<p>can someone give me any idea if uve read hamlet…</p>
<p>identify hamlet’s questions about religion, the afterlife, fate and freewill, existence, moral duty, etc…How does Shakespeare use his most famous character to address these issues and what can u glean abou Shakespear’s beliefs from the text of the play?</p>
<p>ty</p>
<p>Hamlet is very religious. In fact, he hesitates about committing suicide at the start of the play because he fears that if he dies, he will be sent to hell as it is a sin to kill yourself. Shakespeare suggests that there is something very scary and abominable after death which is why King hamlet’s ghost chooses not to tell Hamlet about it. It’s somewhere when they talk. Other than that, I hate Hamlet and think Shakespeare is overrated :).</p>
<p>yeah…
thnx</p>
<p>but he does the whole to be or not to be thing, which means he considers death as an alternative to the pain that life brings. what does that really mean?</p>
<p>The entire basis of Hamlet (at least IMHO), is the fact that Hamlet is ambiguous throughout the whole play. That’s what the “to be or not to be” is a part of – whether he should face reality, or take the sissy way out.</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but Laertes is a foil to Hamlet, as well as … who was it, I think it was Polonius? Laertes is rash and easily angered, too quick to judge (as we saw in the duel scene and in Act 4), whereas Hamlet isn’t… and can’t easily make a decision up until the very end…</p>
<p>Of course there’s the whole thing about stabbing Polonius, but I’ll let you figure that out by yourself.</p>
<p>Ambiguity isn’t only with Hamlet, either. What about the ghost? Although it is King Hamlet’s (the father’s) ghost, what role does he play? He is incredibly ambiguous; we don’t quite know if the ghost is there for good or evil purposes. Is he there to incite murder or to take vengeance?</p>
<p><em>shrug</em></p>
<p>Ambiguity is a main motif/theme within Hamlet, and ties in with all that you’ve mentioned. The afterlife (no one quite knows what lies beyond, as Hamlet put it “the undiscovered country blah blah whatever…”) religion (I don’t see that much religion within Hamlet, though)… etc.,</p>
<p>I don’t think I answered your question, but ok…</p>
<p>Fortinbras is a foil to hamlet, too.</p>