Essay: Explore the Impact of Limited Parental Figures on Hamlet’s Character in William Shakespeare’s Play

“I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind” (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 4 Lines 181-182). Professor Bloom, a Shakespearian scholar from Yale University, explained that in his own opinion Hamlet’s main character flaws included lacking strong parental figures and being too aware of his surrounding. Bloom’s quote is not a complete depiction of Hamlet’s character because even though Hamlet had “unlimited consciousness”, he does lose his sense of reality throughout the play (Bloom). In addition to this, Yorick, in my opinion, had little to no influence on Hamlet’s childhood, let alone enough to be a parental figure.
Hamlet is conscious of his surroundings throughout the play. He knows of all the tragedy that encased him, such as his “mourning for the dead father and outrage at his mother’s sexuality” (Bloom). Hamlet’s consciousness shines through his personality and views in the play. He is extremely egotistical, often focusing on himself and his well-being above everyone else’s. This is likely the psychological result of having zero role models or parental figure to look up to and trust. Hamlet lost respect for his only living parent, his mother, when she married her deceased husband’s brother shortly after his death. In Act 1 he states, “she married. O, most wicked speed, to post, With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not, nor it cannot come to good” (Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 161-164). After his mother’s betrayal, Hamlet had no one to turn to. He is forced to be alone with his thoughts.
In the play, Hamlet seems to live in this imaginary world inside his head, far away from reality. This mindset is where the readers see Hamlet struggling mentally; he deals with suicidal thoughts and depressive tendencies. For example, Hamlet states in Act 3, “To die, to sleep – To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub, For in this sleep of death what dreams may come…” (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 1 Lines 65-67). In this conscious state, Hamlet tries to figure out what is right and wrong. One example of this contemplation includes his battle to avenge his father’s murder while ensuring his actions are heroic. All of the tragedy in Hamlet’s life forces him to strive to never become the villain in the story. These factors combine to make Hamlet see himself as aware of his fate. In reality, the more Hamlet becomes aware, the further away from reality he goes.
Hamlet is battling his fear of the unknown throughout the play. After Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, he enters this realm of unsureness. During this time is where Hamlet begins questioning his own sanity. He doesn’t know what to do and this indecisiveness eventually leads him to consider death. The darkness that surrounds Hamlet causes him to try to manipulate his future. Eventually, Hamlet realizes that he is acting out of his own selfish motives instead of his father wishes. Hamlet became the enemy in his own world; he lost an inner war he never wanted to fight in the first place. He does not realize what he has subconsciously done until Act 5 when he states, “Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting that would not let me sleep. Methought I lay worse than the mutines in the bilboes,” (Shakespeare Act 5 Scene 2 Lines 4-6).
Hamlet may have no realized he was losing his mind, but the rest of the character’s in the play do. Polonius assumes that Hamlet is just crazy in love with Ophilia. He stated Hamlet, “is far gone. And truly, in my youth, I suffered much extremity for love, very near this” (Shakespeare Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 206-208). By the third Act, Claudius becomes weary of Hamlet’s unusual behavior. The king sends Hamlet’s friends to investigate, but they are unable to figure out what is going on inside his head. Hamlet pictured his world differently then it actually was. His feelings got in the way of his being truly aware of his surrounding, including his own friends.
In his quote, Bloom stated that, “Yorick the jester was Hamlet’s true father and mother,” (Bloom). Frankly, I am going to have to disagree with this statement for a number of reasons. The first reason comes from the fact that Yorick is mentioned once through out the entire play. In Act 5, the gravedigger comes across the Yorick’s skull. Hamlet states, “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him… he hath borne me on his back a thousand times… where be your gibes now?” (Shakespeare Act 5 Scene 1 Lines 160-167). In short, Hamlet explains that Yorick was someone whom he considered influential in his life, but he only remembered him for his role in the kingdom. In 16th and 17th century Europe, jesters had specific roles for entertainment; they did not become close or friendly with those of the royal family.
If Yorick served a significant influence on Hamlet, it would have been more prominent in his attitude and actions throughout the play. While reading the play, I did not feel Hamlet reflected the behavior of a young adult who had a mentor. If Yorick was like a father to Hamlet, he would have mentioned him more throughout the story, especially when talking about his parents not being there for him. Despite this, the Jester may have been the poster parental figure for Hamlet in the story, but he was never what Hamlet desired. Hamlet was disgusted with the way his mother married; it infuriated him to the point where he wouldn’t associate her as his mother. As a result, Yorick would have never been able to be a parental figure for Hamlet.
One question comes to mind after reading about Hamlet: if you aren’t conscious, are you even human? In my opinion, Hamlet re-gains his lost conscience by the end of the play. He finally comes to terms with what he has done in his final moments of life. Hamlet says to Horatio, “I am very sorry, good Horatio, that to Laertes I forgot myself, for by the image of my cause I see the portraiture of his. I’ll court his favors. But sure the bravery of his grief did put me into a towering passion,” (Shakespeare Act 5 Scene 2 Lines 80-85). Hamlet’s mind is so scattered throughout the play; it is difficult to understand what Hamlet might have felt in the past due to the current complications in his life. In conclusion, I disagree with Bloom’s statement due to Hamlet’s behavior and actions in the play.