Essay on Hamlet: Hamlet and Dionysian Forces

Although Claudius is the enemy of Hamlet, the two are very similar in the amount of destruction that they cause. Nietzsche believed that both Apollonian and Dionysian forces were present in Greek tragedies and that the tension between the two forces is what produced the real tragedy within the plots (Kreis 1) . Assuming this is true, then the tragedy within Hamlet was a result of Hamlet pinning these two forces against each other by thinking he was one but truly being the other. His own opinion of himself would be Apollonian because he sees himself as the only reasonable person in a world of sinners. The decisions he makes on how to act are what he believes to be justice. Because he sees himself as righting the wrongs of others, he disregards his own wrongs in the process. Looking past Hamlet’s own justifications, it can be seen that he is just as corrupt as the other characters in the play and is even the reason for its tragic end. It is evident from the beginning of the play when Hamlet is speaking with Horatio about the new king Claudius’ coronation party that he puts himself above other humans. He says that despite being born into the custom, he does not accept it and believes that other countries look down upon Denmark. “They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase, soil our addition.” (Shakespeare 20). He criticizes the people of his country and does not want to be associated with them. Again in act III, he says that mankind is made of sinners. “I am myself

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