Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy that follows the story of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, who has just lost his father, King Hamlet. Following his death, Hamlet’s mother chooses to remarry her dead husband’s brother, Claudius, who takes control of the throne. The setting in Denmark, a patriarchal society, creates a divisive line between what is defined as a conventionally male, rather than traditionally female. Men are expected to be emotionless, strong protectors, aggressive, and impulsive, while women are supposed to be over-thinkers, dependent on men, fearful, weak, and give in to desires. However, throughout his journey, Hamlet has a tendency to teeter between the two worlds, as he demonstrates both masculine and feminine characteristics. While living in a society that emphasizes the importance of preserving one's masculinity, Hamlet begins to recognize his femininity, which results in his internal conflict over whether he should succumb to the societal standards for men or not, ultimately causing him to project his own internalized misogyny on the women in his life. 

As Hamlet mourns the death of his father, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, criticizes his open display of emotions as being womanly, which establishes the intense divide between what is considered to be a male trait, rather than female. By claiming Hamlet has "unmanly grief," it illustrates how Claudius would want Hamlet to display his masculinity, as Claudius reminds Hamlet of the expectations for men (I.ii.94). During this time period, men are supposed to be valiant, headstrong individuals, without a reliance on emotions. Two months have passed since the death of his father, and Claudius believes Hamlet’s grieving should have already concluded, especially given that he is male. Hamlet’s grief contrasts with the masculine power demonstrated by Claudius. Claudius is constantly searching for ways to usurp power and create a more profound title for himself, without recognizing the destruction of other people’s lives he causes, just to ensure his own success. Claudius looks down upon emotions, viewing them to be what makes men vulnerable. Hamlet, on the other hand, is unable to process his feelings in a collected manner, as he is still learning how to navigate his life without a father, so he takes this remark with much offense, as he finds grieving to be a standard action for all genders. 

This ruthless insult, hinting at Hamlet’s lack of manliness, provokes him to compare Claudius to other males, who are widely depicted as brave, masculine individuals. Additionally, Hamlet, being the growing individual that he is, still feels humiliated by Claudius’ public remarks, and begins to give less credibility to Claudius, by claiming Claudius is “no more like [his] father/ Than I [Hamlet] to Hercules” (I.ii.157-158). In this instance, by contrasting himself to Hercules through this simile, Hamlet is explaining the vast difference between his father and uncle. Angered by the marriage of his mother and uncle, Hamlet’s soliloquy rebuffs the pseudo power play by Claudius. The allusion to Hercules, a powerful hero in Greek mythology, demonstrates the distinct opposition between Hamlet and his Herculean male counterparts. Currently, Hamlet does not feel threatened or out of place, as he deems his emotions to be acceptable for an individual dealing with desolation after the loss of his father. Masculinity, strength, and power are characteristics held by men with great power, such as Hamlet’s father, so for Hamlet to say Claudius is anything but these traits is a piercing insult. Hamlet acknowledges that he is not strong, but by saying Claudius is nothing like his father, infers that Claudius too is weak. His comment is primarily directed towards disparaging Claudius. While Hamlet can currently recognize his own display of emotions, he does not take it as a sign of feminine weakness, nor does it become problematic until his encounter with the ghost.

During Hamlet’s first introduction to the ghost form of his father, the ghost’s aggressive demand to avenge his death exemplifies the traditional gender roles, such as the expectations of men to seek revenge, as women are too timid to take action, further intensifying Hamlet’s questioning of his own masculinity. While dressed in “...the very armor he had on/ When he the vicious Norway combated,” the ghost of Hamlet’s father reveals that he was poisoned by his own brother, Claudius, who was greedy for the throne (I.i.71-72). Rightfully so, the ghost is thirsty for revenge, and believes action must be taken to right the wrongs caused by him. As his father’s ghost is dressed for battle, it demonstrates his authority, through his clear willingness to fight and his outwardly male characteristics. After his first look at the ghost, Horatio is clearly distressed, causing one of the guards, Bernardo, to say, “How now, Horatio, you tremble and look pale,” (I.i.63). Through both Horatio’s reaction to the ghost’s appearance, it is clear that Hamlet’s father was a very tough figure, who lived up to the conventional male role, as the paleness of Horatio signifies he had been frightened. The ghost continuously antagonizes Hamlet into thinking he has to fight for his father, by repeating “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.v.31). Hamlet is being asked by his father to kill Claudius, claiming it is deserving due to his deceitful deeds. Hamlet’s father is a noticeably strong, masculine character, who fits in with the male stereotypes, and therefore, he desires revenge for being murdered and expects his son to complete this task. However, as the play continues, Hamlet is constantly questioning whether he should follow through with this request, by pondering rather than following through with many of his actions. Hamlet’s womanly hesitation to act is derived from a place of fear, as his lack of manly traits corrupts his sense of identity and weakens his ability to fulfill the ghosts' wishes to murder Claudius. The ghost has a profound impact on Hamlet, who now believes he has to kill Claudius to provide justice for his father, which goes against Hamlet’s natural inclinations. He internalizes this request of the ghost, thus giving in to the manly urge for vengeance. Hamlet’s sense of self is threatened, which triggers him into thinking he must be more manly and aware, in order to begin his plot of retribution. 

