessed with the mortal figure that he decides that "whether [his] intentions be evil or charitable, / [it] presents itself in such a doubtful form / that[ he] will speak to [him]” (I, iv, 21). The ghost informs Prince Hamlet that Claudius killed King Hamlet. After Hamlet discovers this, he sets out to avenge his father and kill his uncle. It is not easy to kill a king, given the various protections generally afforded to one and if given a timely chance, one would assume that he would take it. However, when Hamlet discovers Claudius kneeling, appearing to pray, at perhaps the most ideal moment in the entire play, Hamlet passes up the opportunity, saying he will wait "until he is drunk asleep, or in his rage / or in the incestuous". pleasure of his bed, / at play, at a swear word or about...... middle of paper...... everything” (V, ii, 116). He is ready to face the imminence of his death. Hamlet's obsession with death entirely influences the outcome of the tragedy. His actions and inactions are initially motivated by fear of mortality and uncertainty of the afterlife. However, towards the end of the play, he no longer fears death, but embraces it with the will he preaches and accepts it when it comes. Although still obsessed with his own mortality, he ultimately takes advantage of this obsession to achieve his own goals; the lesson that Hamlet learns is one that many try to follow today. “Carpe diem”, we say: live each day as if it were your last, do what you truly believe in, otherwise you are wasting your time. This lesson, one of many lessons taught by Hamlet, could be well learned by the multitudes of people who hate their own lives and live in misery..