Preview

Hamlet And Laertes

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1065 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hamlet And Laertes
Hamlet Essay

Morals can be defined as a person’s standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do. Throughout life, people are forced to make decisions, and morals are always a contributing factor to determining the resolution. The life or death decision of killing a human is the moral struggle Hamlet deals with throughout the play. Hamlet and Laertes’ morals on avenging their father’s death are different, and the two characters show the varying beliefs of human beings. The tragedy of Hamlet is about seeking revenge, but vengeance ends up killing both Hamlet and Laertes, so Shakespeare suggests that vengeance leads to the downfall of a person's morals.

Following the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet
…show more content…
Take thy fortune.

Thou find’st to be too busy is some danger. (III.iv.37-40).

Shakespeare shows the downfall of human morals after vengeance is made. Hamlet acts, and attempts to seek revenge, but instead kills an innocent person. Due to this incident, Laertes is now forced to seek revenge on Hamlet to avenge his father's murder. Both Hamlet and Laertes need to avenge their father's murders, but their attempts of gaining revenge kills them at the end of the play.

As a result of Polonius’s murder, Laertes is forced to avenge his father’s death, just like Hamlet. Although the two characters both need to seek revenge, Laertes is determined to avenge his father as quickly as he can, unlike Hamlet. After being notified of his father’s death, Laertes returns to Denmark to seek vengeance. Upon his return, Laertes immediately begins plotting the revenge on Hamlet with the help of Claudius. After Claudius’s plan to have Hamlet killed in England fails, Laertes and Claudius create a new plan to murder Hamlet, Laertes says:

And so have I a noble father lost,

A sister driven into desp’rate terms,

Whose worth, if praises may go back again

Stood challenger on mount of all the
…show more content…
But my revenge will come.(IV.vii.27-31).

The immediate plotting of vengeance shows the difference between the foils. Shakespeare uses Laertes to identify how morals are broken when one is to apply vengeance. Laertes and Claudius create a master plan to have Laertes secretly murder Hamlet during a fencing match, but although the two thought out their plan, Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius are killed along with Gertrude. Following the deaths of the characters, Horatio announces:

...give order that these

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare crafts the play so Laertes can have an illogical need and desire for revenge. Laertes is determined to make Hamlet pay: “I am satisfied in nature, / Whose motive in this case should stir me most / To my revenge". Laertes’s need for revenge indicates his desire for closure and his wish to find inner peace. Laertes believes that the solace he desires will come through revenge: "But in my terms of honor / I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement / Till by some elder masters of known honor / I have a voice and precedent of peace.” Again, this demonstrates the need for closure and shows the reasoning behind Laertes’s thirst for justice, reinforcing Shakespeare’s theme of…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Ethics of Hamlet

    • 546 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Morality plays a major role in the decisions we make in our daily lives. Often times, emotion alters our ability to make coherent choices. In the play "Hamlet", by William Shakespeare, Hamlet encounters difficulty in making decisions as he deals with his nemesis, Claudius. In Act III Hamlet proves to be a cautious and contemplative person through his delay in avenging his father's death.…

    • 546 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the theme of revenge is very palpable as the reader examines the characters of Hamlet himself, as well as Laertes, son of Polonius, and Fortinbras, prince of Norway and son of the late King Fortinbras. Each of these young characters felt the need to avenge the deaths of their fathers who they felt were untimely killed at the bloody hands of their murderers. However, the way each chose to go about this varies greatly and gives insight into their characters and how they progress throughout the play.…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hamlet vs. Laertes

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The differences between Laertes and Hamlet affect a main theme of the play revenge. Both men have fathers killed, and both are seeking revenge. Hamlet, though he knows who murdered his father, hesitates to take direct action against the villain. In stark contrast is Laertes, who doesn’t know who killed his father but will kill anyone on a whim. Laertes’ rashness throughout provides the play with an unlikely stereotypical hero-- brave, unwavering, ready to kill-- and is rather ironic because Laertes is not the play’s “hero” role. The hero instead is Hamlet, and Hamlet is not a typical hero, in that he shies away from violence, and is portrayed as insane for half of the play (though that is by his own doing). Hamlet is not even able to kill his uncle until Act 5, by which time he can be argued to be mentally and emotionally instable, if not insane. In order to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet must lose himself in insanity; he must become, essentially, an entirely different character.…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theme of hamlet

