Death

Death is one of the driving forces behind Act I right from the beginning. Hamlet thinks of death from different perspectives, questioning almost everything. He contemplates whether or not he should commit suicide, and the only thing keeping him from going through with it is his religious belief. Hamlet also ponders on why his father has come back as a ghost and whether or not he should follow him. King Claudius and his wife Gertrude have a different perspective on death. In his speech, Claudius tells Hamlet that fathers come and go, which shows that he thinks of death as a normal process in humanity. Unlike Hamlet, he does not question it any further. Ultimately, this shows that Hamlet has a philosophical trait to him, while King Claudius does not.