Many human beings experience intense emotions that dramatically affect the outcome of their lives. Although sometimes melancholic and rash when necessary, Hamlet’s hubris is his indecisiveness. Throughout this play, Hamlet’s melancholy fuels his indecision, from his first interview with Gertrude and his new father. Hamlet’s rash attitude is portrayed when he talks with the Ghost on the parapet, and later in the play, when Hamlet kills Polonius. The indecisiveness of Hamlet’s actions can be illustrated throughout the play when he debates whether or not to kill Claudius. While these qualities aren’t familiar with a typical “Hero”, Hamlet moves away from this stereotype of having no flaws and demonstrates his own manner of heroism.
Hamlet’s melancholy affects his life from the moment he speaks with Gertrude and his new father. Hamlet is melancholic when he hears about his mother’s marriage with his uncle. He even thinks about suicide, but it is against church law. He says,
“O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, an…
The Cynical Humor of Hamlet
The Cynical Humor of Hamlet
A horrible event, such as a death in the family, can cause a cynical outlook on life. “Hamlets’ hubris is shown through his cynical humor towards others” (Adelman 164). Hamlet uses humor to escape his cynical reality in regards to Polonius, Ophelia’s father, Ophelia his true love, and Gertrude, his mother the queen. These three people help lead Hamlet to his eventual downfall.
Hamlet’s conversation with Polonius is a good example of the Prince’s cynical humor. For example, Hamlet asks Polonius if he is an honest man. Polonius is taken off guard:
” Honest my lord? Ay sir. To be honest, as this world, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.” (II; ii; 177-178)
Hamlet’s humor suggest that there are no honest men in this world, and his cynicism shows that if there are any, there are only one in ten thousand. The irony is that Polonius agrees, letting us in on how he views honest people. Another example of his cynicism is when hamlet says to Polonius: “Let her not walk i’d’ sun. Conception is a blessing, but as your daugh…