1. Maddison Vollmer
7/11/14
ENGL 406
Hamlet: Death Everywhere
There are several themes that can be found in the play of Hamlet, but the overall central theme of the play is most definitely death. Death itself can be defined in several different ways. According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary death is “the end of life: the time when someone or something dies” and/or “the permanent end of something that is not alive: the ruin or destruction of something” (Merriam-Webster). The theme of death in Hamlet is that of the end of someone’s life, and it is ubiquitous throughout the play. Death presents itself in several different ways ranging from accidents, to murder, to suicide. Death first comes in the form of Hamlet’s father’s ghost, then goes through the duration of the rest of the play in the form of murder and suicide of other main characters, and then finally finishes up with the death of Hamlet himself. Death influences characters actions and takes characters’ lives throughout the play. One would be blind to say death is not the main theme of this Shakespearian play.
From the very beginning of the play, Hamlet is full of death. One of the first times the theme of death is found is when two night guards and Hamlet’s friend, Horatio, tell Hamlet that they had witnessed the spirit of Hamlet’s father wandering around. A little later in the play Hamlet himself finally came face-to-face with his father’s ghost. The theme of death is found again here when the ghost tells Hamlet that the new King Claudius, was the one who murdered him. His father then said, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (“Hamlet”), meaning that he wanted Hamlet to seek revenge of his death, and kill the new king in his honor. Hamlet

2. replied by saying “So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word. It is "Adieu, adieu, remember me." I have sworn't” (“Hamlet”). Hamlet swore to his father that he would seek revenge for his murder. The prince was already upset with his uncle for marrying his mother, calling the new relationship incestuous and wrong. The new found truth about his father’s death only made him madder and pushed him further towards the decision of murdering Claudius, bringing forth the theme of death once again.
Death presents itself for a second time in the play in the form of murder when Hamlet, by accident, stabs his love, Ophelia’s, father and kills him. Hamlet immediately stabbed Polonius without pausing to see who the person he was stabbing was. Hamlet thought he was about to kill Claudius instead, but soon realized he was wrong. Death was not only present when Hamlet killed Polonius, but was also the very thing that influenced him to do so. Hamlet was in the mindset of murder ever since his first encounter with his father’s ghost when it asked him to revenge his death by murdering the new King. Without thinking, he lunged quickly at the opportunity to fulfill his promise that he made to his father and murdered the wrong man.
The theme of death is found again in the play when Hamlet, some of his friends and traveling actors put on a play that demonstrated the true way that his father died for the King and his people. Hamlet wanted his uncle to know that he was onto him without coming out and saying it to him, thus making the play an easy alternative. When the present King figured out what Hamlet was up to he quickly planned to have him sent away and arranged for him to be killed instead so that he would no longer be a threat. Having Hamlet sent away and planning for his murder is another example of how the theme of death is once again found in the play. Shortly after, though Hamlet returned alive and well to Denmark.

3. When Hamlet returned home he found that the woman he loved, Ophelia, had committed suicide by drowning herself in the river. The theme of death was present in the play when Ophelia committed suicide out of madness, and again present because death was what influenced her to take her own life. Ophelia was so upset over the unexpected murder of her own father and the exile of Hamlet that she went mad. Not only was Hamlet upset over Ophelia’s death, but her brother Laertes was too.
Laertes returned from his trip to find that his father and sister were now both deceased. The King informed him that his family was now dead at the hands of the Prince Hamlet, and thus began his second attempt at killing Hamlet. Laertes responded to Claudius’s news by saying “And so have I a noble father lost, A sister driven into desp'rate terms, Whose worth, if praises may go back again, Stood challenger on mount of all the age for her perfections. But my revenge will come” (“Hamlet”). The theme of death was first present when Laertes found out about his lost family members, and then again when he stated that he was planning his revenge on Hamlet. To make Hamlet’s death more certain, the King decided on a sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes.
The theme of death is once more presented in Hamlet when the King planned for Laertes and Hamlet to have a fight in order to solve their issues and, so he said, help Laertes accomplish the revenge he requested. The King desperately wanted Prince Hamlet to die. To be sure his life would end, the King poisoned not only the sword going against Hamlet, but a victory drink, too in case he was the winner of the brawl. While the two were fighting Hamlet got a hit on Laertes, but refused to take a drink when the King insisted. Death found the queen when she instead took a sip of the poison, not knowing it would be her last. Next, Laertes cut Hamlet with the poisoned sword and was also accidently cut with his own weapon and fell to death. Hamlet soon realized what

4. was going on and went after his uncle before he met his fate. He forced the King to drink down the poison. Hamlet said “Here, thou incestuous, murd'rous, damnèd Dane, Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? Follow my mother” (“Hamlet”), meaning that he wanted his uncle to drink down the poison so he would die, too. Shortly after, Hamlet fell to death as well. The theme of death is presented several times during this scene. First, while the King is planning out the poison, second when the queen and Laertes die, third when Hamlet kills the King, and lastly when Hamlet himself dies.
One can argue that there are other themes found throughout Hamlet. For example, the theme of uncertainty and women being controlled by men are often found. Through the whole play, Hamlet is uncertain about several things. Hamlet is uncertain of his love for Ophelia; first he says he loves her, and later takes it back and states he does not. Hamlet is also uncertain about whether he truly wants to go through with the murder of his uncle or not. He thinks to himself several times about whether it is the right thing to do or not. “Hamlet’s uncertainty delays him from taking action, ultimately causing the unnecessary deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern” (“Other Themes in Hamlet”). The theme of women being controlled by men is also found very often throughout the play. First, Gertrude, the queen, is presumably forced to take her late husband’s brother as her new husband in order to stay in control of the throne. Women did not have much power back in Shakespeare’s time, so she would have had to find another husband fast in order to stay queen. Claudius, the King, would have been the next option for Gertrude to marry. Ophelia is another female character that was controlled by the men in her life. “Laertes and Polonius are overbearing guardians and insist that she rejects Hamlet’s advances, despite her love for him” (“Other themes in Hamlet”). Ophelia loved Hamlet, but would not dare go against what her father and brother expected of her. There are several other

5. themes that are found in the play, but the theme of death is unequivocally the central theme in Hamlet.
The theme of death cannot be avoided throughout Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. Each of the main characters fell to death by the end of the story, only proving further that death is undoubtedly the central theme of this play. Not only did many character’s die, but death is what led others to commit murder and suicide throughout the play and in the end, death was the winner of all the battles whether internal or not. Death made itself a very present theme from the beginning of the play and kept itself known until the very end.

6. References
"Hamlet (Modern, Editor's Version)." Internet Shakespeare Editions. Internet Shakespeare
Editions, n.d. Web. 11 July 2014.
Jamieson, Lee. "Other Themes in 'Hamlet' - Shakespeare." About.com Shakespeare. About.com,
n.d. Web. 11 July 2014.
"Death." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 10 July 2014.