Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Hamlet - Essay Example The significance of the castle helps us to remember that we are dealing with characters of royalty. Other significant settings include a theater in Elsinore where Hamlet exposes Claudius for murder and the scene in the graveyard where Hamlet discovers that Ophelia is dead. The primary theme of Hamlet is revenge followed by indecision and uncertainty as close second and third. These themes work together to create superior tension in the play. Death is also a theme in the play in that the play begins and ends with it. Everyone in the play is touched by death in some way or another and it fuels human emotion from one end of the gamut to another. Revenge is what drives the action of the play in that Hamlet is prodded by the ghost of his father to avenge his death. The ghost is persistent and while Hamlet knows what it is he should do, he encounters difficulty doing it. The theme of indecision emerges as Hamlet tried to find reason to believe the ghost is that of his father, which brings us to the theme of uncertainty. At first, Hamlet believes the ghost to be evil and calls it a â€Å"goblin damned† (Shakespeare I.iv.44); however, not long after saying this he calls the ghost, â€Å"King, father, Royal Dane† (I.iv.50). Death becomes a theme in the play and it is something that hamlet cannot escape. He meets in at the beginning of the play and is deeply affected by it. His melanholy mood causes him to wish his â€Å"sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew† (I.ii.33-4). Here he is so distraught, he thinks it might be better to be dead. His attitude is also impacted by his father’s death. He states, â€Å"How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of the world! (I.ii.137-8). Here we can see how Hamlet’s attitude is reflected in his worldview. Hamlet is the protagonist in this play and his objective is to avenge his father’s death. The ghost makes this known early in the play.