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Hamlet Character Sketch
Hamlet is looking for answers regarding the tragic death of his father. He asks himself
questions like what mankind is, who he is and what the meaning of life is. The bereaved Hamlet’s
soul is wallowing in a state of elf-loathing in this desolate state. Hamlet received news of the death
of his father when he away in the university. His father’s ghost comes and tells Hamlet that it is
Claudius that murdered him. Throughout the remaining part of the play, Hamlet looks for evidence
he can use to prove that Claudius is guilty. Hamlet is pensive, rational and brooding at times; he
sometimes hides his emotions behind his intellect. It is this logic of his that makes him to delay
vengeance on Claudius until the play’s final scene where he kills him. Murdering Claudius ends
the story’s plot and also proves the existentialism of Hamlet. In the first scenes, the actions of
Hamlet are guided entirely by his intellect, ignoring emotions. For instance, on seeing the ghost of
his father, he does not know what to do. Whereas his emotions believe he actually saw his father,
he is mad according to his intellect. His intellect, however, prevails over the emotion and he
remains in doubt about the appearance’s authenticity.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William, and John Austen. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. , 2010. Print.
