One of the present themes in Act 1 is Duty and responsibility. In I ii, Hamlet is basically told that it is his duty to portray his happiness for his mother and the new king, his uncle even though he is grief stricken. Hamlet is also easily persuaded by his father's ghost to avenge his murderous death. It was his "duty" so to say. As humans, we are expected to obey others of higher authority we may or may not respect. This is how we keep order, but I feel Shakespeare is trying to point out that this is a faulty system. Sometimes obeying others hinders one's own opinion, even if it is thought to be the better one. This causes self destruction.
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your thoughts about duty. One of the major conflicts that is present in Act 1 appears to be Hamlet's pain that results from being loyal to so many people. However, this quickly fades as he discovers the true circumstances his father's death. I suspect that a sense of duty to many people will turn into a very strong sense of duty towards his late father throughout the rest of the play. -Sam Slug
ReplyDeleteVery nice comment Sam slug. I agree that his past obligations toward his mother went away, but were they ever truly there??
ReplyDelete-DeAnna Slug