Hamlet is the main protagonist in the play” Hamlet” and the prince of Denmark. He is the most unusual and dramatic character in the play. From the first moment we see him, he is a sad son mourning in his father death. He is a man with multiple characteristics. He is a reckless, uncivil and ferocious but cautious, courteous and gentle. He is portrayed as a selfish son, who took a great outrage in his fathers’ death but didn’t take a step back to kill other people. Hamlet is full of flaws. Once his negativity took over him, he forgot to see the bright side of having friends and families supporting him.

Hamlet, who came to mourn his fathers’ death wasn’t happy to see his beloved mother getting married within a month of his fathers’ demise. He believed his mother to be loyal to his father and to the kingdom. His behavior changed drastically, when the ghost in his fatherly figure dropped a secret to him.

“ Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

            Tis given out that, sleeping un my orchard,

            A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark

            Is by a forged process of my death

Rankly abused: but know, thou noble youth,

The serpent that did sting thy father’s life

Now wears the crown” (P. 674, Ln35-39)

He lingers around the palace in his pale face, messy hair, and carelessly dressed. He is unable to hold the bitterness of his father’s death. He believes the serpent is his Uncle Claudius, who in lust for power staged the king’s death. Hamlet is seen mostly in black clothes as to generalize that he is till mourning his father’s death. He feels betrayed by his mother, Gertrude, when she married her brother-in-law. He was the next person to the throne. He believes he is the sole person to avenge his father’s death. It is not clear that, Hamlet acted out to revenge his father’s death or he failing to get the throne.

Hamlet becomes a lost soul. He tortures himself, wanders in the palace shouting and ignores his attachment. He even forgets his love, Ophelia and pours his bitter feelings on her. Those bitter words were meant for his mother, who betrayed his father but hamlet wasn’t in the condition to stabilize his feelings. He was grief sicken, dealing his mood swings and his mission to avenge his father’s death.

As there is a saying, if you are looking for revenge, dig two graves at a same time. This is to imply that, the feeling of revenge not only affect the other person but to the person seeking the revenge.  At the end, the act of Hamlet, not only killed Claudius but his mother, Ophelia, Laertes and himself. There was not a single person to hold the kingdom. Fortinbras, the Norwegian prince, was crowned by Hamlet before he died.

Puchner, Martin, ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Vol. C. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. Print. William Shakespeare, Hamlet