Hamlet is a play about a young man's journey to self-discovery through an intense examination of his spirituality, morality, and purpose on earth. Prince Hamlet's encounter with the ghost of his murdered father stimulates this path to enlightenment. Hamlet's crusade to find meaning in his life is reconciled in his spirituality. Hamlet finds his purpose on earth as a truly moral man by following the principles that govern his religion. His duties as a devoutly religious man include avenging his father's death. The violence required for adequate revenge is justified by the Christian concept of “an eye for an eye” and Hamlet's filial duty to free his father's soul from purgatory. During his quest for revenge, Hamlet reaches important spiritual conclusions that put his soul at ease and fulfill his life's purpose; therefore, his death in the final scene is not a tragedy but a fitting conclusion to a heroic life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Hamlet's personal enlightenment begins in the first scene when he encounters the ghost of his father. Initially it seems that the ghost's sole purpose is to incite Hamlet to take revenge against his father's murderer. However, as the play progresses, the ghost's role as Hamlet's spiritual guide becomes more apparent. The ghost facilitates Hamlet's self-discovery and pushes Hamlet to avenge his father's death. In doing so, he inspires Hamlet to examine his religious beliefs and how they apply to his duties. The concept of death inspires Hamlet to also contemplate his fate and how his morality will determine his fate. The first act establishes Hamlet's duty to his father. King Hamlet's soul is stuck in purgatory, between heaven and hell, until the sins committed against him are avenged. When they first meet, King Hamlet says to his bewildered son: “I am the spirit of your father, / doomed for a time to walk by night, / and for the day confined to fast in the fire, / until I my atrocious crimes will be committed." the days of nature/ Are burned and purified” (1.5.10-14). Evident in his response, “O God!”, Hamlet did not truly suspect foul play in his father's death before his father's shocking revelation (1.5.25). Wasting no time, King Hamlet explicitly orders his son to "avenge his foul and unnatural murder" (1.5.26). Hamlet, charged with a clear mission, leaves the ghost of his father and begins his quest for revenge. However, after the disappearance of his father's ghost, Hamlet seems to lose strength in his beliefs and struggles to complete his mission. Praying for strength, he says: “O all you guests of heaven! Oh earth! What else? / And I have to mate hell? Oh boy! Hold, hold, my heart, / And you, my nerves, do not grow old quickly, / But hold me rigidly” (1.5.93-96). This soliloquy not only establishes Hamlet's belief in God, but also reveals his nature; he is not mentally stable enough to complete this mission independently. He relies on several external forces to assist him in completing his task. In the third scene, his father's ghost returns to “whet [his] almost dull purpose” (3.4.115). The ghost's physical existence is questionable. It could instead be, or at least represent, Hamlet's faith in God and the strength he draws from his faith. The ghost undeniably represents Hamlet's belief in a supernatural world separate from life on earth. Aside from the obvious significance of the ghost as motivationof Hamlet to execute revenge, also causes Hamlet to become meditative and spiritual. After the ghost leaves, Hamlet's behavior changes significantly. His friends and family believe he has gone mad. However, after learning the true nature of his father's death and what he must do to avenge it, Hamlet simply became very introspective. His spirituality becomes extremely important to him and important to his search for meaning in his life. In the midst of his introspection and simultaneous mission of revenge, Hamlet comes to several highly significant conclusions. Death as a recurring theme in his life leads Hamlet to reflect on his spirituality. He realizes that death is inevitable and indifferent to social status. His recognition that death is inevitable leads to his affirmation of the existence of God, as well as his examination of God's interaction with humanity, humanity's singularity compared to the rest of God's creatures, and the purpose of humanity on earth. Death is a repeated, and therefore highly significant, theme of Hamlet's story. After meeting his father's ghost, Hamlet becomes obsessed with death. When his university friends come to visit him and secretly assess his mental state, he describes the depression that had descended upon him since his father's death in a strange and melancholy monologue. Hamlet says: Of late, but I know not why, I have lost all my cheerfulness, renounced every habit of exercise; and indeed it goes so heavily against my character that this beautiful setting, the earth, seems to me a barren promontory; this excellent canopy, the air, behold, this brave firmament above, this majestic roof woven with golden fire, that is why it seems to me nothing but a disgusting and pestilent congregation of vapours. What a work of art a man is! