Hamlet is the main character and protagonist of the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is the prince of Denmark. He is the son of Queen Gertrude and King Hamlet, murdered by his uncle Claude. Hamlet is a very unique person and handles many situations in unusual ways. Hamlet is an extremely intriguing and complex character who seems to change with each perspective. Shakespeare did an absolutely fantastic job of capturing true human characteristics with Hamlet. Hamlet bounces around with his emotions so incoherently that we never know what he is about to do next. One moment he is rational, and the next moment he is not. One moment he wants to plan things, then he does things on a whim. Shakespeare captures the character of Hamlet with such essence that as soon as one feels like he knows Hamlet, he changes. The more we read the text, the more Hamlet comes to life and evolves. With much of Hamlet being so humanistic and ever-changing, it's all the external factors that play a role in his life. Although there are many external factors that play a role in why Hamlet is the way he is, there are three main ones. The first and most influential being his mother and her actions (Shakespeare, 2409-2500). Hamlet feels that "the family relationship is essentially destroyed" with his mother because of the way she handled his father's death (Snider, 67). Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, remarried extremely quickly after her husband's death. Not only does Hamlet feel that his uncle Claudius, who is the man his mother remarried, has extremely low morals, but Hamlet also feels that he is a completely bad person in general. Hamlet is so emotionally damaged by the... middle of paper ... for the population at large, not because he is perfect, but by striving to do what he believed was right. Works Cited Bristol, Michael D "The Customary and the Ethical: Understanding Hamlet's Bad Habits." Shakespeare Studies 40. (2012): 70-76. Academic research completed. Internet. April 20, 2014.Mitchell, Juliette. “Hamlet – The One and His Brothers and Sisters.” Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in South Africa 21.1 (2013): 28-60. Academic research completed. Internet. April 20, 2014.Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” The Norton Anthology: Western Literature. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2006. 2409-2500. Print.Snider, DJ “HAMLET”. The Journal of Speculative Philosophy. (2009): 67-88. Academic research completed. April 20, 2014. Sterling, Eric. “Shakespeare’s HAMLET” (2001): 2. MasterFILE Web.. 2014.