In the prince’s absence, distraught Ophelia's descent into madness over Polonius's unfortunate death, later causes her to drown while singing love songs. Meanwhile, Prince Hamlet escapes from his planned execution, switches Claudius's letter to the king of England and arranges for the execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Laertes, Polonius’s son, joins with the kings and plots on avenging his father and sister. In the last scene of the play Claudius sends for Hamlet asking if he will duel with Laertes for a wager the king has made. Horatio, the prince’s closest and dearest companion , advises against the jester notifying the prince, “You will lose this wager, my lord”(5.2.196). Horatio is aware that the king is attempting to mischief Hamlet, but the prince rejects horatio's notion and attends the duel anyway. Little to prince Hamlet's knowledge, the sword Laertes uses in the fight along with a cup of wine that is poured for the prince has been poisoned. Hamlet’s swordsmanship dominates Laertes's and the Queen mistakenly drinks Hamlet’s tainted cup wine. In the midst of the battle, Hamlet and Laertes are both cut with the poisonous sword. The Queen dies from the poison wine then Laertes, realizing he to will die, confesses and blames Claudius for …show more content…
The rest is silence”(5.2.352-56). Hamlet dies and leaves his kingdom of Denmark to Prince Fortinbras of Norway. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as the main character in a story or piece of writing who has one flaw that brings them to their demise. Prince Hamlet fits this part of a tragic hero with his flaw of procrastination and hesitation. Hamlet's lack of urgency conclusively leads him, Polonius,Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Queen Gertrude, and Laertes to their death.Whereas if the prince would have assassinated the king when first appointed could have been
It is too late though, the poisonous sword had cut Hamlet. In anger, Hamlet steals the poisoned sword and runs it into Laertes. He then charges Claudius and runs into him. He also takes the wine and forces Claudius to drink from it. Both Claudius and Laertes died before Hamlet.
& nbsp; Horatio and Laertes as Foils in Hamlet &nbs & nbsp; Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare is a play about a man's revenge for his father's murder and all the tragedy that comes along with it. The play takes us through the emotions and doubts Prince Hamlet finds within himself after speaking with the presumed ghost of his father, the former King of Denmark. Through Hamlet we meet Horatio, a friend of Hamlet's and a fellow student. When reading [ref] the conversations between Hamlet and Horatio, it becomes clear how Hamlet feels about his father's murder and his plans to avenge this murder. We also meet Laertes, son of Polonius and sister The similarities and the differences between them both help to show off more of Hamlet's personality and feelings about the revenge. Through both Horatio and Laertes we see not only Hamlet's plan for revenge but also some of his feelings of doubt and confusion between what he thought he wanted and what he was actually capable of.
Claudius and Laertes come up with a plan of action to kill Hamlet but make it seem as if it were an accident. Their plan consists of three parts. First is their original plan to have Laertes swap the fencing sword for a real sword. Second is that the sword would be dipped in poison, which was an insurance plan so that even if Laertes was not able to stab Hamlet, the poison on the blade would end up killing him. The third and final part of their plan was their backup plan. Their backup plan was for Claudius to have a chalice of wine, that had been poisoned, which he would give to Hamlet after he and Laertes were fighting for a bit of time. Claudius is speaking to Laertes about the plan. “He being remiss, /Most generous, and free from all contriving, /Will not persue the foils, so that with ease, /Or with a little shuffling, you may choose /A sword unbated, and in a pass of practice /Requite him for your father” (IV. vii. 133-138). Claudius is saying that Hamlet would not be suspicious or have any suspicions that anything was out of the ordinary. This would allow Laertes to swap his fencing sword for a real sword, which would allow him to “accidentally” kill Hamlet during their duel. Claudius is worried the plan, saying to Laertes, “If this should fail, /And that our drift look through our bad performance, /‘Twere better not
Hamlet, one of the most complex and dramatic characters to ever cross the theater is known as the crestfallen prince that enraptures the audience with his elegant intensity throughout the concord of acts. The intricate and profound life of Hamlet is by far Shakespeare’s most popular and powerful piece he ever created. The story begins on a dark winter night on the ramparts of the Elsinore Castle in Denmark when a ghost appears, who resembled the deceased King Hamlet. Claudius overthrew the throne by murdering King Hamlet and marrying his brother’s wife Gertrude. The apparition later spoke to Hamlet and showed his son that his Uncle Claudius had murdered him by slipping poisoning through his ear and declared that Hamlet must avenge his death. A group of actors traveling through Denmark reenact the murder of his father. Hamlet has been acting as though he has gone mad and goes to speak with his mother later that night to confront her with her sins of incest that she has committed which leads to the death of the eavesdropping snoop Polonius. In the aftermath of Polonius’s death, Ophelia goes mad with grief and sorrow and commits suicide by drowning herself in the river. Hamlet is told to leave the country and boldly aborts a mission set up by Claudius for him to be killed upon arrival in England. A sword fight breaks out amongst the men which later lead to the death of the entire royal family. At this moment Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway, sees the family lying on floor dead and decides to take power over the kingdom for himself.
