Hamlet Themes

1. Sanity v Insanity

1.1. Is Hamlet acting?

1.1.1. Does he really see the ghost of his father

1.2. Has Ophelia really gone crazy?

1.3. Has the ghost appeared or is it a facet of Hamlet's insanity?

2. Ladies of the play

2.1. Does Shakespeare use women as a tool to show the flaws of man?

2.2. Is Gertrude a genuine or a manipulative character?

2.2.1. Does she marry Claudius for love or power?

2.2.2. Incestuous relationship with Hamlet?

2.3. Ophelia driven crazy by Hamlet's supposed insanity

2.3.1. A victim of male power

2.3.2. Doomed by her relationships with the males in the play

3. Tragic Hero

3.1. Tragic Flaw: Indecisiveness

3.2. Soliloquy: "To be or not to be

3.2.1. Shows indecisiveness

3.3. Graveyard scene: Act 5

4. Claudius as the Villain?

4.1. Is he really guilty or is the ghost of Hamlet lying?

4.2. Why is there no admission of guilt at the end?

4.3. Does he better Denmark as king?