Following his encounter with the ghost, Hamlet begins to internalize his father’s words, resulting in an identity crisis, due to his fear of displaying any feminine qualities, such as overthinking and weakness. Hamlet is even contemplating suicide as another resort to try and feel at peace with himself, except the only thing that brings this desire to a halt is that taking his life would signify weakness, as he would be backing down from a fight, thus giving him even more womanly attributes, which would enfeeble his manliness. Throughout the entirety of the play, Hamlet questions his own masculinity, but it culminates when he begins his soliloquy with “to be or not to be- that is the question” (III.i.64). Hamlet asks himself whether he should give into the societal standards of violent men or pursue his own path. This query consumes Hamlet’s life, because he wrestles with being open with his femininity during a time when men were bound to the notion of acting without fear of consequence. However, Hamlet constantly spends his time pondering his actions. As suicide is a sign of fragility, Hamlet avoids this option, just like he chooses not to express his femininity, for fear of judgement. This persistent emotion of disarray through Hamlet’s identity crisis, which he describes to be “a sea of troubles,” is escalating towards his breaking point (III.i.67). Through this hyperbole, Hamlet's demonstrating how the dilemma over his sense of self is the reason for his feelings of disarray within Hamlet. Hamlet’s consistent contemplation illustrates his womanly passivity, which is why he does not kill himself. He has the patience of a woman to stop and think, rather than act without reason. Men, at this time, were expected to act without a conscience and allow their masculinity to function as the beacon of all decisions. As Hamlet’s contemplations grow deeper, he is left to figure out the balance of being a male, while still expressing his femininity, although the concept proves too complex for him, as Hamlet begins a spur of erratic rants. 

After the “to be or not to be” soliloquy, all of Hamlet’s resentment towards his lack of masculinity had risen, thus initiating his outburst toward Ophelia, as he believes her to be deceptive, by covering up her physical appearance. Hamlet projects his madness and flurry of insecurities of himself feeling like a fraud for trying to appear more masculine onto Ophelia, the woman he is supposed to love, in an angry feud, explaining that he has “...heard of your [Ophelia’s] paintings/ well enough. God hath given you one face and you/ make yourselves another'' (III.i.154-156). Hamlet unceasingly points out all habits in women that disgust him, such as how they wear makeup, because he is appalled by people, mostly women, who are false. Men, on the other hand, are expected to be genuine individuals with a strong sense of self. This parallels Hamlet’s conflict, by illustrating how he’s painting himself to be someone he’s not, due to this new craving to be perceived as manly. Hamlet has been putting up a facade of strength, concealing his feminine side, just like makeup hides one's flaws. This internal conflict causes Hamlet’s immense self-loathing, as he aims to suppress his unwanted femininity, but that ultimately provokes outbursts of anger against the only women who have ever expressed care towards him. 

The built up anxiety over his conflicted identity had been pervaded by the heightened patriarchal demands, where Hamlet directs all of his internalized misogyny on his mother, Gertrude, claiming she is weak for giving in to her womanly desires, rather than standing up for herself, like a man would do. As Hamlet recognizes that same womanly trait of desire within himself, his rate of disgust for his mother marrying Claudius so soon following her husband's death escalates quickly. He associates Gertrude with inferiority, claiming it is only sexual influence making her willing to acquiesce to this abrupt change, as he described the relationship between Claudius and Gertrude to be “stewed in corruption, honeying and making love” (III.iv.105). In this instance, Hamlet is directly insulting Gertrude for having no ability to stand her grounds and defend her dead husband. He claims her lustful desires lead her to act irresponsibly, through corrupt decision making. Hamlet believes that men would never prioritize their yearnings, as it is a sign of weakness, causing him to criticize Gertrude for giving in to the seduction of Claudius. Hamlet is demonstrating his own self-hatred, by deflecting his emotions onto women who he feels exhibit characteristics that his internalized misogyny has caused him to think poorly of. While Hamlet accuses Gertrude of not being able to stick up for herself, due to being a woman, it parallels his own inability to take action in the plot for revenge against Claudius. 

