The Consequences of the Spectrum of Idealism
In most cases, an individual’s behaviour will directly reflect their personal desires. As suggested in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, an individual’s unrealistic desires can hinder their ability to productively take action. When their circumstances are disrupted, many individuals will cling to the comfort and familiarity that lies in the past. Failure to accept reality is apparent when individuals complain about the present situation yet seemingly do nothing to change it, even when presented with an opportunity to do so. Although an individual’s actions often reflect their personal desires it is when these desires become overly idealistic that they impede their ability to evolve.
Initially, it is evident that Hamlet is upset about his change in circumstances. His father has just passed, and his uncle has married his mother. Both of these events cause Hamlet strife as he struggles with not only accepting the reality of his situation but also as he disapproves of the behaviour of the people surrounding him. When Hamlet’s uncle, King Claudius, calls Hamlet his son, Hamlet responds by saying under his breath that they are “a little more than kin and less than kind,”.(Act 1, Scene 2) This comment depicts Hamlet’s refusal to accept the situation at hand. He believes there is an excess of ties between him and Claudius and rejects his associations as he is disturbed by the marriage between his mother and uncle. His mother then comments on “cast[ing] thy nighted colour off,” (Act 1, Scene 2) as she believes Hamlet should move on from mourning his father’s death. Hamlet, however, believes his mother has not displayed enough true mourning over his death. He denotes her grief by expressing that “all forms, moods, [and] shapes of grief… indeed ‘seem’ for they are actions that a man might play,” (Act 1, Scene 2) which shows that he believes her grief is solely external. He does not believe she truly mourned the loss of her husband and this causes Hamlet to lose respect for her. This lack of respect is exhibited again during Hamlet’s soliloquy when he says “frailty, thy name is woman,” (Act 1, Scene 2) referring to his mother’s lack of sensitivity in marrying her own brother in law so quickly after her husband’s death. Hamlet is disgusted at the speed at which she jumped “with such dexterity to incestuous sheets”. (Act 1, Scene 2) Hamlet’s general state of mind surrounding his circumstances can be best depicted by his wish “that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter,” (Act 1, Scene 2) as he presents suicide as his preferred option to dealing with his frustrations. These frustrations only escalate when Hamlet learns of whose responsible for the death of his father. When the ghost beckons Hamlet he tells him that “the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown,” (Act 1, Scene 5) inferring that it was Hamlet’s uncle killed his father. Hamlet’s reservations surrounding Claudius only fester with this discovery and he vows to the ghost that he will “remember thee,” (Act 1, Scene 5) as he returns to the castle where he lives alongside the “damned villain,” (Act 1, Scene 5) himself.
However, when presented with the opportunity to avenge his father, Hamlet does not take action. Despite all his complaints and protests about the situation afoot, Hamlet holds himself back from killing Claudius. When Hamlet sees Claudius sitting alone in the chapel, he says “now I’ll do ’t,” (Act 3, Scene 3) and then proceeds to talk himself out of it. He tells himself that killing him in the chapel will send Claudius straight to heaven, which could be considered ironic as Claudius has gravely sinned by killing the late King Hamlet. After this encounter, Hamlet’s next attempted approach to avenge his father is a play put on to reenact the course of events leading up to the murder of his father, The Mousetrap. Hamlet observes Claudius’ reaction as the play unfolds, and to Hamlet’s content, Claudius orders the play to be stopped and flees the room, driven by a self-conscious sense of guilt. Hamlet could have used this as an opportunity to expose Claudius to his mother and many others in order to overthrow him and avenge his father. Hamlet simply sits back and watches Claudius squirm, when he could have squashed him like a bug. Following Hamlet’s latest act of nothingness, the ghost reappears to Hamlet and says “Do not forget. This visitation is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose,” (Act 3, Scene 4) reminding him to avenge his father. Hamlet is so tethered by his complaints and idealistic fantasy of the past that he cannot seem to take charge of his own circumstances.
Therefore, Hamlet begins to question his cowardice and lack of action. As he is auditioning actors for the play he notices how passionately one of the actors dives into his role. As a result, he calls himself “a rogue and peasant slave” (Act 2, Scene 2) and observes that the actor is “… in a dream of passion, could force his soul so to his own conceit… And all for nothing—”. (Act 2, Scene 2) Hamlet recognizes that he himself has countless reasons to dive into his vengeance for his father but is held back by something. He expects it all to just take care of itself. When the only person who can fulfill his expectations is himself. The next instance where Hamlet criticizes himself and reflects upon his lack of action is when young Fortinbras is en route to win back “a little patch of ground that hath in it no profit but the name”. (Act 4, Scene 4) He knows he has “cause, and will, and strength, and means to do ’t,” (Act 4, Scene 4) but does not know why he hasn’t. The internal struggle depicted in this soliloquy shows Hamlet is capable of evolving but has been inhibited. Inhibited by his idealistic expectation that order in his life will be restored on its own without any display of initiative.
Consequently, Hamlet is inspired by Fortinbras and consciously decides to turn to approach the situation with ruthless intentions. At the end of his soliloquy he states that “from this time forth, my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!”. (Act 4, Scene 4) This is Hamlet’s breakthrough. He has decided that to make the changes he wants, he has to act himself. Because he has been so back and forth with his decision-making up to this point, he acts compulsively and ends up killing Polonius in error when he hears a man talking behind a curtain. After he does this, he feels no remorse, as his motivation to avenge his father has finally overcome his overly idealistic expectations. Hamlet’s bloodthirsty mindset resurfaces again surrounding the murders of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as he does not contrite over their deaths, even though he has known them since he was a child. In the end, Hamlet avenges his father by forcing Claudius to drink the poison he poured himself. Hamlet follows in death soon after, and his mother has already passed as well. Hamlet’s overly idealistic expectations interfered with his capability to evolve, and technically ended with what Hamlet wanted all along; him, his mother and his father back together again.
Although personal wishes are normally the driving force behind people’s actions, it is when these wishes become utopian that they can hinder an individual’s ability to evolve. Complaining without initiating change is a strong sign of the paralysis that extremely idealistic expectations can cause. An individual must overcome their overly idealistic desires in order to be able to take initiative and move forward. This is directly associated with letting go of the past and the comfort that comes with it. Individuals will be unable to find peace in their change of circumstance unless they surmount their obstacle of self; Their utopian ideals will engulf them until they can surpass them and take their life into their own hands.