Skepticism is the most important theme of this play. I make that statement from a personal point of view not because that is the prevailing opinion of scholars over the years. Hamlet is thoughtful and cautious. He is inconsistent saying he will do one thing one moment and reversing course shortly thereafter. He is not a John Wayne type who sets his mind on something and then follows through no matter what happens during that follow through. Hamlet is constantly seeking information on the issue and then making plans on that information. The trouble is, the information is not always consistent. A skeptic is different from a cynic. The cynic sneers at everything, the skeptic questions everything. Skeptics are often accused of asking too many questions, and that is exactly the complaint against Hamlet. Quit thinking about it and do something.

Revenge is usually identified at the principal theme of the play. Such plays as Hamlet were often called "revenge tragedies." The play begins with the revelation of an injustice and the plot carries us to a moment of retribution. In the typical revenge tragedy there may be many such moments and retribution may be exceptionally gory. Dismemberment, cannibalism, children being killed in front of their parents, these and many more were seen by Elizabethan audiences as fitting retribution and they lined up at the box office to see it enacted on stage. By these standards Hamlet is fairly tame. True, there are several dead bodies on the stage at the end, but modes of death, stabbing and poison, are not particularly gruesome.

Friendship is, I believe, another strong theme in this play. There are few other Shakespearean tragedies or histories in which the hero has a good, loyal, and enduring friend. For Hamlet, Horatio is a strong and loyal friend who sticks with Hamlet through thick and thin. We can learn much about the value of friendship in this play.