Essay On Self Motivation In Hamlet

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play. Most of the characters in the play have selfish motives at heart. Lust, greed, pride, and revenge are just a few sins that are committed in the play. There are few instances within the play that show goodness and kindness. Hamlet has so many people around him trying to bring him down, but he had one friend that was loyal to him, and that was Horatio. The other key characters in the play were only out for their own good. However Horatio was looking out for Hamlet. Unfortunately, Horatio was the only one.

Topic: Discuss the ideas developed by the text creator about the individual’s capacity for self-sacrifice in the face of compelling circumstances.

In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet, the hero, Hamlet, appears to be guilty of hubris, an overstepping of the bounds of both his and humanity’s destinies, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Reading the play with a consideration as to how Hamlet’s hubris manifests itself sheds light on why he performs certain actions, and simultaneously enlightens the reader to the dangers of attempting to overstep the confines of humanity. In this essay, I will prove that Hamlet has extreme pride, and is therefore guilty of hubris; in accordance with Harold Skulsky’s assertion in his article, ““I Know My Course”: Hamlet’s Confidence,” Hamlet is hubristic because while he believes that his own soul is impenetrable based on his external

King Claudius expresses, “Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Moreover that we much did long to see you, the need we have to use you did provoke our hasty sending.” (2.2.1-4) He addresses them in what is seemingly a sincere manner, proclaiming the supposed yearning he has had. However, these so-called sincere actions towards Hamlet’s childhood friends are just to convince them to take on the role of spying on Hamlet’s actions and reporting them back to Gertrude and Claudius. He continues to mask his true motives by saying, “To draw him on to pleasures and to gather...you may glean..to us unknown, afflicts him thus that, opened, lies within our remedy.” (2.2.15-19) King Claudius’ choice of words convey an inkling to the audience that he cares for Hamlet because of how he expresses his need to find out Hamlet’s condition, and fix it. This also presents Gertrude with the idea that Claudius has Hamlet’s best interests at heart. This, in King Claudius’ favor, solidifies his honorable, yet selfless stature with his contriving

The play ‘Hamlet’ written by William Shakespeare had many aspects of betrayal, a lack of loyalty, and tragic deaths. The storyline begins as a ghost appears and he resembles the late king of Denmark ‘Hamlet’. King Hamlet was Hamlets father, after his ghost appears Hamlet conversates with the figure and asks him why he is here, and the ghost states that his brother Claudius poisoned him by pouring poison in his ear while he was asleep, married his wife and finally took the power of the throne. Already in a confused state of mind Hamlet questions the ghost and decides to act delusional and put on a play to decide whether he will get revenge on Claudius. Consequently, one can tell how selfish both brothers Claudius and Hamlet are, how much do you have to hate your own family to commit such hatred. Ultimately blood is not thicker than water.

In the light of your critical study, does this statement resonate with your own interpretation of Hamlet?

Class struggle is noticeable in Hamlet. The royals exploit the lower class to satisfy their ambitions. People from the working class carry out the Aristocrats commands and they hold an insignificant rank in their society. The Aristocrats notably Hamlet, Claudius, and even Gertrude oppress others to obtain what they want and show that they are superior. Claudius poisons his own brother and marries Gertrude to have a stronger chance at being king since she is “the imperial jointress,” to the throne; he does not marry Gertrude because he loves her; he is using her to obtain the power (I.ii.9). Even when he gets the throne, he still wants more power and seeks to murder Hamlet because the prince knows his secret. Claudius also uses Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to spy on his nephew. The men carry out his orders without protest; they are “like an ape, in the corner of/ [Claudius’] jaw;” the king is using them to find out the reason for Hamlet’s sudden madness and when he will get what he wants; he will get rid them (IV.ii.18-19). Claudius uses Laertes to get rid of Hamlet because he wants his nephew to remain inferior to him because the people of Denmark love Hamlet and they will want him as their ruler; Hamlet is a menace to Claudius and an obstruction between him and the ultimate power.

Individuals are often put into situations in which they must compromise their happiness to achieve what they desire. The loss of this happiness can be extremely detrimental to the individual's emotional state. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare explores the idea of how happiness can be conceded in the pursuit of ones’ goals and how conceding this happiness has negative impacts. Hamlet, the main character of the play, is pushed into a situation where he must murder his uncle to avenge his father. In Hamlets’ pursuit of this goal, he sacrifices his freedom, his love, and his overall well-being, leaving him an emotionally broken individual.

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main protagonist, Hamlet experiences a series of events that dramatically change his character. When the audience first meets Hamlet, he is dressed in all black he is portrayed as a sulky, depressed prince. Through the course of the play however, it is revealed that Hamlet as a character has more than one side to him – he is brooding as he is impulsive, and he is vengeful as his is indecisive. The audience sees Hamlet struggling with the death of his father, and the emotional toll of knowing the truth but being unable to exact revenge. This is what essentially changes Hamlet. Because of the constant back and forth of having to act like nothing is wrong and having to suppress his rage towards King Claudius,

Insanity is a perfectly rational adjustment to the sane world. In the play Hamlet several times only with family and close family members has he showed any signs of madness. However when he is alone he is thinking of ways to make other believe that he is insane. Hamlet is trying to deceive everyone by his words and his actions. Essentially the book Hamlet is about a boy who needs to help his father to take revenge by assassinating the king so that he may be in peace. Although Hamlet seems insane throughout most of the book, he is just faking it so that he may assassinate the king and avenge his forebear.

In the end, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are naively loyal to Hamlet, and this becomes their downfall. They know that Hamlet has killed Polonius, and yet, they take no precautions as they accompany Hamlet to England. Their trust in both Claudius and Hamlet gets them killed. Hamlet’s reveals his mistrust of his schoolmates in a conversation with his mother, and refers to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as, "...my two-school fellows, whom I will trust as adders fanged..." 

In life, an individual’s course of action is directed by their nature of motivation. Sometimes, this nature lies so deeply beneath the surface, that people themselves aren’t even aware that it exists. In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, all of the actions that characters execute throughout the play are naturally motivated by a certain situation or feeling. Some of the characters are motivated to commit brave and heroic acts, while others may simply be encouraged to do the right thing. People can often become pusillanimous when they think too carefully, however, the nature of their motivation is what decides if they will complete the feat or not. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the nature of motivations that direct an individual’s course of action are mostly clearly represented by love, ambition, and revenge.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was

Claudius and Hamlet are both very selfish men. Claudius wants to be the king of

      Hamlet and Claudius both have very different ways and methods in the way they manipulate their family and friends. Claudius and Hamlet both manipulate to get what they each want. Claudius tends to work on people and get their support and gain trust. Then, the individuals will go out of their way to please Claudius and help in any way. Claudius even goes as far as to get Hamlet's childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on their dear friend Hamlet. Not only does he work on Hamlet's friends, Claudius killed his own brother to marry his wife, Gertrude, so he could claim the throne. As Shakespeare writes, "A brother's murder, Pray