Hamlet's Motives

To power such a strong reaction of anger towards his uncle, Hamlet would have to have strong feelings built up from previous events.

As mentioned in class, Hamlet might have felt helplessness. After all, his father just died and he hadn't been able to do anything. His mother re-married his uncle so quickly, without talking to Hamlet about her decision. Also, Ophelia was distancing herself from him, without any noticeable reason.

He might have felt disappointed in himself. His father died, and Hamlet didn't even know how. His mother re-married the uncle he hated, and he hadn't been able to stop her. And his relationship with Ophelia wasn't going smoothly.

Anther emotion powering Hamlet might have been self pity. Oh no! My dad died. Oh, poor me, my mom married my horrid uncle. Oh no, my girlfriend might be breaking up with me. His life was pathetic.

Any way you look at it, Hamlet was obviously not happy, and so took his pent up emotions and stirred up some political and violent waves in Denmark.

~Hannah