所有上述人物都是哈姆莱特最亲爱的人——父亲、母亲、继父（叔叔）、爱人、爱人的父亲和哥哥，都有“善”与“恶”两面人性。他们对待哈姆莱特都有两面性，因为关于人的性格观念，传统的西方思想有个共同特点，就是人的个性包含私下的和公开的两个组成部分，这是正常且符合常识的。莎士比亚在《哈姆莱特》全剧中探究的正是这种公开身份与私下身份分离的“自然性”。例如，在第四幕第三场，国王说：“哈姆莱特，我为你这次所做的事很是着急（指误杀了波洛涅斯），同时又要顾虑到你的安全，所以不得不火速派你出国。你赶快准备去，船已备好，又有顺风，侍候人等也在等候着，一切都准备好了立刻到英国去。”当他命令在场的人都离开后，自言自语地说：“英格兰的王啊，假如你认为我的友谊是有价值的，——既然丹麦的刀砍在你身上的创痕还是鲜红的，你已吓得自动的向我进贡，你原该认识我的伟大力量，——你莫把我的命令看得冷淡；我的命令在信里已完全说明，要你立刻将哈姆莱特处死。务须遵命办事，英格兰王。”看，国王的公开身份和私下身份是多么大的差异啊！又在第三幕第四场，御前大臣波洛涅斯对王后说：“他（哈姆莱特）就要来了。请你把他着实教训一顿，对他说他这种狂妄的态度，实在叫人忍无可忍，倘没有你娘娘替他居中回护，王上早已对他大发雷霆了。我就悄悄地躲在这儿。请你对他讲得着力一点。”王后（母亲）与哈姆莱特（儿子）的对话：
王后：“哈姆莱特，你已大大地得罪了你的父亲。”
哈姆莱特：“母亲，你已大大地得罪了我的父亲。”
王后：“来，来，不要用这种胡说八道的话回答我。”
哈姆莱特：“去，去，不要用这种胡说八道的话盘问我。”
……王后：“你忘记我了吗？”
哈姆莱特：“不，凭着十字架起誓，我没有忘记你。你是王后，你是你丈夫的兄弟的妻子，你又是我的母亲——但愿你不是！”
王后：“哎哟，那么我要去叫那些会说话的人来跟你谈谈了。”
哈姆莱特：“来，来，坐下来，不要动；我要把一面镜子放在你的面前，让你看一看你自己的灵魂。”
王后：“你要干什么呀？你不是要杀我吧？救命！救命呀！”
波洛涅斯（在帷幔后）：“什么，啊！救命！救命！救命！”
哈姆莱特：（拔剑）怎么！是哪一个鼠贼？要钱不要命吗？我来结果你。（用剑刺穿帷幕）从上述的母子对话，可见母亲的公开身份。但在哈姆莱特误杀了“特务”之后，在哈姆莱特使他母亲看到了她自己灵魂的深处之后，哈姆莱特对他母亲说：“他（国王）使你把这件事和盘托出，你就告诉他，我并非真疯，只是装疯。”他母亲回答：“你放心，如果话是呼吸组成的，呼吸即是生命，我宁死也不会把你对我说的话说出去。”这就是母亲的私下身份。为什么公开与私下不同呢？正是因为“脆弱啊，你的名字就是女人！”。再如在第一幕第三场，奥菲利娅的父亲对她说：“干脆明说吧，从今以后，我不准你浪费任何时间去和哈姆莱特殿下谈话。我嘱咐你好生留神，你去吧。”奥菲利娅答道，“我一定听从你的话，父亲。”如在第三幕第一场中，在公开的情境，在被国王和她父亲暗中监视的情况下，她对哈姆莱特说：“殿下，我有几件您送给我的纪念品，我早就想把它们还给您，请您现在收回去吧。”但在私下的情况，如在第三幕第二场中，哈姆莱特对奥菲利娅说：“小姐，我可以躺在你的大腿里吗？”（他躺在奥菲利娅的腿上。）奥菲利娅：“不，殿下。”哈姆莱特：
“我的意思是说，把我的头放在你的大腿上面？”奥菲利娅：“好，殿下。”由此可见，奥菲利娅在公开环境和私下情况对哈姆莱特是不同的，因为她既尊敬她父亲又热恋哈姆莱特。
All those mentioned above are Hamlet’s dearest ones—father， mother， stepfather (uncle)， lover andlover’s father and elder-brother. All of them have both kind side and evil side of human nature. They treatHamlet with dual character because the split which it involves， between the private and public elements ofone’s personality， is so common a feature of traditional Western thinking about the notion of character that itseems unremarkable and commonsensical. It is precisely the“naturalness”of this split between public andprivate identities which Shakespeare explores throughout the play Hamlet. For instance， in Act Ⅳ， SceneⅢ， King said：“Hamlet， this deed (miskilled Polonius)， for thine especial safety， / Which we do tender， aswe dearly grieve / For that which thou hast done， must send thee hence / With fiery quickness： thereforeprepare thyself； / The bark is ready， and the wind at help， / The associates tend， and every thing is bent / ForEngland.”After he ordered all people present to leave there， he said to himself：“And， England， if my lovethou hold’st at aught，— / As my great power thereof may give thee sense， / Since yet thy cicatrice looks rawand red / After the Danish sword， and thy free awe / Pays homage to us， —thou mayst not coldly set / Oursovereign process， which imports at full， / By letters conjuring to that effect， / The present death of Hamlet.
