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Hamlet And His Father Essay

928 Words4 Pages

The relationship between Hamlet and his father is one of the main foundations for the play. It is the one of the biggest driving forces behind Hamlet’s actions and decisions, and thus brings up the theme of parental expectations. The vision of King Hamlet’s ghost shows up very early on in the story and kind of paves the way for the rest of the plot. By telling Hamlet to revenge his death, King Hamlet ends up undeniably changing his son’s fate, and perhaps even led him to his ultimate demise. Hamlet’s dedication to his father is one that he follows through with until the very end, even though it results in his death. This raises the question; to what extent should we fulfill the expectations of our parents? Hamlet’s relationship with his father is one that I personally believe is unhealthy. It is clear that Hamlet looks up to his dad and he is even shown to compare King Hamlet to various Greek Gods; for example in Act 1 Scene 2 when Hamlet says, “So excellent a king, that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr.”. A son looking up to his father is a natural thing, however Hamlet’s admiration is almost …show more content…

In the play, we are mainly subjected to Hamlet’s side of this relationship, but from what we see it is clear that Hamlet’s mother still loves him despite the resentment he feels towards her. She exhibits sincere love and concern for Hamlet even when he lashes out at her. His distaste can be shown through the quote, “Frailty, thy name is woman!” (Act 1, Scene 2). Hamlet does not attempt to fulfill his mother’s expectations of him like he does with his father, as she expects him to accept her remarriage. I can understand this, considering the situation regarding the mother-son relationship between them. After all, you cannot truly follow the expectations of someone whom you do not respect or agree with. Doing so would only contradict your own values and

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