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, how express and admirable in form and movement, how angel-like in action, how god-like in learning! The beauty of the world, the example of animals! Yet, upon closer inspection, what is this quintessence of dust? (2.2.296-309)After speaking with his father, Hamlet broke out of his usual routine; he is no longer able to live his life normally. Now he has a very distinct quest and that quest has led to a drastic change in his mindset. He is consumed by melancholy. His life on earth seems meaningless. He is resentful of humanity as a whole and its utter contempt for God's unique gift of reason, a complaint he repeats in a final soliloquy. He says that “divine ability and reason/ merging in us unused” is a clear denial of God's benevolence (4.4.39-40). Hamlet's concern with death resulting from his frightening encounter with his father stimulated his desire to meditate on abstract ideas about spirituality, morality, and human responsibility. His contemplation becomes cyclically destructive. The more Hamlet contemplates his spirituality, his morality, and his duties, the more depressed he becomes and the more frequently suicidal ideas come to mind. Hamlet contemplates his responsibilities to his father and his mother's wrongdoings and decides that suicide appears to be the only viable solution to his problems. Hamlet says sadly: To be or not to be, that is the question whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the blows and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take up arms against a sea of troubles and stand against them. Dying, Sleeping – No More – (3.1.57-62) Hamlet's obsession with death and subsequent obsession with spirituality have stuck him in a terrible position: he cannot escape his pain without violating his morals, buthis contemplation of his morality is causing him enormous pain. He ultimately decides that his uncertainty about the afterlife is too significant to risk eternal damnation. This particular episode of contemplation actually produces an optimistic conclusion for Hamlet, unlike his other meditations. Hamlet firmly establishes his belief in God and the afterlife. He decides that no human being would endure such horrible pain if he were not afraid of being punished for escaping. Hamlet says that humans “would rather bear the evils we have / Than fly to others we know not” (3.1.82-83). And he continues: “Thus conscience makes us all cowards; / And so the native color of resolution / Is faded by the pale tinge of thought” (3.1.84-86). Ultimately Hamlet decides that the only way he will escape his pain is if he acts on his revenge plot. Either he or his uncle must die for the sins committed against his father and Hamlet is not willing to die for the atonement of his uncle's sins. After this soliloquy, Hamlet truly begins his journey of self-discovery. He is no longer trapped in the wheel of melancholy. His newly discovered strength allows him to free his mind and begin to find meaning in his life. After deciding to act, Hamlet's thoughts become very religious in nature. He preaches sin, repentance, and virtue to everyone around him. He is finally confident in his own morality and believes that with God behind him he will successfully complete his mission and properly avenge his father's death. The roles of Hamlet and his uncle begin to switch in the third act when Claudius prays for forgiveness of his sins. and Hamlet is planning to take action. Claudio is weakened by guilt and is terrified of the impending consequences of the superior forces. Claudio's weakened position towards his vengeful nephew is evident when he says: “I cannot pray, / By inclination be as sharp as the will; / My strongest guilt defeats my strong intent” (3.3.38-41). Claudio's immoral behavior is destroying his power. It seems that Hamlet, with his consistently moral behavior, is stealing Claudius' strength and power. In one of his first significant confrontations with his uncle, Hamlet affirms his faith in God and states that his will is guided by divinity. Hamlet meets Claudius while praying and states that he knows of his uncle's actions and states that he will take revenge. Hamlet says of his uncle, "his soul might be damned and black as hell, where it goeth," once again reaffirming his beliefs in God and his belief that immoral behavior leads to eternal life in the afterlife at hell and vice versa. Hamlet finds strength in his faith in God and a clear conscience. The queen and king do not have Hamlet-like faith or clean morals. Hamlet recognizes his advantage over his mother and uses it against her. He describes her sins and essentially tells her that she and her lover will go to hell. She begs him to stop preaching against her, saying “O Hamlet, speak no more! / Thou turnest my eyes into my own soul, / And there I see spots so black and grainy” (3.4.90-92). He made both the king and queen look into their souls and see their misdeeds. In doing so, he pretty much accomplished his task of revenge. The king and queen are tortured by their conflicting moral problems and beg for the mercy of God's wrath. Hamlet's quest for revenge and subsequent achievement of confidence resulting from his faith in God and knowledge of his true moral behavior have given him allowed to take revenge on his uncle and mother in a way that went beyond killing them. Both the king and the queen, 1988.
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