Hamlet's depression is pretty well documented throughout the play, beginning as early as Act 1, scene 2, where his uncle and his mother ask him to take off his dark mourning clothes. Queen Gertrude states,
"Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark..." (1,2,68-70)
Hamlet refuses Gertrude's request, indicating that what others see on the surface is only a hint at the great pool of depression that...
Hamlet's depression is pretty well documented throughout the play, beginning as early as Act 1, scene 2, where his uncle and his mother ask him to take off his dark mourning clothes. Queen Gertrude states,
"Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark..." (1,2,68-70)
Hamlet refuses Gertrude's request, indicating that what others see on the surface is only a hint at the great pool of depression that he's currently wallowing in. He realizes how he comes across to others, but quite literally can't help it. He knows that other people want him to behave normally, but he can't believe that his mother could marry his uncle so quickly after his father's death, and he's still reeling from the loss of his father.
"'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly. These indeed “seem,” For they are actions that a man might play. But I have that within which passeth show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe." (1,2, 76-86)
No comments:
Post a Comment