The Skull Beneath The Skin: Truth And Death In Hamlet

Abstract

Hamlet famously begins with the question "Who's there?" (1.1.1)¹ and has prompted many more questions, especially concerning the title character: Why does Hamlet delay his revenge? Is Hamlet really crazy? Why does Hamlet see the ghost when Gertrude does not? Why doesn't Hamlet kill Claudius when he is praying? Why does Hamlet show so little remorse for the deaths of Polonius, Rosencrantz or Guildenstern? Why is Hamlet so different in Act 5?