King Hamlet and Hamlet : Like Father, Like Son

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the relationship between a dead father and his living son is explored in a most intriguing fashion. For unlike in other father-son relationships that are present in the play, i.e Polonius-Laertes, the reader is never introduced to King Hamlet as a living entity and therefore the reader does not get to witness a "natural" encounter between the two. Instead King Hamlet and his son are presented in a most "unnatural" manner as a son is forced to witness the image of his dead father. However, from this unusual encounter Hamlet and King Hamlet are revealed as one in the same. For in their first encounter careful analysis of their speech patterns, nuanced phrases, and overall syntax reveals a common thread between the father and son. A thread of deeply rooted emotional pain. Now one could simply attribute this emotional pain to the circumstances of the play. A son will obviously mourn for his dead father, and a father would justly display some discontent having been murdered. But one could argue, that this is in fact a result of the personality of Hamlet and his father, in that, they are naturally emotionally flamboyant and therefore express their views and concerns in such a manner. Moreover, it is this need to wear their emotions on their sleeves and express their feelings through exaggerated language and tone that defines the Hamlets.