A review by read_ideas
Hamlet by William Shakespeare

BOOK NOTES: 

Hamlet’s Mum marries uncle after King Hamlet Sr dies
Hamlet feels betrayed and disgusted 
He hates uncle 
Ghost of Hamlet wants revenge - brother killed him for the throne 
Spies and Evesdropping 
Right and Wrong, Action - Medival ways of thinking 
Renaissance thinkers wanted to use reason instead of jumping to action 
Reasoning helped him to set the play and not kill Claudius while praying but emotional decision take hold and he abandons reason 
Succession problems makes land vulnerable to invaders 
Hamlet pretends to be mad 
Extracting information can involve questions masked in other intentions and spying 
Hard to know who to trust 
Hamlet sees a play and regrets why he can’t display sad emotion openly instead of remaining rational 
Reading emotions is a key theme 
Death is equaliser of people thinks Hamlet 
King Hamlet ghost in purgatory 
Ghost warns of sin 
Claudius wants to repent but can’t because he doesn’t want to loose his gain 
Revenge kill vs Sin - maybe kill while sinning - rationalising his act of ‘evil’ 
Starts of rational and free will but contradictions between his emotions and religion drive him to find comfort in God’s plan 
Evil can be rationalised by one’s intentions, making there be no black and white

Themes: Grief, Religion, Supernatural, Trust, Succession, Good vs Evil