We were talking about Hamlet in class and how complicated his
personality is. We joked about the “emo” character he is and how this brand new
“urban tribe”, as it was called, had its starting point almost five hundred
years ago, which I bet no one belonging to that group knew about Hamlet´s story or Shakespeare or even books! The may
have no idea about the world outside their suicide thoughts or anything else
than My Chemical Romance or Fall out Boy bands which were an important
companion throughout their obscure days and nights.
Apart from all the laugh about Hamlet´s character being an “emo”, his
personality in the play is quite thought provoking. He is not only depressed
but he is also is the most clever character in the play, planning the murder of
his uncle and now king Claudious and also a bit hesitant about his acts because
of all the things that happened to him. And we cannot miss the apparent madness
of this character which was intended to make fool of the people he want to take
revenge from.
It´s obvious that the depression of Hamlet is well founded since his
father has died and while he talks about the sadness he felt, he expressed too
his desire to commit suicide, which lead to the apparition of his hesitant
personality when he expresses that suicide will be looked upon in God´s eyes (Act
1, Scene 2). Thought that will appear again when the play advances and when
things get more and more confusing with the apparition of the ghost that spoke
to him and who claim for revenge on Hamlet´s hands.
Beyond the depressed Hamlet or the hesitant Hamlet what caught my
attention was his cleverness. Seen for example in the way he reacted when he
saw his father´s ghost making Horatio and Marcellus swear on their swords not
to tell a thing about what happened. But the clever character reach his
pinnacle when he discovers through the performance of the play to be presented
to the King and the Queen that Claudious was his father´s murderer and he stars
planning Claudious´ death and how he finally takes avenge for his death father,
that ultimately lead to the death of everyone because of the circumstances that
surround the scene.
I found hundreds of memes on internet that represent the “emo” or
Shakespeare being the engenderer of the so called the “emo tribe”, but what I
desire to explain through these words is that Hamlet´s personality and
intricacy is of any person. We act according to the things that happened to us
and the vicissitudes of life that shape our behavior and our decisions. Human
beings are all about emotions and through Hamlet; Shakespeare directs our
attention to the complexity of the human mind by expanding on the story of
revenge which ends on a tragedy.
References
- Shakespeare, W. (1603), Hamlet.
- "Personality Traits Of Hamlet." 123HelpMe.com. 2 Nov 2014
<http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=81202>.
References
- Shakespeare, W. (1603), Hamlet.
- "Personality Traits Of Hamlet." 123HelpMe.com. 2 Nov 2014
<http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=81202>.
If you are intelligent enough and have spare time to analyse our world, you are likely to realize that we live in an absurd world. For example, in the North of Chile there's only one big lake alive, yet our stupid authorities approved of the construction of another copper mine there, which literally kill water because that water doesn't undergo the cycle of water we all know about. Preferring money to basic resources such as water, and preferring industrial activity to agriculture is what is going to make us become extinct. What is astonishing to me at least is that Shakespiare realized about the absurdity of the world and how fake--admit it, all of us play roles--we human beings really are long before us.
ResponderEliminarI've talked about this with people belonging to different generations (my father for example), and most of them do realize how absurd things such as the ones I've mentioned here really are, but the problem is that nobody, including myself, does anything. It's probably because we fear change pretty much the same way medieval man feared uncertainty.
It is only when we eat the last onion, the last carrot, etc., and we see ourselves forced to eat our own money that we will realize how stupid we were. Unfortunately, it's going to be too late.
ResponderEliminarI agree with you Eva, human beings are all about emotions. Emotions are a powerful force that incluences the way we perceive things, think and make decisions. Sometimes they (emotions) make us hesitate because of the consequences that an action could cause. They are present in our life all the time.
ResponderEliminarIn the case of Hamlet (plus his soliloquies through the play) I think he is an exaggerated representation of ourselves when wondering about what to do, how to act, what is right, etc... As he questions over and over again what role to play.
We (human beings) are complex as you said before, for being influenced by emotions. If you are passionate as Hamlet, emotions a stronger role in your perceptions causing you to feel depressed and forget everything that surrounds you.
I think this might have happened to everyone at least once because being emo is cool (haha), because being negative is easier, seeing the empty part of the glass and crying is easier and Shakespeare did a very good job representating this in Hamlet character.
I agree with you when you state that Shakespeare tried to portray the complexity of the human mind in his play “Hamlet.” Now, if we connect all these ideas with emos, it all makes sense. In “Oxford Learner’s dictionaries,” the concept ‘emo’ is defined as “(…) Emos are typically supposed to be emotional and sensitive and full of angst [a feeling of anxiety and worry about a situation, or about your life].” Just like an emo, Hamlet acted in this way. Maybe he is an exaggeration of how humans react to a sad situation as their father’s death—which is even worse when their uncle is the murderer. However, Hamlet is a good representation of all our feelings, emotions, sensations, etc. And as a human, he allowed himself to be led by his emotions, and, obviously, if the situations had been different, the poor prince would have acted completely different, too. As María Andrea says, “Emotions are a powerful force that influences the way we perceive things, think and make decisions.” As a consequence, every feeling Hamlet had after his father’s death: love, sadness, loneliness, and anger, made him behave as he did: seeming mad and accepting the idea of revenge.
ResponderEliminarJaviera.