Hamlet is a very misunderstood character by both the characters in the play and the audience. He is a very depressed young man who had his world turned upside down. His father has died and came back to him one night as a ghost, telling Hamlet that Claudius (Hamlet's uncle who has just married his mother) poisoned him. His father demands that Hamlet avenge him. People argue about whether or not Hamlet actually saw the ghost of his deceased father. Was there really a ghost on the rooftop or did Hamlet simply make it all up in his mind? Was he just so sad he thought of what he wanted to see? There is no specific answer and it is really up to interpretation. Even Hamlet occasionally has doubts about the Ghost. Not if he really saw it or not, but whether it was honest with him and he really should avenge his father.
Hamlet then goes on to accidently kill his future father-in-law which makes his fiancée so upset that she drowns herself. Her brother then decides to fight Hamlet and Claudius poisons both the sword and wine so Hamlet will either be killed in the fight or right after winning it. Hamlet does get scratched with the poisoned sword, but still manages to kill Laertes and Claudius while Gertrude drinks the wine. Hamlet, in short, has a miserable last few moments of life where he is thought to be an insane, heartless killer and everyone he knew and loved dies with him.
Sources Cited
"T. S. Eliot's "Hamlet and His Problems"" Shakespeare Navigators. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://shakespeare-navigators.com//hamlet/Eliot/index.html>.
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