5 Stages of Grief Hamlet Essay

Following the death of Prince villages father, the former King of Denmark, not only do those cerebrate by blood to the great Dane experience the five stages of grief as laid unwrap by Kubler-Ross, but the whole world-beaterdom does as well. It is clear through many examples from the text that the kingdom as a unit experiences the grief of losing their king and others throughout the wreak both as one dysfunctional family and individu totallyy. The individuals in this dysfunctional family include small town, Gertrude, Claudius, Polonius, Laertes, and Ophelia.A major(ip) tenet of the Five Stages theory which is vital to understanding its practical phthisis is that one is not required to go through the five stages in order, nor is one required to go through all five stages. This is particularly important because as a single family, the Danes do not go through all five stages together, instead, however, they go through the five stages individually, and result be addressed in the order stated by Kubler-Ross plot of land identifying parts of the play where these stages were reached with no regard to chronological order. (Kubler-Ross)Denial is the for the first time stage of Kubler-Ross grief map. Denial is a reaction in which a person, endeavouring to avoid the truth of the situation, develops a false reality or merely ignores the reality at hand. This is likely the most common stage, as defense force affects those dealing with all magnitudes of injury, large and small. (Santrock, 56)Though Hamlet does not go through the stage of defence force, it is evident starting in act one, impression two, that the royal family is very much in demur of how much they should be affected by the loss of their king. This is seen through the royal we that Queen Gertrude uses to presentation her and her new husbands feelings to Hamlet while covering up their sadness with royal duties. QUEEN GERTRUDE Why seems it so particular with thee? small townSeems, madam nay it i s I know not seems.Tis not only when my inky cloak, good mother,Nor customary suits of solemn black,Nor windy suspiration of pressure breath,No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,Nor the dejected havior of the visage,Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,That can declare me truly these indeed seem,For they are actions that a man might playBut I have that deep down which passeth showThese but the caparison and the suits of woe.(Shakespeare, 1.2.2)The Royal family, in this scene, had only just recently lost their king before Claudius and Gertrude married and started their work as regents once again. The biggest implication of their organism in the stage of denial is their preoccupation with Fortinbras perceived anger sort of than Hamlets actual sadness. They are also in denial about their sons and perhaps their own guilt and distress that they do not help or address the grief at all. Gertrude is a complete(a) example of denial because of her lying to herself and tel ling herself that everything is perfect and back to normal when it is clearly not.Ophelia also goes through denial on a smaller scale in the first act, as her trauma is losing her love, Hamlet, because of her fathers orders. This denial only grows when she loses her father and he is not given the proper burial rites or respect. She then feels what Hamlet thinks he felt, yet says and does nothing until her suicide because she was very likely in denial about her ability to help at all.Anger is the second signifier of Kubler-Ross five stages which is persona referenceized by loss of judgment and simple rage at either the event which they are grieving, others, and/or themselves. Anger is often associated with fad as it impedes the objective observation skills and, like insanity, can cloud the perspicacity with anything but the truth. (Santrock, 57)The angriest character in all of Hamlet the title character himself, Hamlet. Hamlets anger is especially clear in his judicious dealing s with his family, which, he is supposed to be bonding with over this shared out grief, his visions of his father as a ghost, and his violent outbursts against the denizens of his kingdom.When he enters his mothers chambers in act three, scene four, he shows many signs of lyssa and anger, including visions of violence inciting figures, lashing out against his mother, and the murder of Polonius behind the veil. hamletHow is it with you, wench?QUEEN GERTRUDEAlas, how ist with you,That you do bend your eye on vacuum cleanerAnd with the incorporal air do hold discourse?Forth at your look your spirits wildly peepAnd, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm,Your provide hair, like life in excrements,Starts up, and stands on end. O gentle son,Upon the disturb and flame of thy distemperSprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look?(Shakespeare, 3.4.18) negotiate and Depression are slightly similar stages of grieving that as seen in Hamlet, can happen at the same time. Bargaining is chara cterized by an attempt at negotiating with fate, while depression understands the imminence of death. This being said, there is no reason why Hamlet could not have been experiencing both of these stages at once. In fact, Hamlet seems to have drifted in and out of these stages in betwixt going through anger and acceptance. (Santrock 58, 59)In act one, scene two, Hamlet demonstrates bargaining and depression by just about asking the all-powerful to contact his life away completely, because he is too saddened and maddened by all of this outrageous behavior that he would rather die. HAMLETO, that this too too solid flesh would meltThaw and resolve itself into a dewOr that the Everlasting had not fixdHis canon gainst self-slaughter O divinity GodHow weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,Seem to me all the uses of this worldFie ont ah fie tis an unweeded garden,That grows to seed things rank and gross in naturePossess it merely.(Shakespeare, 1.2.6) once again in act three, scene one, Ha mlet makes another speech that implies his fickle, suicidal-bargaining tendencies. In this speech he talks about his self-loathing due to his cowardice and he wishes that it could all be over, like a sleep, a quiet end. HAMLETTo be, or not to be that is the questionWhether tis nobler in the mind to anguishThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them?(Shakespeare, 3.1.1)Hamlet is not the only character to go through bargaining and depression, though. Ophelia also, in her singing and solemn visits to her fathers burial site, clearly shows signs of depression. She acts on these depressed thoughts by winning the bargain of suicide if she cannot be happy in this world, she should take herself out of it to avoid the pain, and she does.Acceptance is the eccentrictersweet end to grieving in which individuals postdate to terms with the fate they are handed, whether it be death, loss, or a admonisher of their mortality. (Sa ntrock, 60) The final scene before Fortinbras arrives to Elsinore, it is almost as if each character is asking for forgiveness through their passing through the stage of acceptance. every action, the military volunteer drinking of the cup that Claudius does, Laertes lastwords to Hamlet, Gertrudes voluntary drinking of the cup so Hamlet would live a bit longer, they all seemed to be actions of final absolution.Kubler-Ross five stages of grief are voluminous in Shakespeares dramas, especially Hamlet, simply because of the massive amounts of tragedies that occur within Hamlet that warrant grieving. The grieving process in Hamlet is slowly visible because of the steps laid out by Kubler-Ross and how they match almost exactly with the feelings and actions of not only Hamlet, but the whole kingdom, including Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes, Polonius, and Ophelia.Works CitedThe Kbler-Ross Grief Cycle. The Kbler-Ross Grief Cycle. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. Santrock, John W. Kubler-Ross P. 57,58,59,60. A topical Approach to Life-span Development. Boston McGraw-Hill, 2002. N. pag. Print. Shakespeare, William, and Harold Jenkins. tour One, Scene Two, Act Three, Scene One, Act Three, Scene Three. Hamlet. London Methuen, 1982. N. pag. Print.