Is Hamlet Satisfying

‘Hamlet Prince of Denmark’ is one of Shakespeare’s more popular tragedies. The narrative is famous for its soliloquies, the use of fantasy, immorality, deception and desperate attempts of redemption. Hamlet is an intriguing story of treachery, incarnations and prevalent themes that all contribute to a satisfying play. The development of the characters and the themes they portray allow an audience of any time period to create a link that pleases them which therefore increases the understanding and satisfaction of this play.

In order to create satisfaction one must feel as though they are content with a certain fulfillment of a desire, need or expectation. In regards to this, in the play ‘Hamlet’ it is essential that one feels as though they are connected to the play in order to create meaning for themselves. Connection can be through understanding of certain themes, (such as suicide) the association with characters dealing with certain issues or even understanding of certain circumstances. If all of these are met by a singular audience member, then the play has achieved satisfaction for that person.

If, however a person fails to create meaning or connection to the play they will likely fail to be satisfied with the happenings of the play due to lack of correlation and thus feel as though they are not satisfied. I consider the conclusion of the play satisfactory in relation to Hamlet’s desire for revenge. However it is Claudius who suggests the fencing match and the poisoned wine, so Hamlet’s revenge is really brought on by Claudius. Had Claudius not suggested the fencing match I do not know if Hamlet would have carried out the killing having procrastinated throughout the play, using various excuses not to act.

In regards to my thoughts on ‘Hamlet’ as a satisfying play, I believe it is outstanding and cleverly outlines many apparent themes that remain relevant today. Not only does it give insight into various themes it creates links of connection with the audience, thus further stimulating a personal meaning of the play. Furthermore, to me ‘Hamlet’ does satisfy the connections and meaning I look for in a play. It enables me to feel content with the established themes and thus form a link with the characters from an empathetic viewpoint ultimately resulting in satisfaction.