Duty: Shakespeare expands on this concept concerning an individual's responsibility or motivation to feel compelled by various circumstances to act in a certain way.
- Throughout the play, the author emphasizes the significance of this, making it the central desire that drives the plot forward.
- The sense of duty is what motivates Hamlet to carry out all of his vengeance in the first place; the memory of his father is what compels him to carry out this entire plan and ultimately kills him.
- This is true for the majority of the characters; duty compels them to go so far as to murder people to fulfill their responsibilities.
- This is the most important thematic subject in the entire play, and Shakespeare emphasizes it through the characters' acting and thinking.
- Retribution, while considered a fundamental theme in Hamlet, is only a result of the duty that each character feels towards his desires, as well as the influence of other characters on each one.
Action vs. Inaction: Shakespeare, in my opinion, perfectly conveys how fearful feelings and situations define our ability to act or not act.
- The inability to act is frequently associated with an individual's cowardice and weakness; he does not act because he does not want to.
- However, he manages to convey the emotional process of decision-making and the importance of character development through Hamlet and Fortinbras;
- Hamlet is an example of how times can be so overwhelming and intense that they limit the ability to act, as well as being afraid of the consequences of the environment around him.
- It demonstrates how, despite having a motivation, it is sometimes insufficient to act, and that this is not necessarily bad, but is due to the emotional construction of the character, which is, of course, unique to each one.
- Shakespeare demonstrates the courage required to carry out the actions through Fortinbras, which Hamlet could not be during the play, and transmits how reason and maturity can lead to success
- It is important to have a balance between both and to understand that everything is a result of the environment in which the character is placed, his perception of fear, and his capacity to understand what he can do with those actions.
Spying/Distrust: In general, Hamlet develops this theme very well, emphasizing how distrust and espionage can be detrimental to healthy coexistence.
- They introduce evil into the play, and it is clear from the actions of each character how it poisons the character of each character, resulting in destructive consequences.
- Shakespeare cleverly develops this concept, showing how revenge and distrust poison Hamlet's heart, or how Claudius appears to see espionage as the only solution to his problems.
- This appears to be a problem in the future and is what figuratively kills them; Shakespeare develops the consequences of these events in the characters and the play's climax.
Appearance vs. Reality: Shakespeare uses this concept throughout the play to emphasize how appearances are frequently different from each character's reality.
- At the most basic level, the way some characters appear to other characters on the one hand and the audience on the other is frequently different.
- The author develops this concept intelligently, demonstrating how, on the one hand, it can be useful and a form of defense in pursuing one's goals, but it can also be catastrophic and deceptive.
- To carry out his revenge, Hamlet appears to feign insanity; the appearance is far from reality, and it is used as a method to help him avoid raising suspicions and continue with his plans; it is used in a positive sense, and it demonstrates how appearances, despite being far from reality, can be beneficial.
- However, it also demonstrates how dangerous this can be through Claudius, who, as the murderer of the former king and provoking a positive image in the eyes of the rest, will have catastrophic consequences for the kingdom and has consequences.
- Claudius receives his Karma, but the irony is that he never demonstrates how he pays for his crimes in public and maintains his good image until his death.
Mortality: Through Hamlet's concerns and the final scene, Shakespeare affirms the inevitability of death and the natural course of life.
- The development of this concept appears interesting to me, particularly in the manner in which the author develops it; although it would seem obvious that death is everyone's fate, it is intriguing how the author uses Hamlet to represent all those concerns about what happens after death and what our true destiny is.
- The complexities of life and death are seen, not only in the actual deaths that occur in the play, but also in all the reflections made about the natural course of life, issues such as suicide, and what happens to us after we die.
- Shakespeare does an excellent job of creating characters concerning this concept and the realization that everyone has the same fate, including religious questions about the separation of heaven and hell based on our actions in life.