Hamlet's Precedent Struggles Mirrors Our Own

Marissa Badenhorst
Gr. 12
Hamlet Mini Essay
Topic 5: Do we as a modern audience still experience emotions of empathy and pathos for Hamlet?

Hamlet’s precedent struggles mirror our own

The tragic hero, Hamlet, in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, may be considered a very relatable character who captures his audience, their empathy and poignancy. Especially in modern times does he still manage to establish a connection.

Hamlet portrays the life and inner struggles of every modern human being. He conveys a facade of himself, “How strong or odd so’er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on),” which perfectly encapsulates how he we deceive others and segregate ourselves to fit in.  He feels isolated and says, “But, break my heart, for I must hold my tongue,” for he doesn’t have any form of catharsis. In tragedies the hero has a fundamental flaw, and inner and outer conflicts which torment the soul of the hero should be present. These ingredients mix up to add to the structure and the enduring ability to win the empathy of the audience.

 “To be, or not to be? That is the question,” exhibits the existential and relevant questioning of his troubled thoughts and it strikes a very modern note. This is a notion that is reinforced in many modern adolescents. The growing suicide rate is proof. The frailty of human existence haunts Hamlet throughout the play and he clearly has bouts of depression, “It goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory…why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors” wherein he feels life is pointless. With mental disorders at their unfortunate peak in this era, Hamlet is the unquestionable example of how Hamlet reflects the audience’s personal struggles.

Hamlet furthermore places no worth on his own life, just as thousands of people today due to the growing number of expectations through the media, schools, workplaces, achievements and relationships. “Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I,” reflects his self-image. He has become emotionally numb, buckling under the pressure of the task at hand, stating his life as worthless, “I do not set my life in a pin’s fee.” Modern life is demanding – especially in terms of appearance and performance. We live in a highly pressured society and often become emotionally numb, just like Hamlet, in order to avoid responsibilities, limitations and expectations, meaning that Hamlet is relatable in terms of these questions and how he deals with melancholy.

These concerns should rather be viewed as a whole, not separately, as the one cascades into the other. The modern audience feels empathy for Hamlet because he truly is a timeless character who implores us to identify our own torments in him and his situations, disregarding fiction and time.

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