Oh Great Disappointment!

Beginning Act three, Hamlet comes to expose what is, at least to me, one of the most enticing moments of the whole act and maybe even the play. He is thought to be man by his close relatives, and a whole plot is made into effect to uncover his situation. In it, the King arranges for Ohpelia to meet Hamlet when he ignores that they are being watched upon by the King. But his mind has no tenderness for women, whom have let him down so deeply in past events. He makes an erroneous generalization in his anger but then again what chance does he have when it finds womb in the actions of his own mother. If his own mother is capable of such deeds, how much more capable are other women with which that blood tie has no presence.

In his encounter with Ophelia, Hamlet pronounces one of the most famous lines written by shakespeare for a reason. After having admitted his once present love for Ophelia and shortly thereafter denying it, in his lines we read: "Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?" (Act 3, Scene 1, 114-121). It is evident that his words are influenced by his current state of mind and that his experiences add up to ideas that he might not have thought of completely before. He is confused and so are we as readers, finding it difficult to draw the line between his honest words and a cruel deception. Many factors add up to the situation but the meaning of his words, without certainty for its intention, states great desperation. He is cursing all mankind as evil, warning against the cruel nature of every individual failing to exclude even himself.

Hamlet declares himself guilty of sins which would make him unfit to deserve life. After this statement we expect terrible sins and confessions of inhumane events, but we encounter common flaws in every personality. Accepting himself as "proud, revengeful, ambitious" he fails to communicate his guilt to the audience. Even if we realize that those are not noble qualities, they are far from sufficient reason to find one undeserving of existence. So in his offense and mean response to Ophelia, Hamlet is diminishing himself for those sinners which he refers to would be a result of resemblance to himself. He wishes not to have sin born into the world alongside with one of his sons. These drastic mentality, without doubt, will drive Hamlet into action later in the play, suggesting real madness. Is his exaggeration but a product of his wit or is it real and thus suicidal?