Existentialism in Hamlet In the 1600s, existentialism did not yet exist in name, but the ideas behind the movement were swirling around; many of the conflicts that Sartre and other existentialist philosophers discuss manifest themselves in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. By subtly sprinkling these ideas throughout the play, Shakespeare makes the audience reevaluate some of the customs and supposed truths of the time without making the play controversial in that effect. In Hamlet, some characters fail to adopt existentialist mindsets, and perhaps as a result, they suffer the anguish and despair of which Sartre warns. Other characters embody the values praised by existentialists, and Shakespeare rewards them, if not with a happy outcome, at least with some of the most quotable lines in all of literature. Through various existentialist elements, Shakespeare infuses Hamlet with a modern understanding of the world. …show more content…
Sartre and many other existentialists reject the idea of fate and predetermination in favor of “self-making in situation”: people define themselves with every action (Crowell). Even though people may not be born with an equal starting situation or the same opportunities as others, all people are born equal in the sense that they have the ability to change who they are. Yet Hamlet does not seem to agree with this position; he seeks an excuse for his hesitation to kill Claudius by defining himself as being born seventy-five percent cowardly: “A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom / And ever three parts coward” (4.4.41–43). But Sartre has no sympathy for