The role of evil and self destruction is very evident in "Hamlet".
around, evil breeding evil and eventually leading to psychological, emotional .
and moral ruins. This ruin ultimately leads to the devastating physical ruin at the end of .
the play.
King Hamlet's words to Hamlet lead him down a path of insanity. Shakespeare .
foreshadows this at the beginning of the play when Horatio warns Hamlet about seeing .
the ghost of his father, .
.
What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord,.
Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff.
That beetles o"er his base into the sea,.
And there assume some other horrible form.
Which might deprive your sovereignty, or reason.
And draw you into madness? (I, iiii, 69-74).
These words of wisdom from Horatio become reality and the ghost of Hamlet's father does .
tempt Hamlet and eventually leads him over a cliff of self destruction and complete .
madness. Hamlets psycological state quickly changes from a down to earth scholar as he is .
perceived at the beginning of the play to a disturbed confused man as the play goes on. .
This is mainly shown in his actions towards his lover Ophellia. As Ophellia states she .
had a very strange encounter with Hamlet, "As if he had been loosed out of hell." (II, i, 83)) .
Ophellia was very shocked and afraid of Hamlet after her encounter with him, leading us to .
believe this was the first time Hamlet has ever acted this way around her. This shows that .
Hamlet has truly gone insane to be acting this way around his loved one. .
Ophelia's psychological state also declines after her encounter with Hamlet and her fathers .
death. The death of her father Claudius seems to take the biggest toll .
on her. This becomes apparent when Ophellia encounters Laertes and begins to give him .
flowers for no apparent reason. " I would give you some violets, but they withered all .
when my father died." (IIII, iiiii, 181-184). Violets are the flower of faithfulness and .
