Hamlet Essay

Polonius bids his son, Laertis farewell and as he does so states, "to thine own self be true." As a talkative soul, he advises his son before he leaves to study abroad, to remember who he is: to be true to his genuine character of his background back home or even his allegiance to the crown. This can also be in relation to the foreshadowing of Polonius's death; Laertis would hold the duty to avenge his father's death. In the context of the play as a whole, this line can relate to the many other characters and therefore also serve as the theme itself. A majority of all characters struggle between two opposite forces in which they are presented to choose and in the process, the characters realize their priorities and morals. Polonius debates between pleasing the king for power and his own pride, Ophelia between forbidden love and honoring royalty, the queen between her future with King Claudius and her past with late King Hamlet and most profoundly, Hamlet's struggle between life and death, revenge and forgiveness. These contemplations also connect to the theme of having a continuous cycles of options and actually putting these thoughts into actions.
Hamlet's struggles to remain true to his character also correlate to the infamous line, "to be or not to be." The two lines intertwined are almost synonymous to each other as Hamlet decides "to be" (to live) rather than "not to be" (to die) as he is true to his values as a religious follower not to sin by committing suicide. This line is introduced in the middle of the play as Hamlet's diplomatic disguise is unveiled to reveal his true thoughts on his father's death. This soliloquy also sets the tone of a gloomy, inconsistent, and passionate atmosphere. Throughout the play, the mood and tone correlate to Hamlet's feelings, mainly melancholy. The main issue he goes back and forth on is whether to avenge his father's death and if he himself should do it. This ultimately drives his mysterious motives when putting on a play to reveal the unknown past of late king Hamlet's death, "and by opposing, end them?" Shakespeare's usage of "a play within a play" gives a contradicting insight to the story that many other plays do not. Through this scene, Hamlet is slyly able to reveal that he knows of how his father died and is also able to confirm with Claudius's guilty reaction.