Hamlet

Hamlet feels isolated in his grief

Prince Hamlet is the main character in William Shakespeare’s drama bearing the same name. He is the son of the recently deceased Danish king, whose name was also Hamlet. It can be assumed that he is about 30 years old.

In the beginning of the play, Hamlet comes across as the isolated mourner at court. Everyone else seems to have moved on since the death of his father, but to Hamlet his mother’s hasty marriage to Claudius is a betrayal of his father’s memory (1.2.132-162). Hamlet feels like he is the only one who sincerely mourns his loss. For instance, he still dresses entirely in black, indulges in no pleasures, and does not keep his grief a secret even from court society (1.2.80-89). In contrast, Claudius, instructs him to stop involving himself in “unmanly grief” (1.2.97). 

Hamlet’s grief and feeling of isolation makes him fall into a melancholy state. The whole hustle and bustle of the world seems to him to be “weary, stale...