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Hamlet: Nothing Matters Edward Carl Alexander Pelger IV Do we matter? Will anything we do endure? These are questions from existentialism. The dictionary defines existentialism as “the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for his acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad” (Merriam Webster). In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet struggles with the concept that nothing from our lives …

…he will simply be forgotten after his death. In an ironic twist, Hamlet refrains from suicide because the Church considered suicide a sin but an existentialist believes sin is not defined. Hamlet’s existentialist views caused him great misery. He was loath to act because he feared the acts were pointless anyway. He had no wish to live because his life would not be remembered. Hamlet died believing his life counted for nothing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**