An Undiscover D Country: Hamlet's Fascination With Death
”An Undiscover’d Country”: Hamlet’s Infatuation With Death
Have you ever wondered what happens to you when you kick the bucket? Will you still be the same person? Or is death really the great equalizer? Is it possible we all end up the same? Death is a very scary and lonely thing to think about, and nothing is a greater example of that than William Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet. Hamlet is infatuated with the idea of death and what it brings. With comments like, “To die: to sleep; / No more,” (Hamlet 3.1.61-62) and “we fat all/ Creatures else to fat us” (4.3.23-24), it is clear Hamlet has a very lonely and depressing view on what happens when you bite the dust. Hamlet’s fascination with death and dismal view on it are all evident throughout the whole play. We start to learn that Hamlet has a bizarre fascination with death when, every other scene, he is talking how everyone will end up in the ground one way or another. “To be or not to be – that is the question” (3.1.57), is where it all starts off. From this famous speech to the end of the play, all Hamlet worries about is death. He continues to go on and on about how we will all become …show more content…
The way and how Hamlet talks about death all the time is extremely depressing to read and I can only imagine how it made Hamlet depressed. Hamlet often has trouble with expressing his views on death as he often has conflicting statements. Sometimes he will think of death as an adventure, “The undiscover’d country from whose bourn/ No traveller returns” (3.1.81-82), or he will think of it as an extremely gruesome thing, “A certain/ Convocation of politic worms are e’en at him.” (4.3.21-22). The way he talks about death here is cringe-worthy. Just thinking about worms chowing down on Polonius is nauseating. Hamlet does not often talk about death this way in the play, though. He is almost making a joke in this quote, but the joke is true and extremely
Have you ever wondered what happens to you when you kick the bucket? Will you still be the same person? Or is death really the great equalizer? Is it possible we all end up the same? Death is a very scary and lonely thing to think about, and nothing is a greater example of that than William Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet. Hamlet is infatuated with the idea of death and what it brings. With comments like, “To die: to sleep; / No more,” (Hamlet 3.1.61-62) and “we fat all/ Creatures else to fat us” (4.3.23-24), it is clear Hamlet has a very lonely and depressing view on what happens when you bite the dust. Hamlet’s fascination with death and dismal view on it are all evident throughout the whole play. We start to learn that Hamlet has a bizarre fascination with death when, every other scene, he is talking how everyone will end up in the ground one way or another. “To be or not to be – that is the question” (3.1.57), is where it all starts off. From this famous speech to the end of the play, all Hamlet worries about is death. He continues to go on and on about how we will all become …show more content…
The way and how Hamlet talks about death all the time is extremely depressing to read and I can only imagine how it made Hamlet depressed. Hamlet often has trouble with expressing his views on death as he often has conflicting statements. Sometimes he will think of death as an adventure, “The undiscover’d country from whose bourn/ No traveller returns” (3.1.81-82), or he will think of it as an extremely gruesome thing, “A certain/ Convocation of politic worms are e’en at him.” (4.3.21-22). The way he talks about death here is cringe-worthy. Just thinking about worms chowing down on Polonius is nauseating. Hamlet does not often talk about death this way in the play, though. He is almost making a joke in this quote, but the joke is true and extremely