Almost from his opening lines, Hamlet is obsessed with suicide. He never does it, but he sure thinks about it a lot. How do Hamlet's reasons for avoiding suicide —and his attitude towards his own death —change throughout the play?

Hamlet is certainly obsessed with death, though I believe he sees it an an option rather than a reality. Hamlet is driven by anger, a desire to enact revenge.... a desire to punish those he perceives are guilty. He puts his own feelings first, and in his anger, he never takes the time to look at the whole picture. He never looks at the individuals.... he sees everyone as guilty. Over the course of the play, Hamlet contemplates suicide, and yet, he never enacts it. Instead, he focuses his despair on alleviating the anger through the destruction of those he deems guilty.