The human experience encompasses a plethora of emotions and qualities that affect us on a daily basis. Throughout history, literary have served to portray the human experience and the play Hamlet addresses the universal concerns that still resonate in a modern context. Hamlet discusses the various issues of mortality, in particular, suicide, provoking responders to question their own mortality. Despite Hamlet's intelligence and philosophical understanding of life, his extraordinary talents and abilities are virtually rendered mute as a result of his tragic hamartia of hesitancy and procrastination. The counter-productivity of revenge is exposed from a Christian angle by the tragic fates of both Hamlet and Laertes while Fortinbras' ultimate triumph is predicated on his holding off on revenge.
Contemporary audiences continue to appreciate Hamlet for its philosophical contemplations and which is a prime example of humanity's discussion of fundamental questions of life. Modern day audiences relate to the play's discussion of the value of life and the mystery of death. As Hamlet is thrust into his moral predicament of avenging his father's death, he is confronted with the idea of suicide by wishing his "flesh would melt thaw and resolve itself into dew!", using suicide as a means to relieve himself of such a burden. His tone is one of lament, showing his inner conflict, but emphasising Hamlet's will to take his life should his conscience allow it. The fratricide of his father at the hands of his uncle Claudius, coupled with the duty that the Ghost inflicts on Hamlet, shifts his perspective of the world into "an unweeded garden things rank and gross in nature", conjuring images of rot and neglect. The garden imagery and the way in which Denmark has spiraled into a "rotten state" suggest a degree of corruption that modern day audiences witness within the political sphere.