Do it， England.”Look！ What a great difference between King’s public and private identities！ For anotherinstance， in Act Ⅲ， Scent Ⅳ， Lord Chamberlain Polonius said to Queen：“He (Hamlet) will come straight.
Look you lay home to him； / Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with， / And that your Gracehath sceen’d and stood between / Much heat and him. I’ll silence me e’en here. / Pray you， be round withhim.”The dialogue between Queen (Mother) and Hamlet (Son)：
Queen： Hamlet， thou hast thy father much offended.
Hamlet： Mother， thou have my father much offended.
Queen： Come， come， you answer with an idle tongue.
Hamlet： Go， go， you question with a wicked tongue. ...
Queen： Have you forgot me？
Hamlet： No， by the rood， not so： / You are the queen， your husband’s brother’s wife； / And， —would itwere not so！—you are my mother.
Queen： Nay then， I’ll set those to you that can speak.
Hamlet： Come， come， and sit you down； you shall not budge； / You go not， till I set you up a glass /Where you may see the inmost part of you.
Queen： What will thou do， thou will not murder me？
Polonius： (Behind.) What， ho！ help！ help！ help！
Hamlet： (Draws.) How now！ a rat？ Dead， for a ducat， dead！ (Makes a pass through the arras.)From the dialogue above between Mother and Son， we can see Mother’s public identity. But，after Hamlet mis-killed the spy and made his mother’s eyes turn into her very soul， Hamlet said to hismother“(King) Make you to ravel all this matter out， / That I essentially am not in madness， / But mad incraft”， his mother replied， /“Be thou assur’d， if words be made of breath， / And breath of life， I have no lifeto breathe / What thou hast said to me.”
This reply shows her mother’s private identity. Why is her private identity different from her publicidentity？ It’s just because“Frailty， thy name is woman”！ To multiply instances， in Act Ⅰ， Scene Ⅲ，Ophelia’s father said to her，“I would not， in plain terms， from this time forth， / Have you so slander anymoment’s leisure， / As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. / Look to’t， I charge you； come yourways.”Ophelia replied：“I shall obey， my lord.”
In Act Ⅲ， SceneⅠ， when Ophelia was in a public situation and spied by King and her father， she saidto Hamlet：“My lord， I have remembrances of yours， / That I have longed long to re-deliver； / I pray you， nowreceive them.”But in Act Ⅲ； Scene Ⅱ， in a private situation， Hamlet said to Ophelia，“Lady， shall I lie inyour lap？ (Lying down at Ophelia’s feet.)Ophelia： No， my lord.
Hamlet： I mean， my head upon your lap？
Ophelia： Ay， my lord.”From here we can see Ophelia treats Hamlet differently in public and privatesituations， for she not only respects her father but also loves Hamlet very much.
