When it comes to things in this world that people fear the most, almost nothing makes mankind quake more than death. Religion itself, one of the core components of society and culture, came about as an explanation for mortality and the afterlife. The classic tragedy Hamlet is no exception, as the stench of murders and ironic demises reek throughout the entirety of the play. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, death is a prevalent subject; Hamlet’s opinion on the topic evolves from a want for the sweet release of death, but tinged with a fear of the afterlife, to a bitter acceptance that death is inevitable and that one cannot control one’s fate. In the very end of his existence, Hamlet dies peacefully because of this knowledge. In the first couple of acts of the play, Hamlet desires to commit suicide instead of being forced …show more content…
As mentioned previously, Hamlet is afraid of the uncertainty of the afterlife. However, he realizes in the later acts of the play that in death, all are equal. “We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service, two dishes, but to one table. That’s the end” (4.3.25-28). In this interaction with the king, Hamlet says that maggots will end up eating and overpowering everyone in the end. When people are dead and gone, it doesn’t matter what their status in life was or what they did while alive; they will simply became sustenance for some of the lowest and nastiest creatures in this cruel, cruel world. One could have killed a thousand people or been a saint, but no matter what, he or she will receive the same physical fate. Despite one’s actions in life, the body will eventually be consumed by maggots and turned to dust. Death doesn’t discriminate between the best of the best and the worst of the worst. At this point, Hamlet has learned what happens after death – at least when it comes to one’s