Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has remained the most perplexing, as well as the most popular, of William Shakespeare’s tragedies. Whether considered as literature, philosophy, or drama, its artistic stature is universally admitted. To explain the reasons for its excellence in a few words, however, is a daunting task. Apart from the matchless artistry of its language, the play’s appeal rests in large measure on the character of Hamlet himself. Called upon to avenge his father’s murder, he is compelled to face problems of duty, morality, and ethics that have been human concerns through the ages. The play has tantalized critics with what has become known as the Hamlet mystery, that of Hamlet’s complex behavior, most notably his indecision and his reluctance to act.…
Shakespeare composed Hamlet as a representation of the conflict inherent in issues surrounding life and death and the many reinterpretations of the text attest to Catherine Belsey’s theory of the ‘myth of an unchanging human nature’. Modern interpretations of Hamlet such as Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 film use the medium of film and existential issues to create new meaning from Shakespeare’s original text.…
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet himself is a difficult character to figure out. With his elegant intensity and reckless but cautious attitude, he is able to keep his readers entertained as the play progresses. Through his irrational decisions, emotional madness and admirable qualities, Hamlet becomes a character with whom readers will continuously empathize. Our first impression of Hamlet sets the tone for the entire play. We are brought to one of the beginning scenes where Hamlet is…
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.…
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…
In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses crude diction and immoral similies to accentuate Hamlet’s duality of human nature as revneger.…
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…
Hamlet did not consider revenge until the Ghost told him to "revenge this most foul and unnatural murder". (1.5) Even then, Hamlet took action slowly, carefully and deliberately planning out the steps of his plan with which to get revenge. Laertes, however, upon hearing of his father's death, returned to Denmark, smashing the doors to the Elsinore castle open, demanding that the "vile king" should "give (him his) father". (4.5) Their moral compasses, too, are exceedingly different. Hamlet had had the opportunity to murder Claudius while Claudius was praying, but chose not to, thinking that if he killed Claudius then, he would "this same villain send to heaven", showing that he still believes in a higher power, and demands that justice be paid. (3.3) Conversely, Laertes, when asked by Claudius what he would do to prove that he was "in deed (his) father's son more than in words", Laertes stated that he would "cut his throat i' th' church". (4.7) Through this comparison, it may be seen that while Hamlet is uncertain about committing murder to avenge another murder, Laertes has no hesitation about…
Although Hamlet is characterized as relatively rational in his acts, he nonetheless still possess a strong desire to enact just vengeance on those who have wronged him. While Hamlet arrives at a propitious opportunity to kill Claudius in Act III, while the unknowing murderer sits in prayer while Hamlet, dagger in hand, watches, he ultimately chooses not to, postponing the act until his uncle “is drunk asleep, or in his rage / Or in th' incestuous pleasure of his bed / At game a-swearing, or about some act / That has no relish of salvation in ’t” (III.iii.90-94). Hamlet wishes not only for his uncle to pay the ultimate price for his sins – his life – he wants Claudius to suffer in eternal damnation, reflecting the intensity of Hamlet’s feeling (Bloom 20). Only now do audiences realize the full extent to which Hamlet wishes for vengeance. Even among Hamlet’s wit and the guise of his “antic disposition”, passion and hatred…
1. In the beginning of the act, Hamlets asks himself a question. “To be, or not to be—that is the question.” What Hamlet is actually asking is considering if he wants to live or kill himself.…
Throughout the course of the play, Claudius is manipulating the royal court and Hamlet. Immediately following his murder of the late king of Denmark, he cons the royal court into believing that the passing of the late king caused him much grief. However, Claudius exhibits no contrition for murdering the king because of “fruits” he had gained from it: “[his] crown, [his] own ambition, and [his queen]” (III.iii.59). He has no intention of handing over the “fruits” of his crime, that he is well past any chance of redemption. Claudius is unwilling to surrender everything he has gained from his crime because it was those ambitions that drove him to commit the murder in the first place. Claudius maintains his power by acting in favor of the people’s anticipations. Even after he had already wed Gertrude, Claudius confessed his sorrow for the late king and how he was overcoming his sorrowed heart to the royal court to be strong for the kingdom (I.ii.10-12). Claudius hastily shifts from the sadness over the late king and merriment of marriage to his future proposals and allegiance to Denmark (I.ii.17-38). In addition, Claudius also requests permission from Laertes father, Polonius, to authorize Laertes to go to France, as opposed to authorizing Laertes himself (I.ii.59-65). This generates favor from the people…
Hamlet focuses on how such a motive can become practical and ethical when faced with a particularly sensitive mind. Francis Bacon's famous comment that revenge is "a kind of wild justice" reaches the heart of the battle of vengeance, the terse phrase "wild justice" offers the paradox of revenge that feels the restoration of balance and legitimate dealings through unregulated and unregulated men. Enact these contradictions and communicate with them.…
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, William Shakespeare’s longest, and perhaps most notable, play explores several important aspects of the human condition. Hamlet’s battle between his emotions and logic, as well as his fatal flaws and what he considers to be morally good and looming evil, encased in a story of murder and betrayal enlightens audiences to contemplate the true meaning of being human. Ultimately, through Hamlet’s questioning of humanity and what it means to be alive and human, Shakespeare prompts the conversation in his audience.…
Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy Hamlet was composed in the early 17th century Elizabethan Era, reflecting this society’s preoccupation with retribution and vengeance. It explores key concerns and concepts of everlasting relevance to audiences of all ages. The tragic hero Hamlet is intensely human and his struggles are familiar to all audiences. He educates the audience via vicarious learning, sharing his experiences as he explores fundamental issues of morality and mortality through his intense interactions with the lead female characters. Key concerns that are the driving forces in Hamlet include: deception and revenge. These overarching concerns help the audience to understand the prevarications and motivations of Hamlet, along with the multifaceted relationships between Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude and Claudius.…
He utilizes the play as a test of his uncle's guilt, stating, "Out of my weakness and my melancholy The play's the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King" (60:613-17). Even after Claudius' abrupt departure and suspicious reaction to the play depicting the king's murder, Hamlet is still unable to kill Claudius when the opportunity presents itself in the church. He states, "Now might I do it pat, now a is a-praying / And now I'll do't. And so a goes to heaven, / And so I am revenged. That would be scanned" (85:73-75). Hamlet reasons that because his uncle is praying, it would be unwise to commit murder since Claudius would be sent to heaven. Hamlet believes the new king should suffer in hell for the rest of his life as a result of all the evil things he has done; rewarding him in heaven would not be fitting, or just. Despite the truth in it, he uses this fact as an excuse not to spare his uncle momentarily because he is indecisive. In reality, Hamlet is unable to act and becomes rather weak when attempting to exact his father's revenge. He would rather allow fortune to decide his uncle's…