在第二幕第二场，哈姆莱特说：“人类是件多么了不得的杰作！多么高贵的理性！多么伟大的力量！多么优美的仪表！多么文雅的举动！在行为上多么像一个天使！在智慧上多么像一个天神！宇宙的精华！万物的灵长！”由此可见哈姆莱特是如此高度地赞美人类以至于他就超越了所有的宗教观念。也许他由于是国王和王后的王子受到了所有人的热爱，因而他也对所有人都表达了友爱和仁慈。他敬重父母、热爱恋人、对同学和朋友如霍拉旭等都很真诚，表现出人性“善”的一面。但正如他在第三幕第一场中对他恋人奥菲利娅所说：“我自己还不算是一个顶坏的人，可是我可以指出我的许多过失；一个人有了那些过失，他的母亲还是不要生下他来的好。我很骄傲、报复、不安分，还有那么多的罪恶，连我的思想里也容纳不下，我的想象也不能给它们形象，甚至于我没有充分的时间可以把它们实行出来。像我这样的家伙，匍匐于天地之间，有什么用处呢？我们都是些十足的坏人，一个也不要相信我们。”又如第三幕第四场，哈姆莱特把躲在幕后偷听他母子谈话的御前大臣误杀了。这些都表现出他人性“恶”的一面。正如所有世人一样，哈姆莱特不仅有着“善”与“恶”两面人性，而且也有着公开身份与私下身份分离的“自然性”。甚至对他母亲，他也不能口心如一。如在第三幕第三场，哈姆莱特说：“我可以残忍，但不可以没有骨肉之情；我向她说刀子般的话，但决不能动刀。在这时候，我是不能心口如一的。我无论怎样痛骂她的丑行，若把言语见诸实行，灵魂啊，切勿答应！”
In Act Ⅱ， Scene Ⅱ， Hamlet said：“What a piece of work is a man！ How noble in reason！ how infinitein faculty！ in form， in moving， how express and admirable！ in action how like an angel！ in apprehension howlike a god！ the beauty of the world！ the paragon of animals！”From here we can see Hamlet sang so highly thepraises of man that he surpassed all religious ideas. Maybe he must have been loved by all people becausehe’s the only prince of King and Queen. Thus he’s friendly and kind to all people. He respected his father andmother. He loved his sweetheart very much. He’s sincere and honest to his schoolmates and friends， such asHoratio， etc. All these demonstrate his kind side of his human nature. But just as he said to his sweetheartOphelia in Act Ⅲ， Scene Ⅰ：“I am myself indifferent honest； but yet I could accuse me of such things thatit were better my mother had not borne me. I am very proud， revengeful， ambitious； with more offences atmy beck than I have thoughts to put them in， imagination to give them shape， or time to act them in. Whatshould such follows as I do crawling between heaven and earth？ We are arrant knaves， all； believe none ofus.”For another instance in Act Ⅲ， Scene Ⅳ， Hamlet mis-killed Lord Chamberlain Polonius who washidden behind the arras to hear his talk with his mother. All these show his evil side of his human nature. Justlike all people in the world， Hamlet has not only a human nature of both kind side and evil side but also thenaturalness of the split between public and private identities. Even to his mother， his tongue and soul couldonly be hypocrites. For instance， in Act Ⅲ， Scene Ⅲ， Hamlet said：“Let me be cruel， not unnatural， / I willspeak daggers to her， but use none； /My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites， / How in my words soever shebe shent， / To give them seals never， my soul， consent！”
哈姆莱特父亲突然死去的不幸事件使哈姆莱特不仅看到了人性的善恶两面性，而且还看了人性的可变性。如第四幕第七场，作者写道：“一切事件都不能永远保持良好，因为过度的善反会摧毁它的本身，正像一个人因充血而死去一样。”任何人都有善恶两面的人性，但不是与生俱来的，而是后天在具体的社会环境中形成的，并且是可变的。如第二幕第二场，国王说：“欢迎，亲爱的罗森格兰兹和吉尔登斯吞！……你们大概已经听到哈姆莱特的变化……除了他父亲的死以外，究竟还有什么原因，把他激成了这种疯疯癫癫的样子，我实在无从猜测。你们从小便跟他在一起长大，素来知道他的脾气，所以我特地请你们到我们宫廷里来盘桓几天，陪伴陪伴他，替他解解闷，同时趁机窥探他究竟有些什么秘密的心事，为我们所不知道的，也许一旦公开之后，我们就可以对症下药。”王后也说：“他常常讲起你们两位，我相信世上没有哪两个人比你们更为他所亲信了……帮助我们实现我们的愿望，那么你们的盛情雅意，一定会受到丹麦王室隆重的谢礼的。”吉尔登斯吞立即答道：“我们愿意投身在两位陛下的足下，两位陛下无论下什么命令，我们都愿意尽力奉行。”在这种情况下，“亲爱的罗森格兰兹和吉尔登斯吞”，“两位从小一起长大的好绅士”和“世上没有哪两个人比你们更为他所亲信的人”，就把他们的人性之善变成了“恶”，成了哈姆莱特身边的特务。哈姆莱特的恋人奥菲利娅也是如此，尽管她是无意识的。哈姆莱特的母亲对她现任丈夫是如此之善，结果她总是被欺骗和利用。国王屡次设计要杀害哈姆莱特，但王后总信她丈夫的花言巧语。如第五幕第二场，国王说：“来，哈姆莱特，来，让我为你们两人和解和解。（国王牵雷欧提斯、哈姆莱特二人的手相握）”听信了她丈夫所说的，王后不知不觉地就落入了国王设下的三重罗网——利剑、毒药、毒酒，说：“来，哈姆莱特，把我的手巾拿去，揩干你额上的汗。王后为你饮下这杯酒，哈姆莱特。”“啊，我亲爱的哈姆莱特！那杯酒，那杯酒。我中毒了。”正是“因为过度的善反会摧毁它的本身，正像一个人因充血而死去一样。”因此，哈姆莱特在第三幕第二场中说：“能够把感情和理智调整得那么适当，命运不能把他玩弄于指掌之间，那样的人是有福的。”由此可见，莎士比亚理想的人性，就是作为个体的人和整体的人在个性和人性、人的自然属性和社会属性上，避免走极端并力图保持他们之间充分完满的平衡。
