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Loss And Betrayal In Hamlet Research Paper

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Recommended: Hamlet's character development

One’s mental state can be altered when the death of a loved one occurs. In Williams Shakespeare's Hamlet, great loss and betrayal play a crucial role in Hamlets spiral into insanity. His grieving mind and vengeful thoughts fill Hamlet with illusions of his father's Ghost, the late king of Denmark. Along with the sudden death of his father comes the suspicion of his uncle Claudius, the new king of Denmark, as the king’s murderer. This betrayal leads to Hamlet questioning his feelings for Ophelia. With all of this taken into consideration, it is effortlessly seen how this young prince, engulfed in his studies before his family’s tragedy, begins to lose his mind.
For starters, the young prince appears to have little to no self-control for someone thought to …show more content…

As a matter of fact, Hamlet admits this to Horatio, his right-hand man, when he confesses, "Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting / That would not let me sleep" (5. 2. 4-5). Hamlet’s confession to Horatio is what set off his bizarre mood swings throughout his journey to insanity. Also, Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia easily develops such crazy alterations in young Hamlet’s attitude. An example, Shakespeare made evident was when Hamlet begins to suspect Polonius use of Ophelia as bait to get to him. "You should not have believed me, for virtue, cannot so inoculate our/ old stock, but we shall relish of it. I loved you not" (3. 1. 117-19). The sudden change of feelings towards Ophelia is another reason for Hamlet's unstable mine. Hamlet is conscious that Ophelia is being used to get any information from him about his current state of mind. It becomes

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