Prince Hamlets destiny It is simple to end ones life, and thereby end the grief: no more struggles with

our enemies, nor misfortunes encountered in life. Yet we should not give up so easily. This essay is about a sons destiny to avenge his fathers death. The quotation To be or not to be that is the question is mainly related to his own situation, whether he should continue to live or not. Furthermore Prince Hamlet debates the disadvantages and advantages of his own existence. Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist in order to avenge the death of his father, King Hamlet, or to put an end to his own suffering. His father died, poisoned by his brother, Hamlets uncle, who then married his mother less than two months after the burial of King Hamlet. Hamlet is uncertain, thinking too much. He weights the pros and cons with an intellectual logic: is it more noble in the mind to suffer, to consume oneself, to endure slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in life, or to take action, to fight against a sea of troubles, against the misfortunes that are part,a life full of sufferings? The metaphor outrageous fortune used in both the play and film refers to Hamlet having the bad luck of being compelled to seek revenge for his father. He has an inner struggle, whether to commit suicide, and an external struggle, whether to complete his task of revenge. He concludes that suicide is not the best option, due to his concerns about what will happen in the afterlife, illustrated by the metaphor a consumption, devoutly to be wished, emphasized by the religious word devoutly. Due to the Christians prohibition of suicide Hamlet fears committing suicide, as he would be condemned to eternal suffering in hell. To die, to sleep if he were to sleep, he might have disturbing dreams. Yet he knows that to seek revenge for his fathers death, to murder his uncle, would also be a sin. Shakespeare portrays him as a coward who misses his first opportunity to kill King Claudius, while praying to God to escape the huge burden of murdering his own brother. Hamlets heart-ache, or sorrow, is that he is consumed by a thousand inner conflicts, such as the cause of his fathers death, his mothers incest with his uncle, his quest for revenge, and his inability to love Ophelia. Hamlet is led by emotions, morality, and by the fear of God, and he hesitates in his quest for revenge. Hamlet seeks forgetfulness, thinking that if he sleeps perchance, perhaps, he can forget about his pain of the soul, his inner pain. Yet there is a rub, an obstacle, an impediment: he cannot sleep forever, nor can he commit suicide due to his Christian belief. The saying, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, means that when we have died, we will forget about our agitated lives and find peace. That is what Hamlet desires most, to find peace of mind. With the words the respect, the reason of the calamity, and the misery, Hamlet points out that death is the definitive answer that can put an end to a life full of misery. The whips and scorns of time refers to Hamlets life of burden, and the

proud mans contumely refers to King Claudiuss behavior, actions which brought shame to his mother Gertrude, and therefore to Hamlet, as her son. The next line, The pangs of despisd love, refers to Hamlets inability to love Ophelia, for his destiny is to avenge his fathers death. The last few lines underscore the injustice King Claudius has caused him, which he must bear, or seek peace by ending his troubles with a dagger, a bare bodkin. This short monologue causes us to view Hamlet as a coward, an insecure, weak, indecisive man, who cannot decide whether to murder his uncle or not. At the beginning of the play, we learn that Hamlet is told by his father's spirit how he died by the hand of his own brother. He becomes anxious at the thought, until the moment when, through a play staged by himself: he is convinced of the terrible truth: his uncle did indeed murder his father! In the film, Hamlet witnesses Fortinbras actions (occupied with the conquest of territories), and realizes that he lacks courage, and that he must take actions in order to bring him inner peace and that is to avenge his fathers death. In the last lines, Hamlets behavior towards Ophelia is quite offensive on account of his feelings of rage against his mother. He feels betrayed by his mother and considers her weak regarding men and immoral. Thus he believes Ophelia is the same, because of her obedience to her father. In the film Ophelias father asks her to watch Hamlet closely, as everyone believes he is mad due to her rejection. At one point in the film, Hamlet tells Horatio that he acts like an insane person in order to cover his plans for revenge. Consequently he denounces men as "arrant knaves" who are not to be believed. In the final scenes, he commands Ophelia to go to a nunnery, so as not to become a breeder of sinners. This behavior denotes himself hatred in that he himself has become a sinner through his revenge, as he declares himself revengeful, and he regrets that he has ever been born, it were better my mother had not borne me. Hamlet is killed by Laertes, Ophelias brother, so the suicidal thoughts he struggles with throughout the play are fulfilled, though certainly not in the way he had imagined. Yet he succeeds in completing his quest for revenge. In conclusion, Hamlet witnesses, and is destroyed, by corruption and lies, yet he stays true to his duty to avenge his fathers death. He loved his father more than anything, calling his father Jove and Hyperion, a fair mountain, and a righteous man. He puts avenging his fathers death above all else, even if it means destroying his own life and sacrificing his love for Ophelia.