The accident of his father’s sudden death made Hamlet see not only both kind side and evil side ofhuman nature but also its changeability. For instance， in Act Ⅳ， Scene Ⅶ， the author wrote：“And nothingis at a like goodness still， / For goodness， growing to a pleurisy， / Dies in his own too-much.”Everybodyhas both kind side and evil side of human nature. But it is not innate. It’s acquired in a concrete socialenvironment and changeable. For instance， in Act Ⅱ， Scene Ⅱ， King said，“Welcome， dear Rosencrantzand Guildensterm！ ... Something have you heard of Hamlet’s transformation； ... What it should be more thanhis father’s death， that thus hath put him so much from the understanding of himself， / I cannot dream of；I entreat you both， / That， being of so young days brought up with him， / And since so neighbour’d to hisyouth and humour， / That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court / Some little time； so by your companies/ To draw him on to pleasures， and to gather， / So much as from occasion you may glean， / Whe’r aughtto us unknown afflicts him thus， / That， open’d， lies within our remedy.”Queen said as well，“Goodgentlemen， he hath much talk’d of you； / And sure I am two men there are not living / To whom he moreadheres... For the supply and profit of our hope， / Your visitation shall receive such thanks / As fits a king’sremembrance.”Guildnestern replied promptly：“But we both obey， / And here give up ourselves， in thefull bent， / To lay our service freely at your feet， / To be commanded.”Under such circumstances，“dearRosencrantz and Guildenstern”，“good gentlemen， being of so young days brought up with him”and“twomen there are not living to whom he more adheres，”turned their kind side of human nature into evil side andbecame spies beside Hamlet. So did Hamlet’s sweetheart Ophelia though she was not aware of it. Hamlet’smother was so kind to her present husband that she was always deceived and made use of. King set trapsonce and again to kill Hamlet but Queen always believed her husband’s deceiving words. For instance， inAct Ⅴ， Scene Ⅱ， King said：“Come， Hamlet， come， and take this hand from me. (The king puts the handof Laertes into that of Hamlet.) Having believed what her husband said， Queen was unconsciously falleninto a triple snare set by King—a sword unbated， poisonous contagion and poisonous drink， saying“Here，Hamlet， take my napkin， rub thy brows； The queen carouses to thy fortune， Hamlet.”...“O my dear Hamlet！
The drink， the drink， I am poison’d. It is just that“for goodness， growing to a pleurisy， dies in his own too-much.”That’s why Hamlet said in Act Ⅲ， Scene Ⅱ，“... and bless’d are those whose blood and judgmentare so well comingled that they are not a pipe for Fortune’s finger to sound what stop she please.”Fromhere we can see Shakespeare’s ideal human nature is just that so far as person as an individual and humansas a whole is concerned， we should strike a balance between personality and human nature， between man’snatural attributes and social attributes and try our best to maintain a full and perfect balance between them.
