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Hamlet's Sorrowful Ending

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The ending of the play closes many loose ends and shows the sorrowful ending that is seen in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies. The death of just about every character in the play all came as the result of one person’s actions, Hamlet. Due to Hamlet’s delay in his revenge on Claudius and his actual slaying of Polonius, he is the most to blame for the way the tragedy ended. While Claudius’ murder of his brother set actions into motion, the ending of the actual play was brought about by the events in which Hamlet was involved leading up to it. In Act iii, scene iv Hamlet, “stabs his sword through the arras and kills Polonius” which leads to Ophelia’s later death due to her overwhelming sadness. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were killed on an order
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Hamlet has come to see his mother, Queen Gertrude, and ends up stabbing Lord Polonius, which ultimately leads to his death. Lord Polonius’ final words include “O, I am slain!” Even though this provides a slight amount of comic relief to the reader, it has a reverse effect on Ophelia’s mental state. Her father’s death seems to be the potent punch in this fight because she officially goes mad after this final event. This is apparent in Scene IV Act I, when Laertes has come back to visit his sister and check on her well being.

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The next night Hamlet was on lookout for the ghost. The ghost told him that Claudius killed him by putting poison in his ear. Hamlet accidentally killed Polonius thinking it was Claudius; he also killed Laertes (Polonius’s son). Did Hamlet have a reason for his actions? The treatment of Gertrude, treatment of Ophelia, delaying and killing of Claudius is yet to be determined.

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First, I do not think hamlets acts were justified because of the treatment Gertrude had. According to Doc A: The ghost says not to blame her and get revenge on his uncle but hamlet did blame her and she already remarried after just 1 month of being with the new king Claudius. According to Doc C: Hamlet was speaking in a very harsh way to Gertrude and she said “say no more these are like daggers in my heart”. Then Hamlet (thinking it was the king) stabs Polonius through the curtain.

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Hamlet retaliated by accusing her of insulting his father by marrying Claudius. Polonius, hidden behind a tapestry, thought that Hamlet might attack her and cried for help. Hamlet, who thought it was Claudius, stabbed Polonius through the tapestry. Soon, Hamlet returned to his scolding. Just as Gertrude started begging for mercy, the ghost reappeared and told Hamlet show less cruelty and remember to carry out revenge.

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The last act starts with the conversation of Hamlet and Horatio with the gravedigger, which is shown to be a comic relief from the tragedies happening. Then, later on, in Ophelia’s burial the priests makes it seem like a suicide and not surprisingly makes Laertes mad about it. This was because he loved his sister very much and has lost her forever. In addition, we learn how Hamlet escaped the trip to England and reveals his true intentions of killing King Claudius. Which leads up to the match against Laertes and as everyone arrives Gertrude drinks the poisoned cup even though Claudius told her not to.

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In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet struggles to cope with his late father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage. In Act 1, Scene 2, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet are all introduced. Hamlet has just finished publicly speaking with his mom and the new king, and after he is interrupted by his good friend Horatio, who reveal the secret about King Hamlet’s ghost. Hamlet’s soliloquy is particularly crucial because it serves as his initial characterization, revealing the causes of his anguish. Hamlet’s grief is apparent to the audience, as he begins lamenting about the uselessness of life.

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Throughout the play, Ophelia acts as a very honest person in the beginning, willing to tell Laertes and Polonius anything. She then receives mistreated love from Hamlet that leads her to drowning herself in a river. The true face and actions from Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius, Queen Gertrude, King Claudius, and particularly Hamlet lead to their deaths. The end result leads to unfortunate events, including death. The love throughout the kingdom of Denmark becomes toxic, killing all who lives

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I define despair as losing all hope or confidence and the feeling of complete hopelessness. This definition can be applied or referred to by any individual but can be shown from different viewpoints. For example, setbacks have driven a person to the depths of despair. Shakespeare's play Hamlet, tells the story of Hamlet's transformation into a helpless man who is determined to find the unsolved truth. Throughout the play, Hamlet leaves the readers to grasp these unresolved mysteries.

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In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the main protagonist, Prince Hamlet, is tangled with the theme of death. During the play, he presents how his life is surrounded with death after his father, King Hamlet, dies. Death theme is the most occurring theme Shakespeare writes about in his plays, which most of his plays have a very dramatic death ending and involve the death of the main protagonist. Throughout the play, Shakespeare presents the idea of life, which is the never ending cycle of revenge and death. Shakespeare starts the death theme with the death of King Hamlet, which stimulates Hamlet to seek for revenge with his various soliloquies considering death from various points of view and certainly leads to a dramatic ending.

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Unaware of the role Hamlet is playing, Ophelia feels rejected and hurt. Eventually, Ophelia’s heartache, along with the death of her father, causes her to commit suicide. Next, Claudius and Gertrude’s role play affect their relationship with Hamlet. At the beginning of the play, Claudius takes on the role of a kind, just king; he seems to genuinely care for Hamlet. He often gives him fatherly advice, and shows affection for Hamlet in ways that an uncle would.

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These continuous deaths heighten the tension, as the suspense and mystery revolving around who would die next, magnifies the sense of anticipation in the audience. These deaths occur gradually, with King Hamlet being the first, as he had died before the play even started. This is followed by Polonius’ death by Hamlet in Act 3, Scene 4. As a result of her father’s death, Ophelia had reached a mental decline and resorted to committing suicide by drowning herself in Act 4, Scene 7. The climax of the play is in the final act which is Act 5, Scene 2; where multiple characters such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes and Hamlet have reached their untimely deaths.

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I gave father my word that I would distance myself from the prince. So today when I saw Prince Hamlet, I saw him and I just remembered my words and did not approach him. He, on the other hand, came closer to me, his appearance was strange, and his behavior was nothing like before. The prince grabbed me was staring at me and was breathing heavily.

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In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is tangled with the theme of death. During the play, he presents how his life is surrounded with death after the death of his father. Death theme is the most occuring theme Shakespeare writes about in his plays, which most plays have a very dramatic death theme and most of time involve the death of the main protagonist. Throughout the play, Shakespeare presents the idea of life, which is the never ending cycle of death and revenge. Shakespeare starts the theme of death with the death of King Hamlet, which stimulates Hamlet to seek for revenge with his various soliloquies considering death from various points of view and certainly leads to a dramatic ending.

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Suicide is a reoccuring theme in Hamlet. Since this is a theme that affects all characters to a certain degree, it is interesting to see how the idea of suicide is treated both morally, religiously and aesthetically. This essay will mostly be based on Hamlet´s own soliloquies, considering their relevance to the theme, but Queen Gertrude´s treatment of Ophelia´s death is also worth a mention. The story of Hamlet takes place in medieval Denmark, but a precise date is not mentioned.

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