    • 850 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Time and time again, we as a complex society have recognized in many pieces of great literature the idea of man and revenge. Throughout history, the idea of vengeance has destroyed large communities, populations and entire civilizations. The problem with man and revenge is that one may be side-tracted of why or whom he is avenging. This similar idea is conveyed in the theme of Shakespear's Hamlet , "Vengeance can confuse a man's mind and soul to the point where he may not be sure of whom he is really avenging." Shakespear uses foils in this play to allow us readers to understand Hamlet as a man and why and whom he is really avenging, and Laertes and the ghost are foils for Hamlet in this play which help us readers understand his character and his actions.…

    • 850 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the play it becomes quite evident that Laertes is Hamlet's foil. He mirrors Hamlet but behaves in the exact opposite manner. Where Hamlet is more verbal and conscience about his actions, Laertes is physical and very blunt in his decision making. "How came he dead?...Let come what comes, only I'll be revenged/Most thoroughly for my father's death." [Act IV, Sc V, Lines 141-147] reveals that unlike Hamlet, Laertes is very determined to quickly seek out his father's killer and to have his revenge without regards to the consequences. As soon as Laertes learns of his father's death he is furious with anger and immediately demands to know who it was that committed this crime. He doesn't waste time with soliloquies or take into account his conscience but is driven solely on his emotions and the task of avenging his father. "To cut his throat i'th' church" [Act IV, Scene VII, Line 139] proves Laertes' physical characteristic that Hamlet lacks. When Laertes is questioned by Claudius about the extent he will go to in achieving his revenge it's ironic that his remark is exactly what Hamlet could not follow through with. His brutality again shows his determination to accomplish his task by whatever means. It is clear that Laertes' love for Ophelia and responsibility to Polonius drive him to passionate action, while…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, a mutiny within the kingdom lead to the death of King Hamlet Sr, and his son takes on the duty of bringing the murderer to justice. By a senseless and uncontrolled act of anger. Hamlet slays Polonius. His friend Laertes returns from college as his foe in order to avenge his own father.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laertes and Hamlet

    • 816 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Laertes and Hamlet both display impulsive reactions when angered. Once Laertes discovers his father has been murdered, he immediately assumes the slayer is Claudius. As a result of Laertes' speculation, he instinctively moves to avenge Polonius' death. "To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation: to this point I stand, that both worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes; only I'll be revenged most thoroughly for my father." (IV, v, 128-134) These lines provide insight into Laertes' mind, displaying his desire for revenge at any cost.…

    • 816 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Laertes' and Hamlet's immediate reactions when they learn of their father's unnatural deaths are widely different. When Laertes learns that his father is gone, he is outraged and "o'erbears [Claudius's] officers. The rabble call him lord…/ They cry ‘Choose we! Laertes shall be king!'" (4.5.105, 109). Laertes takes action immediately by bursting into the castle, and demanding "O thou vile king, / give me my father!" (4.5.119-20). Laertes' anger overrules his rational thought, and he acts with emotions alone, whereas Hamlet promises to act, but delivers only angry, grief-stricken soliloquies on how horrible it is that he does not act upon his feelings. Hamlet is amazed at his own inaction, that he, "the son of a dear father murdered, / Prompted to [his] revenge by heaven and hell, / Must like a whore unpack [his] heart with words / And fall a-cursing" (2.2.584-587). He berates himself for this ostensible dodging of responsibility, saying, "Am I a coward? / Who calls me villain? Breaks my pate across? / Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face? / Tweaks my by the nose?… Who does me this?" (2.2.571-574, 575). Hamlet's inability to gain revenge astounds him, and unlike…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Foil Analysis