第二步，让咱们看看主人公对人生的态度、人的生死和人生意义的认识吧！哈姆莱特是诗人莎士比亚作为自己理想的化身而创造的几个理想主义者（或按一些评论家所称为的文艺复兴时期的人文主义者）之一。于哈姆莱特，第一是他的个人理想，为父报仇所需要的孝顺之心、虔诚行为和强烈的正义感。但他也有他的社会和政治的理想。一方面，他想象人有无限的能力，“人类是一件多么了不得的杰作！多么高贵的理性！多么伟大的力量！”……另一方面，他看到并希望消灭困扰和束缚人类的无数社会邪恶，正如他在第三幕第一场中所说：“生还是死？这是一个值得考虑的问题；是忍耐恶劣命运的各种毒箭，或是拿起武器反对人世无涯的苦难并使之消亡？那一种做法更高尚？”哈姆莱特的问题首先是对人生的态度问题。这也是一个人人都必须面对并回答的问题。哈姆莱特对人生的态度是积极的而不是消极的。他决心不“忍耐恶劣命运的各种毒箭”，而是“拿起武器反对人世无涯的苦难并使之消亡。”正如他在第一幕第五场末所说：“这是一个颠倒混乱的时代，唉，倒霉的我却要负起重整乾坤的责任！”他在第四幕第四场中也说：“一个人要是在他生命的盛年，只知道吃吃睡睡，他还算是什么东西？简直不过是一头畜生！”这是一种“更高尚的”人生态度。
The second step， let’s see the hero’s attitude towards life and how the hero understands the question“tobe， or not to be”and the meaning of life. Hamlet is one of the several idealists (or Renaissance humanistsas some critics would have said) created by Shakespeare as an embodiment of the poet’s own ideals. In hiscase， first and foremost is his personal ideal， that of filial piety and strong sense of justice that demandsrevenge. But he has his social and political ideals too. On the one hand he envisages the infinite capabilitiesof man：“What a piece of work is man； how noble in reason！ how infinite in faculty！”... On the other hand hesees and hopes to eliminate the innumerable social evils besetting and enfettering human beings， just as hesays in Act Ⅲ， Scene Ⅰ，“To be， or not to be： that is the question： Whether’tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune， / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles， / And by opposingend them？”Hamlet’s question， first of all， is one about the attitude towards life. This is also a questionthat everyone must face and answer. Hamlet’s attitude towards life is positive， not passive. He’s determinednot“to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”but“to take arms against a sea of troubles andby opposing end them.”Just as he says in Act Ⅰ， Scene Ⅴ，“The time is out of joint； O cursed spite， / Thatever I was born to set it right！”In Act Ⅳ， Scene Ⅳ， he also says：“What is a man， / If his chief good andmarket of his time / Be but to sleep and feed？ a beast， no more.”This is a“nobler”attitude towards life.
哈姆莱特的问题最重要的是“生还是死”。在哈姆莱特被他父亲的灵魂告知他父亲是被正在王位上并娶了先前的王后——自己母亲的亲叔叔克劳狄斯谋杀的之后，哈姆莱特决心为父报仇。为了活下去，哈姆莱特不得不扮演多种角色。他对霍拉旭和波洛涅斯扮演不谙事故的学者。为了奥菲利娅，也为了她父亲波洛涅斯，他“里衫没扣，帽子也没戴”，变成了发疯的恋人。并且，也许是为了奥菲利娅，也为了其他任何可能在偷听的人，他变成了抑郁者，正在“生还是死”的言语中沉思默想着自杀。但哈姆莱特不断选定不同角色还有另一方面的原因。这在于哈姆莱特在剧中反复地和其他人物进行含蓄地或直言不讳地比较或对照。
例如，面对福丁布拉斯带兵打仗，哈姆莱特立即把他自己与福丁布拉斯比较，设想他自己处身于军事英雄的地位，他要“真正的伟大不是轻举妄动，而是在荣誉遭遇危险的时候，即使为了一根稻秆之微，也要慷慨力争。”然而，哈姆莱特与福丁布拉斯之间的相似之处，超过了哈姆莱特对福丁布拉斯军事能力的妒忌。福丁布拉斯像哈姆莱特，他也是一个国王的侄儿，但他去世不久的父亲是哈姆莱特之父的军事敌手并被先王哈姆莱特所杀；像哈姆莱特，他也在其父亲死后寻机报仇，在剧的开头时期他反对克劳狄斯，在剧的末尾，他接任了哈姆莱特作丹麦国王的职务。正如我们所见，哈姆莱特与雷欧提斯也有相似之处：他们在中年人统治的宫中都比较年轻；都被描写成受丹麦人民的喜爱；都爱奥菲利娅并在第四幕中把他们连在一起，结果产生了比剑，他们都死于比剑，临死时才最终明白他们是敌手；他们都要为父报仇；他们都受父母监视；他们都回厄耳锡诺参加克劳狄斯的加冕，然后都要求回到他们先前的职位上去——雷欧提斯要回法国，哈姆莱特回威登堡。雷欧提斯的请求获准，哈姆莱特的请求遭拒，多么鲜明的对照啊！事实上，全剧中哈姆莱特的多种形象有时是哈姆莱特自己的体现，有时是别人的体现。甚至奥菲利娅提供了一种哈姆莱特形象的反映，因为是哈姆莱特在剧的开头部分似乎深思着“自杀”并表现出发疯，而结局是奥菲利娅真正疯了并导致她自杀了。事实上，剧的后部分表现的原属哈姆莱特的一系列职能在其他人物身上显示了出来。因此，一方面，观众看见哈姆莱特本人正在试行并试用多种角色；另一方面又看见其他人物接任了他放弃或不能保持的角色。所以，是奥菲利娅而不是哈姆莱特真疯了并自杀了——注意另一相似之处，奥菲利娅溺水而亡，哈姆莱特却从海上逃回获生！是福丁布拉斯而不是哈姆莱特来接受丹麦的王冠！是雷欧提斯而不是哈姆莱特完全实行了哈姆莱特从剧的最初场景开始就一直在反复思考的坚定的流血的复仇！由此可见，莎士比亚的巧妙情节建构——三条故事主线贯穿全剧。哈姆莱特、雷欧提斯和福丁布拉斯分别为父报仇，三条情节主线在剧末会合，产生了伟大的悲剧。由此我们也可见哈姆莱特的问题，不仅是他个人的问题，而且是全人类普遍的问题。
Hamlet’s question， the most important of all， is about“to be， or not to be”. After Hamlet is told byhis father’s spirit that his father has been murdered by his uncle Claudius who is now ruling as king and hasmarried the former queen， Hamlet’s mother， Hamlet has made up his mind to set on avenging his father’sdeath. In order to survive Hamlet has to play a variety of parts. He parodies the Unworldly Scholar， bothto Horatio and to Polonius. For Ophelia’s benefit， and for Polonius’s too， he becomes the distracted lover，with“his doublet all unbraced， no hat upon his head”. And perhaps for Ophelia’s benefit， too， and forthe benefit of anyone else who may be listening， he becomes the Melancholic Man， contemplating suicidein the“To be or not to be”speech. But there is another aspect to Hamlet’s continual adopting of variousroles. This consists of the way in which Hamlet is repeatedly compared or contrasted， implicitly or explicitly，with other characters in the play. For example， faced with the sight of Fortinbras leading his army into battle，Hamlet immediately begins to draw comparisons between Fortinbras and himself， projecting himself inhis own imagination into the role of military hero， for who“Rightly to be great / Is not to stir without greatargument， / But greatly to find quarrel in a straw / When honour’s at the stake.”But the parallels betweenHamlet and Fortinbras go beyond Hamlet’s envying Fortinbras his military capacity. Fortinbras， like Hamlet，is also the nephew of a king； but his late father and Hamlet’s were military opponents and killed by the lastKing Hamlet； like Hamlet， he too is seeking some sort of vengeance following the death of his father； he toois an enemy of Claudius at the beginning of the play； at the end of the play he takes over Hamlet’s functionas head of state in Denmark. As we have seen， parallels have also been drawn between Hamlet and Laertes：
Both of them are comparatively young men in a court dominated by the middle-aged； both are described asbeing popular with the people of Denmark； their common love for Ophelia unites them thematically in thefourth act， and the ensuing swordfight which results in both their deaths makes clear the extent to which theyare each other’s opposites； both give themselves the task of avenging the death of their respective fathers；both are spied on by their parents. Both have returned to Elsinore to see Claudius crowned， and both nowhave asked permission to return to their former occupations—Laertes wanting to go back to France， Hamletto Wittenberg. Laertes request is granted， Hamlet’s is refused. What a striking contrast！ In fact， in the wholeplay various images of Hamlet are sometimes embodied by Hamlet himself and sometimes by other people.
