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Can you help me form a thesis about Shakespeare's Hamlet?I'd like to talk about Hamlet's view on life and how he never really intended to give up...

In spite of his fascination with decay and death (see the "poor Yorick" soliloquy), I don't think that Hamlet wants to commit suicide. In fact, he doesn't really want to do anything, except go back to school in Wittenburg.  But when he swears to avenge his father's murder in Act I, that path is closed to him.  The realization that his life as he knows it is already over leads him to contemplate his other options, none of which he finds very appealing. 


While many view Hamlet as suicidal, it could be argued that he's just struggling with existential angst. His father's death has obviously affected him a great deal, and he's wrestling with the absurdity of death and all of its unknowns throughout much of the play. His "To be or not to be" soliloquy is probably the most overtly "suicidal" speech, but in the end he concludes that not knowing what comes after death makes us remain "cowards" who continue living.  


In many ways, this mirrors his overall attitude regarding his primary dilemma. His hesitation to kill Claudius seems to be rooted in fear, so he spends much of the play simply stalling for time: faking madness, manipulating Ophelia's emotions, constructing ways to expose Claudius, toying with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and generally avoiding taking any real, meaningful action.  

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