William Shakespeare’s titular character in the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a young prince who is overwrought with grief after his father’s death. The king’s sudden death has a negative impact on Hamlet’s state of mind and psyche. Through Hamlet’s thoughts and soliloquies, the audience can see the main character’s obsession with spirituality, death, and mortality. Hamlet’s fixation on life after death causes his descent into madness. Because of this, spirituality, death, and mortality are the most important themes in Hamlet.
Hamlet first makes his appearance in the play two months after his father’s death and while wearing black clothes to mourn the death (1.2.138). Two months is an acceptable amount of time to grieve, but Hamlet has not accepted his father’s death yet. He is angry and confused about his father’s death. Because of the unexpectedness of his father’s death, Hamlet has many questions and thoughts about death.
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As a prince, Hamlet has undoubtedly led a sheltered, comfortable life. He may not have had anyone close to him die suddenly before. The loss of a parent is a huge affliction, but it may be much worse because it could be the first time someone close to Hamlet has died. His gloominess starts to aggravate the queen and his new stepfather. They urge Hamlet to stop grieving for his father. Gertrude tells Hamlet that it is normal for people to die (1.2.72-73). She then asks Hamlet why he seems so concerned with death (1.2.75). Hamlet responds in a haughty way. He says he does not seem obsessed with death, but that he is completely grief-stricken. He tells his mother that she cannot understand how deep his thoughts go (1.2.76-86). This statement shows that Hamlet is not only concerned with his father’s death, but death in general is weighing heavily on Hamlet’s