Even Ophelia provides a reflected image of Hamlet， for while it is Hamlet who， in the early part of the play，seems to contemplate“self-slaughter”and who appears to go mad， it is eventually Ophelia whose realmadness leads to her actual suicide. And in fact what the later parts of the play show is a series of functionswhich had originally been attributed to Hamlet being displaced onto other characters. Thus on the one handthe audience sees Hamlet himself trying out and experimenting with a variety of roles； and on the other handit sees other characters taking over some of the roles which he discards or is unable to maintain. And so it isOphelia rather than Hamlet who goes mad and kills herself—and note the additional correspondence betweenher death by drowning and the death at sea which Hamlet escapes！ It is Fortinbras， not Hamlet， who comes toassume the crown of Denmark，； and Laertes， not Hamlet， who plays out to the full the role of determined andbloody revenger which Hamlet had been contemplating from the earlier scenes of the play. From here we cansee Shakespeare’s adroit plot construction—three threads of story running through the play. Hamlet， Laertesand Fortinbras avenge their fathers’ death respectively. These three plots converge at the end of the play andbring about a great tragedy. From here we can also see Hamlet’s question is not only a personal question butalso a universal question of the whole human race.
“死了，睡着了，什么都完了； 要是在这一种睡眠之中，我们心头的创痛，以及其他无数血肉之躯所不能避免的打击，都可以从此消失，那正是我们求之不得的结局。”这意思是说“血肉之躯之死”一点儿都不能“解脱灵魂（心头的创痛）之责任”。“死了，睡着了；睡着了也许还会做梦。嗯，阻碍就在这儿：因为当我们摆脱了这一具朽腐的皮囊以后，在那死的睡眠里，究竟将要做些什么梦，那不能不使我们踌躇顾虑。……若不是因为对于死后的恐惧，——死乃是旅客一去不返的未经发现的异乡——令人心志迷惑，使得我们宁可忍受现有的苦痛，而不敢轻易尝试那不可知的苦痛……”由此可见，哈姆莱特在对“生还是死”的问题反复思忖，对自杀或谋杀的直接预期特别困惑，因他正在极力为他父亲之死报仇。他在第一幕第二场中也说：“啊，但愿这一个太坚实的肉体会溶解、消散、化成一片露水！或者那永恒的上帝不曾定下禁止自杀的律法！”在全剧中，哈姆莱特一直在探究“生还是死”的问题。 他的母亲在第一幕第二场中说：“你要知道这是一件平常事，有生即有死，经过人世自然死亡到达永恒。”国王也接着说：“在理智上它是完全荒谬的，因为从第一个死了的父亲起，直到今天死去的最后一个父亲为止，理智永远在呼喊，‘这是无可避免的’。”从剧中男女主人公所说，可见作者不仅在探究最重要的“生还是死”的问题，还在探究人生的态度和人生的意义问题。
“To die： to sleep； / No more； and， by a sleep to say we end / The heart-ache and the thousand naturalshocks / That flesh is heir to，‘tis a consummation / Devoutly to be wish’d.”This implies that“the death ofthe body”does nothing to“relieve the soul of its responsibilities (the heartache)”.“To die， to sleep； / Tosleep： perchance to dream： ay， there’s the rub； / For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When wehave shuffled off this mortal coil， / Must give us pause. ...But that the dread of something after death， / Theundiscover’d country from whose bourn / No traveler returns， puzzles the will， / And makes us rather bearthose ills we have / Than fly to others that we know not of ...”From here we can see Hamlet is contemplatingthe“To be or not to be”question repeatedly， particularly obsessed with the immediate prospect of eithersuicide or murder， for he is doing his best to avenge his father’s death. He also says in Act Ⅰ， Scene Ⅱ：“O！
that this too too solid flesh would melt， / Thaw and resolve itself into a dew； / Or that the Everlasting had notfix’d / His canon ’gainst self-slaughter！”In the whole play Hamlet has been exploring the question“To beor not to be”. His mother also says in Act Ⅰ， Scene Ⅱ：“Thou know’st ’tis common； all that lives must die，/ Passing through nature to eternity.”King says succeedingly， too：“To reason most absurd， whose commontheme / Is death of fathers， and who still hath cried， / From the first corse till he that died today， /‘This mustbe so’.”From what the main heroes and heroine say in the play we can see the author explores not only themost important question“To be or not to be”but also the questions of man’s attitude towards life and themeaning of life.
