Hamlet

Hamlet dares us, along with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to pluck out the heart of my mystery. This mystery marks the essence of Hamlet's character as, in spite of our popular psychologies, it ultimately does for all human personalities. Granting this, we can attempt to chart its origin and outward manifestations. Ophelia tells us that before the events of the play Hamlet was a model courtier, soldier and scholar, The glass of fashion and the mould …

…base, cowardly nature. The advent of a company of players, however, gives him an idea for testing the truth of the ghost and the guilt of Claudius. He plans to have the players perform a play which reproduces Claudius crime and observe Claudius reaction to it, thereby dispelling his own doubts as to the proper course of his action. Having momentarily silenced his shame at his inaction, however, he immediately relapses into his former state