Missing His Father

Hamlet, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, strikes me as sad and lonely. He lost a father and a person who he looked up to. He lost a mentor and the one person who he could go to for guidance. Hamlet replies to statements about seeing his father’s ghost excitedly, “Then saw you not his face?/ What looked he, frowningly?/ Pale or red?/ And fixed his eyes upon you?/ Very like, very like. Stayed it long?” This dialogue shows that Hamlet wanted as much information as possible about anything having to do with his father. This also shows that he even wanted to go search for the ghost, completely disregarding that he is looking for a ghost. Whether this disregard of the average understanding that ghosts aren’t real comes from inner trauma caused by the loss of his father, or from ambition to find closure, or whatever other possible reason, it shows that he isn’t thinking logically and will do anything to see his father again, much like any person who looses a family member.

As for how he reacts to his aunt and uncle, the queen and king of Denmark, he kind of ignores them as if he doesn’t respect them. He doesn’t pay attention to them and when he does, he acts as if nothing is wrong and completely shields his resentment of them.  “Thou know’st ‘tis common. All that lives must die/ Passing through nature to eternity.” This quote is why he resents them. Because to him, they are disrespecting his father by not mourning over him and playing it off as “oh well, it happened and we can’t do anything about it. To anyone in Hamlet’s situation they would be infuriated, or at least I would be. As a result of this, he wants to find his father’s ghost and give them reason to mourn him.