In Shakespeare “Hamlet” the Character changes throughout the story based on the events that happened to him. After the death of Hamlet’s father his emotions begin to come clear. He become contempt and had lots of anger after his mother’s remarriage and considered suicide as an opinion. Hamlet began to outrage against those closest to him especially Ophelia after the rumors of Claudius killing his father and the sudden marriage of his mother and Claudius. Nobody could be trusted not even his friends and so he started to treat them less as he felt. He had no remorse when it came to doing things that had to be done and when he would talk to Ophelia he would take all his anger out on her as if she his mother.
Polonius and Claudius decide to test Hamlet’s madness through Ophelia, he confessed that he did love her once; then he immediately contradicted himself by claiming he had never loved Ophelia. Fuelled by his aversion of sinful mankind and his awful opinion of women in general because of his mother’s marriage with his father’s brother. Hamlet has built a hatred towards women and it seems to have made him to be destructively crazy. Hamlet hates the fact that women hide their real selves behind their makeup. Hamlet considers makeup to make women’s beauty dishonest, hiding their age behind a pleasant mask just shows a part of their dishonesty. Hamlet asks Ophelia if she was honest and after her response, he says beauty corrupts honesty. Hamlet commands Ophelia to go to a nunnery rather than becoming a “breeder of sinners” (Act 3, scene1, line 119).
Hamlet is very cruel to Ophelia and could care less about people who surround him: it’s gotten to the point where he has lost all sense of humanity in him. “Hamlet’s cruelty, …his failure to love. Despite his passion in the graveyard, we have every reason to doubt his capacity to love anyone, even Ophelia. He does not want or need love: that is his lonely freedom. …the only fate for Ophelia that would have been more plangent than her death-in-water: marriage to Hamlet the Dane.” Hamlet has lost the ability to love anyone, even Ophelia. Hamlet’s life turns for the worst with his father’s death and when his mother decided to enter an incestuous marriage with his father’s brother. After that, Hamlet’s perspective on women changed for the most; from there Hamlet’s rhetoric to ophelia is a kind of rant against his mother. Hamlet never speaks to Ophelia directly on how he truly feels about her; he rather talk to people he knows but the people he tells runs and tell her the things he says. Hamlet knows that eyes and ears are all pointing towards him, and that nothing told from Ophelia can be trusted. He speaks to Ophelia as if she were his mother; he talks against marriage, women, trust and beauty. His mother’s betrayal hurt him deeply and since he can’t channel his revenge against Gertrude because the ghost did not give him permission yet, the only way to channel his anger was through the only woman he could; Ophelia.
Hamlet was cruel to Ophelia because she was the only person he could release his iner anger with. A way of how Hamlet was talking to his mother through Ophelia was when he said, “Get thee to a nunnery; why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest;… I say, we will have no more marriages: those that are married already, all but one, shall live; the rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go.” (Act ) Hamlets trust art and his way of communicating is through poetry to reveal himself completely, not through a conversation with words spoken. Hamlet’s conversation with Ophelia are a type of role playing and he uses methods of acting to catch the conscience of the king. Hamlet has become cruel and ruthless; nonetheless, his capacity to love has vanished into thin air. Hamlet interrupts his mother after saying how he has offended his step father Claudius. Hamlet replied to her comment by saying she has offended his father King Hamlet beyond the grave by marrying Claudius. He then approached his mother in a intense, violent matter and declared that he intended to make her fully aware of how she is greatly sinning. Hamlet was treating Gertrude like if she was nothing to him grabbing her and screaming at her making her scared, she tried crying out for help but Hamlet put his hands over her mouth because she was making too much noise and she was bringing unwanted attention towards him. Polonius cried out for help from behind the arras because he feared for Gertrude’s life. Hamlet realized that someone was behind the arras and assuming it might be Claudius he sawt a chance to take his revenge. Hamlet’s next action will have cause a tragedy to have happen. He takes his sword out and stabs it through the tapestry killing Polonius who he thought was actually the Kind Claudius. He thought he had killed the king and in that he was very confident and hamlet replied, “Nay, I know not: Is it the king?,” He he had an opportunity to kill the King Claudius and he took it without a doubt. Thus making him ruthless and careless because of how he was treating his mother and how he had just killed a man and he was actually happy to have kill him..
Unfortunately it was the wrong person and Polonius died instead. His mother was surprised on how Hamlet was acting. Gertrude says his action was a “rash and blood” deed, and Hamlet said it was almost as rash and bloody as murdering a kind and marrying his brother (Act 3. IV. line 26-28). Disbelieving what Hamlet said Gertrude noticed he mentioned the king and she exclaims, “ As kill a king!,” Hamlet confirmed that she heard correctly (Act 3.IV. Line 29). The play’s falling action dealt with the consequences of Polonius death. Hamlet than lifts the arras and discovered Polonius’s body: realizing that he had not killed the king and achieved his revenge but murdered the relatively innocent Polonius. He says his goodbyes to the old man only then did he call him an “intruding fool” (Act 3. IV. line 30). Thus showing how ruthless he is and has no sense of remorse for the man he just killed. Not only did he kill an innocent man, he then insult Polonius while lying dead on the ground. Only then to scold Gertrude and rant against Claudius until suddenly his father in the ghost figure appeared before him. Hamlet does not have a heart and does not feel any sort of pain nor remorse for the man he just killed who is Ophelia’s father.
In conclusion to Hamlet’s character changing dramatically throughout the play shakespeare uses techniques to exaggerate the drama and write in detail throughout to have a constant feed of information. In the beginning Hamlet was suicidal and confused on who to believe about his father’s murder and was as well angry because of his mother marrying his father’s brother a month later after he died. He could not find a way to cope with his father’s death and especially his mother’s remarriage. His self pity and inconsistent day to day life lead to his depression and anger towards Claudius and his mother which was why he killed on many different occasion. Hamlet’s frustration lead to his determination to avenge his father’s death.