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Why Does Hamlet Commit Suicide

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In Hamlet, suicide is a common theme that the characters all temper with. Hamlet, the narcissistic protagonist, is the character that ponders it more than anyone else. Throughout the play, Hamlet’s obsession of always being the center of attention drives him to do insane things. However, one thing it does not drive him to do is commit suicide.
Throughout the play, Hamlet’s obsession of always being the center of attention drives him to do insane things. However, one thing it does not drive him to do is commit suicide. In his famous ‘To be or not to be’ speech, Hamlet says, “To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must …show more content…

This causes a spur of events that indirectly cause Ophelia’s death. Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, seeks revenge for the death of his father and sister. He and Claudius plot kill Hamlet in a fight with a poisoned sword. Following the fight, the casualties are Hamlet’s mother, who is accidentally poisoned, Claudius, who is stabbed and forced to drink poison, Laertes and Hamlet, who die from the wound of the poisoned sword. When Horatio, Hamlet’s closest friend, realizes the catastrophe, he tries to kill himself. Hamlet stops him saying, “If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart absent thee from felicity a while, and in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain to tell my story”(5.2) Hamlet is only thinking of himself, which is one of his narcissistic characteristics. It is not that he cares about Horatio’s well being, instead, he cares that Horatio lives to tell his story. He wants to reassure that he will be in the spotlight even after he dies, and Horatio is his way of doing …show more content…

He thinks of himself in such high importance that suicide is something he would never act upon. Committing suicide would ultimately take away his ability to be in the spotlight, making him irrelevant. His father, who was of such high stature, was forgotten within two months of his death. Hamlet does not want to end up like his father which ultimately keeps him from committing suicide. However, when the Prince is dying, to ensure he will not be forgotten, he stops Horatio from committing suicide. With Horatio still alive, Hamlet’s narcissistic wish, being talked about and not forgotten, becomes a

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Hamlet pushing away others causes his descent into madness. As he slowly loses his sanity, the idea of death looks more and more appealing. Shakespeare shows this idea through Hamlet’s soliloquy: “To be, or not to be: that is the question” (Shakespeare, line 57). The fact that Shakespeare used a soliloquy in this scene shows how much Hamlet’s solitude has affected how he views his life. His thoughts of suicide race as he finds himself alone, separating himself from the betrayal in his family.

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Throughout the play, Hamlet has various points where he is confronted with suicidal thoughts or attempts. Throughout Hamlet’s first soliloquy “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw resolve itself into a dew, / Or that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! Oh God, God!”

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Hamlet’s ability to overthink situations or decisions makes him conclude that committing suicide might be the easy way out of his indecisiveness. Hamlet overthinks every problem that is happening. He overthinks so much that he cannot make up his decision about what to do with the problem. The cluelessness that is going on within his mind makes him lose his mental status, life and the love of his life. Hamlets actions are hypnotized by his thoughts: “Thus Conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment, With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action” (3.1.85-90).

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When Hamlet encounters his Father death, he becomes obsessed with death itself. He begins to wonder if suicide is the answer to end his suffering. In the play, hamlet says “O, that this too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew”(I.ii.133-138).

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Because of how closely religion and moral was tied together, suicide was considered morally wrong due to its classification as a sin. Hamlet himself claims in the «O´ that this too, too solid flesh would melt» soliloquy that he would commit suicide had it not been deemed wrong by the church. In other words, the play Hamlet treats suicide as a

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