1.2.133-163

Why does Hamlet compare his dead father to a sun god, and yet he states that his own self is the furthest thing from being Herculean? What does this humbleness reveal about Hamlet’s character and perception of self?

My peers’ responses to my questions enabled me to better understand Hamlet’s underlying sentiments regarding Claudius’s marriage to his mother. The responses highlighted that within Hamlet’s comparison of his father to a sun god and Claudius to a satyr, Hamlet reveals how deeply he is offended by his mother’s re-marriage. At first, I believed that by contrasting himself with Hercules, Hamlet was putting himself down, but my peers’ responses demonstrated that this is not so. Hamlet is simply further emphasizing the superiority of his father in comparison to the inferiority of his uncle. An interesting observation from the responses called attention to Hamlet’s admiration of his father who he believed to be “so excellent a king” (1.2.143). Hamlet’s filial piety reveals that he takes pride in being his father’s son and aspires to be like him. However, his father is dead for unknown reasons, and hopefully Hamlet’s aspiration will not cause him to die as well.