哈姆莱特的问题，最后但同样重要的是人生的意义。人生的意义是人类精神生活中最普遍最广泛最基本的问题。只有一个人在心目中搞清了这个问题，他才能明白为什么他应活在这世上，换句话说，他才能明白人生的意义是什么。哈姆莱特通过反复思忖“生还是死”的问题搞清了他为什么应活着——为了向谋害他父亲的凶手复仇、为了负起重整乾坤的责任。
他的前者目的听起来没有后者伟大，因为前者似乎是个人或私人目的而后者则是公众目的。
私人或个人目的或目标只能产生私人或个人的意义。事实上，属于私人的意义是根本没有任何意义的，因为没有人会从他的个人成就中获益。一个人的目的和行为的真正意义取决于这些目的和行为对他人的生活所作的贡献，也就是对他人的意义。所有人生的真正意义都是普遍意义——它们是能够被他人分享的意义，也是能够被他人认可的意义。从人类社会的现实视角看，哈姆莱特的人生意义就在于他尽了义务，履行了责任：他向谋害他父亲的凶手复仇，尽了双重义务——作为他父亲的独子，他尽了个人或私人义务；作为丹麦王子，他为国为民除害，尽了对公众的义务。正如第一幕第三场作者所写：“他有这样高的地位，他的意志并不属于他自己，因为他自己也要被他的血统所支配；他不像一般庶民一样为自己选择，因为他的决定足以影响到整个国家的安危……以他王子之尊究竟能做到几分，那是必须以丹麦的公意为限的。”他履行了作为王子应尽的责任——他大义灭亲，杀死了他亲叔叔；他为国为民除害，当众杀死了“这败坏伦常、嗜杀贪淫、万恶不赦的丹麦奸王”。
Hamlet’s question， last but not least， is about the meaning life. The meaning of life is the most general，universal and essential question in the human spiritual life. Only one can make it clear in one’s mind， can oneunderstand why he should live in the world， i.e. can one understand what meaning of life is. By contemplatingthe“to be or not to be”question repeatedly Hamlet has made it clear why he should live on—to revengehimself on his father’s murderer； to set it right， for“the time is out of point”. His former purpose doesnot sound as great as the latter， because the former seems to be a personal or private one while the latteris a public one. Private or personal purposes or aims can only bring about private or personal meaning. Aprivate meaning is in fact no meaning at all， for no one else benefits from his personal achievements. The truemeaning of one’s purposes and actions lies in their contribution to the lives of others. That is their meaningfor others. All true meanings of life are common meanings—they are meanings in which others can share，and meanings that others can accept. From the realistic perspective of human society， Hamlet’s meaning oflife lies in that he has done double duty—as the only son of his father， he has done his personal or privateduty； as the Prince of Denmark， he has done his duty for the public， for he has got rid of the evil king for thestate and the people. Just as the author wrote in Act Ⅰ， Scene Ⅲ：“His greatness weigh’d， his will is not hisown， / For he himself is subject to his birth； / He may not， as unvalu’d persons do， / Carve for himself， for onhis choice depends / The safety and the health of the whole state... As he in his particular act and place / Maygive his saying deed； which is no further / Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.’ He has performedhis responsibilities as the Prince of Denmark should—he has upheld justice and righteousness even at thesacrifice of blood relations and killed his own uncle； he has got rid of the scourge for the state and the peopleby killing“thou incestuous， murderous， damned Dane”in public.