... do thanks to his feigned insanity. Thus, she would stop loving Claudius. However, he cannot do so because he harbors a basic psychological inhibition against destroying his own mother. Also, he needs his mother's love much more than he needs Ophelia's love. While Ophelia's love is self-actualizing since it is a lover's ... Gertrude's love and approval. Hamlet, being their blood relative, will likely feel the same). To destroy his mother would be to attack his own identity. Thus, since Hamlet cannot induce his mother to stop loving Claudius by killing her or driving her insane, as he did w...

• Word Count: 3498
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: High School

... . In the very beginning of Act 1 scene i the guards dialog reflect that "there is something rotten in the state of Denmark". It is full of corruption, deceit, passion, ruthlessness, and ambition that Hamlet is not used to (Lidz, 71). His mind temporarily can not handle his situation because, as I will mention later, his mother is at the center of it. He ... and keen intellectual powers, but feeble will. I believe (and think Cooleridge is trying to purvey) that Hamlet's will power is suffocated by reflection and contemplation and he dies of his own moral paralysis. A Hofstra student who u...

• Word Count: 3265
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School