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Once Laertes discovers that his father has been killed, he assumes immediately that the killer must be Claudius. An effect of his speculation is his instinctive desire to retaliate against Polonius's murderer. He says, "To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation. To this point I stand, that both worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes. Only I'll be revenged most thoroughly for my father" (4.5. 128-134). This excerpt provides insight into his mind and shows his thirst for revenge at any cost. In contrast to Laertes’s belief of his father's killer, Hamlet assumes that the individual eavesdropping on the conversation he has with Gertrude is Claudius, and he says, "Nay, I know not: is it the King?" (3.4.28). Consequently, Hamlet is consumed with rage and automatically thrusts out with his sword in an attempt to kill Claudius but strikes Polonius instead. Hamlet's and Laertes's spontaneous actions are incited by fury and frustration. Sudden bursts of anger prompt both Laertes and Hamlet to act rashly, and they end up giving little thought to the consequences of their actions. But while both characters have the desire to avenge their father’s murders, only Laertes has any real resolve to take real…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Like many tragedies, Shakespeare’s Hamlet does not fail to provide readers with tales of fervent, bloody revenge which satisfies the primal impulses of characters in the play, wrought on by unjust murder and a desire for vengeance. With a temperamental demeanor and mercurial mood, Laertes is portrayed in many instances as a brash, near irrational son whose desire to avenge his father’s death leads to both verbal and physical conflict. Even Hamlet himself enjoys his own moments of frustration, slandering his duplicitous and incestuous uncle in private scenes and soliloquies. Unlike many traditional revenge tales, however, Hamlet also illuminates the question of the morality of revenge itself: whether or not the adage of “an eye for an eye” may…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Driven to madness by the murder of his father, Polonius, Laertes, with the help of Claudius, conspires to kill Hamlet and uses all the power he has to get avenge his father’s death. In comparison to Hamlet, Laertes has no care for the morality behind his act of revenge to the point where he is ready “to cut his throat i' th' church” (Shakespeare, IV.vii.123). Shakespeare claims that revenge causes people to act recklessly through anger rather than reason and obsessing over this could lead to…

    • 1176 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ghost In Hamlet

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages

    During her funeral procession Laertes and Hamlet react similarly when they both jump into her grave and declare their love for Ophelia (enotes). Afterward, Hamlet asks for forgiveness for killing Polonius and Laertes pretends to accept it. But Laertes still determined to avenge his father’s death agrees with Claudius to have a sword duel with Hamlet in which Laertes blade has been covered with a poison that will kill Hamlet with just a slight nick to the skin. Both men are nicked with the poisoned blade. As Laertes lies dying he has a moral enlightenment “Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my father's death come not upon thee, nor thine on me!” (5.2.337-339) and tells Hamlet of the deceit and plot that the king had created. At the same time the queen who has no idea of what Claudius had plotted drank from a poisoned challis that contained poison also meant for Hamlet. She falls down but warns Hamlet of the poison and then dies. Without hesitation Hamlet stabs the king and forces him to drink the poison. The revenge at this point seems bittersweet.…

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although his unfavorable situation is very similar to Hamlet’s, he is completely controlled by the thoughts of revenge. As he talks to Claudius, who wants to utilize him to get rid of Hamlet, Laertes got too much anger built up in his mind to stay calm. At this point, all Laertes wants to do is only to “eliminate” Hamlet immediately, “To cut his throat i' th' church” (p. 193), like treating a feud. Laertes’ behavior is caused by the unexpectedly death of his father and the sudden mad of his sister. Moreover, Claudius wants a person who is strong enough to compete with Hamlet. He knows Laertes is the one that he is looking for, so he asks him to “put me in your heart for friend” (p.187), rekindles his rage, and tells him that they should share the weal and woe and stay on the same line to confront Hamlet. Laertes is affected by Claudius’ “combustion”, which further turns him a terrible monster to revenge for his father. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes is “passionate and quick to action” (Sparknotes Editors) and has no state of mind. He indiscriminately sees Hamlet as an enemy and Claudius as a friend, without considering the causes and consequences of his father’s death. Although Hamlet is somewhat hesitant, he thinks about what he does and always sticks to his…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Wronged In Hamlet

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Laertes’s father, Polonius, was murdered by Hamlet. Hamlet, blinded by rage against Claudius, thought Polonius was Claudius causing him to mistakenly kill Polonius. After finding out about his father’s death Laertes says, “Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged most thoroughly for my father” (Act 4. Scene 5). Laertes knew that he had to react, so he came up with a plan to kill Hamlet. He concocts a plan, accompanied by Claudius, to challenge Hamlet to a fencing dual. This evil plan involved Laertes secretly poisoning his sword, so that the slightest cut will cause Hamlet to die. Laertes says, “I will do ’t, and for that purpose I’ll anoint my sword… I’ll touch my point with this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly, it may be death.” (Act 4. Scene 7). The anger that came from inside Laertes was so strong that it blinded him from weighing all the possibilities of the outcomes of the dual. Laertes did not consider that if he was touched with the poisoned sword, then he will be the one to die. Ironically, Laertes is indeed wounded by the poisoned sword and dies. Laertes says,” I am justly killed with mine own treachery” (Act 5. Scene 2). Shakespeare says that Laertes is rightly killed by his own deceptive act to show that Laertes knows that his irrational actions for revenge deservingly killed…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics