For those who are interested in Literature, writing a Hamlet analysis and summary will be a piece of cake. However, if you are eager to find out more useful details about this masterpiece, you need to read this article. Here you may find unpredictable themes which you have never found while reading this drama. Your Hamlet essay will be wonderful if you consider the next tips and recommendations. Prepare your notebook to jet down the most significant information.

What is Hamlet About?

Hamlet was written by Shakespeare to show various flaws of the contemporary society.

Betrayal, lie, desire for revenge, false love, and many other themes can be singled out there. This tragedy is about the man whose life has been changed forever. He finds out about the betrayal of so many people that he begins hating everyone and himself including. The work about Shakespeare’s tragedy has an interwoven plot which hides interesting symbolism and unpredictable outcomes.

Hamlet Summary

Hamlet is a prince who finds out about his mother’s and uncle’s affair. His father’s ghost comes to him to reveal the truth about Claudius who killed the man to get the throne. The protagonist is outraged, and he is filled with the desire to get revenge. He does everything to show that his uncle is guilty. When he finally manages to find out the truth, he doesn’t know what to do.

He tells his famous soliloquy about the choice which each person has to make. Finally, everything finishes tragically because most characters die at the end, including the prince of Denmark.

Hamlet Characters Analysis

You can prepare a specific essay with an in-depth analysis of each character. It shouldn't be obligatory related to the prince of Denmark. You can write about Ophelia or any other character. It will be even more interesting because usually, people don’t pay that much attention to the minor characters.

Hamlet Themes

Before you begin your paper, you need to write your summary and Hamlet analysis. Understanding the plot is the step number one because, without it, you cannot investigate any topic. That is why you have to read the entire text or its summary to know what happened in the story.As to the main themes which you can discuss in the essay, consider the following list:
  • revenge;
  • love and hatred;
  • relationship between mother and son;
  • authority.
  • suicide;
  • the role of females;
  • the choice of forgiving or getting revenge.

Top 15 Hamlet Topics

  1. Soliloquy as the main literary device for presenting the message of the entire tragedy to the audience.

  2. The balance between insanity and rationalism. Does the protagonist find this balance?
  3. The similarity of the plots between the Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the prince of Denmark. Which similarities of the main characters can be singled out?
  4. Comparison of the relationship between Romeo and Juliet with the prince of Denmark and Ophelia. How does the attitude to the love of those young people differ?
  5. Suicide as the additional option for proving the tragedy of Ophelia’s life. Why she committed suicide from your perspective?
  6. The significance of comic elements in the tragedy to add some positive atmosphere to the overall dark plot.
  7. What if the author portrayed the same situation from Gertrude’s perspective? How would her son’s behaviour look like?
  8. The significance of the setting for illustrating the main events.

    Which other places except the chosen Denmark might be good for the same tragedy?

  9. Does the prince of Denmark experience loss of personality or vice versa gain strong features of character? Can you single out main similarities and differentiation between Hamlet before and after father’s death?
  10. The past and the future. Which time should prevail in our mind? Can we say that the prince of Denmark decides to stay in the past denying the present?
  11. How does the role of Ophelia change while the protagonist gets more and more insane? Was she responsible for supporting her lover no matter what happens?
  12. The prince of Denmark and Claudius have a lot in common. Do both characters live in the constant desire for revenge?
  13. How does the reader find out more about Shakespeare through the portrayal of Hamlet as the protagonist? Does it show the writer’s attitude to females in his real life?
  14. Was there a moment when everything could have changed for better? What had the prince of Denmark to do for preventing such a tragedy at the end?
  15. The notion of true friendship in the comparative analysis of friends’ betrayal.