Even though Hamlet lashes out on both Ophelia and Gertrude, due to his insecure self, he shuts down his womanly pondering, and decides to pursue this manly route of diving into violence, through shifting towards a more aggressive mindset. Hamlet’s femininity results in an increase of his own insecurities, so Hamlet ultimately decides to ignore all the womanly qualities in him and instead, embrace manliness full-heartedly, when he encounters Fortinbras on his way to battle. After seeing the intense passion Fortinbras’ army has for their war against Poland, a land they do not have any emotional connection to, Hamlet recognizes his lack of action to be womanly and decides he is going to be a ruthless man, with the sole objective of killing Claudius in the most gruesome way, as he says, “Oh, from this time forth,/ My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!” (IV.iv.68-69). Hamlet uses this metaphor to determine that he will fully embrace his masculine side, as he has been influenced by the voices of society who criticize women for their frailty. Fortinbras is a strong male character, who is able to command an army to reconquer land that once belonged to his family, causing Hamlet to realize that he must remove all things feminine, in order to achieve success. Just like Hamlet, Fortinbras’ motives derive from his father, although he is actually able to act as a powerful, commanding figure, because he embraces who he is, unlike Hamlet, whose inner conflict on his identity resulted in chaos. Hamlet’s weakness comes from his inability to accept his femininity, due to the pressure he has to follow his father’s commands, so he drives himself mad. He decides all feminine traces seeping through him will be shut down, and from now on, he is not going to back down from a fight. This realization allowed him to view how useless his constant pondering was, and that violent actions were necessary, in order for his goals to be accomplished.

With Hamlet following a path of destruction, he is ignoring the conflicts he has caused with the women in his life, as he believes caring deeply about anything, listening to one’s gut,  and overly thinking of ideas, which would make him perceived as womanly. After learning that Hamlet killed her father, Ophelia is no longer capable to accept the level of manipulation by the men in her life and commits suicide. Out of anger, her brother, Laertes, challenges Hamlet to a duel. In this particular battle, the odds against Hamlet seem quite undesirable, as Laertes has been acknowledged for his fencing skills over many years. In response, Hamlet claims his fencing skills have improved while Laertes has been in France, and that this fight “is but foolery, but it is such kind of/ gainsgiving as would perhaps trouble a woman,” (V.ii.229-230). While he acknowledges it would be unwise to partake in this battle, Hamlet clearly believes refusing to fight would be womanly, as he would be demonstrating the cowardly female characteristics of fear. Hamlet is persisting with his new plan of only going forward with bloody, masculine thoughts, as he avoids all reason. 

 However, not all individuals in society follow the standard masculine mindset. While Horatio is aware of the societal pressures of men to align with their own gender appropriate traits, he recognizes the value of thinking before acting, as his priority is not to be defined as the typical, strong man. Horatio warns Hamlet by saying, “If your mind dislike anything, obey it” (V.ii.231). Horatio is someone who is unfazed by the womanly ideas in his mind. He does not hold the commonly masculine idea that it would be cowardly to not accept the duel. He is comfortable enough with his own identity that he does not view declining a duel to demonstrate masculinity, but as prioritizing logical reasoning. Horatio demonstrates that while there is a sharp divide between genders, Hamlet's fixation on removing any trace of femininity is unnatural and unhealthy, causing destruction amongst the relationships he has with the two women in his life. Hamlet’s sole motivation to fight is to not demonstrate any femininity, and decides that it is worth it, even if it means he might die. Not all men directly attack the mentality of women, such as Horatio, who does not battle against displaying his feminine side, but recognizes emotions as a powerful part in one’s mind. To Horatio, gut feelings are what lead people on the right path, as they are the most reliable source for guiding one’s self to select the right opinion. 

From beginning to end, the play stresses on the eminence that coincides with prominent masculinity, causing Hamlet to argue with himself over whether he acts manly enough or not. The societal system during this time creates the misogynic war within Hamlet. The duties set forth by the law and his family, deteriorates Hamlet’s emotional well-being, as it causes him to continually be at odds with his identity and eventually lose the women he loves. This conflict is illustrated through Hamlet’s reliance on his feelings and the way he wrecks his relationships with the women in the play, by projecting his own self-doubts. In the end, all of the most ambitious of the male characters die, which appears like Shakespeare is mocking the violent actions men take to gain power and preserve their status. He comments on unchecked masculinity, by explaining how revenge contributes to the downfall of the revenger. Shakespeare recognizes how feminine characteristics are not necessarily negative attributes, as he highlights the importance of being authentic, because if not, it can result poorly. If Hamlet were to have made peace with his feminine qualities of overthinking, giving in to desire, weakness, and grieving, it is likely he would not have entered a downward spiral of execrable, unintelligent choices. This further backs up how damaging Hamlet’s conflict was, as him battling the patriarchy results in the harming of the only two women in the play, who both end up dying. Thus, it can be concluded that Hamlet ultimately decides to embrace masculinity in full force, although he goes about it the wrong way, by only giving in to the power-hungry, aggressive sides of males.