Hamlet’s Melancholy and his Contemplation of Death

Excerpts from the Paper

Hamlet’s Melancholy and his Contemplation of Death
In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet is faced with no end of painful events. As the main character in the play, Hamlet is a young man whose family rules the kingdom of the European state of Denmark. In what seems to be a sudden chain of events, Hamlet’s father, the king, dies and his mother, Gertrude, almost immediately remarries the former king’s brother, Claudius. The play begins with Hamlet worrying about the loss of his father and his mother’s quick remarriage, even as the King and Queen question his sadness. Hamlet responds in describing the depth of his mourning:
'Tis
not alone my inky cloak, good mother,Nor customary suits of solemn...

..... while Hamlet is so deeply concerned with death and destruction, beginning with his father’s wrongful murder, for which he seeks revenge. This tone of melancholy, contemplation of death, and desire for revenge stays with Hamlet through the entire play, and eventually brings about his own death.
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Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, 1601.