This, of course, causes a landslide of tragedy in the play. Claudius exiles Hamlet to England and sends sealed letters to the King of England telling him to kill Hamlet upon his arrival. Ophelia goes insane. Laertes, Hamlet's brother, returns from France with an army, demanding to know why Polonius was killed. Claudius enlists Laertes to kill Hamlet. Ophelia commits suicide. Hamlet and Laertes duel at her funeral; both of them are mortally wounded, Gertrude kills herself and Hamlet kills Claudius.
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is one of William Shakespeare’s most notorious pieces of literature. Published in the early sixteenth century, the play continues to be the longest of all Shakespeare’s plays and the most famous as well. In the very beginning of the play, Hamlet is visited by a captivating ghost similar to his recently deceased father, the King of Denmark. The ghost informs Hamlet that his father was poisoned by Claudius, the King’s brother. Claudius then went on to take the throne and also marry Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. The Ghost persuades Hamlet to avenge his father’s death by killing King Claudius. The task given to Hamlet causes a great deal of internal conflict. What is so appealing about this masterpiece is the
In this, all of their secrets come out and destroy each other's lives, “The drink! The drink! I am poisoned” (350). The king has unintentionally murdered his wife by means of trying to kill Hamlet. After this takes place Laertes is killed with his own sword by the hand of Hamlet. Yet before Laertes dies he tells Hamlet that this is all the kings doing, Hamlet then runs Claudius through with his blade and forces down the poison meant for himself, “Here, thou incestuous, murd’rous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion. Is thy union here?” (351). After Hamlet dies of being cut by Laertes sword, Horatio is the only one left standing, wondering where it all went
Prior to the duel between Laertes and Hamlet, Laertes speaks to Claudius in regards to plotting a heinous crime on Hamlet. Laertes says, This very quote exemplifies the poisoning of Laertes’ character, the poison on Laertes’ sword will not only destroy Hamlet, but it will also destroy Laertes’ character in the process. Laertes’ agreement to Claudius to dip his sword into literal poison is what allows the commencement of the true tragedy to occur, resulting in the poisonous death of many. Literal poison is additionally seen when Gertrude drinks from the poisonous cup that Claudius had meant for Hamlet to drink out of. Gertrude says, These are Gertrude’s final words to Hamlet before she dies. Literal poison can be traced within this quote through the consequential of death from the poison in the cup. Thus Gertrude’s death, like many, is credited to Poison. The theme of poison continues and brings the play to a close. All is nearly said and done, the literal use of poison is evident towards the end of the play as Gertrude is poisoned by the cup, Laertes by his own sword, Hamlet by Laertes Sword, and the king forced to drink from the cup by Hamlet. Laertes’ final words give one an insight to the severity of literal poison, he says:
A tragic hero may be defined as a literary character that makes a judgment error which inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. Criteria for a character to be considered a tragic hero includes the character dying due to their hamartia, or fatal flaw, the character being fated by the gods to a tragic downfall, the character being of high social class, the character making error in their own judgement, and the character gaining some kind of self-knowledge throughout their journey. Not all of these characteristics are required for one to be considered a tragic hero, and thus characters such as Oedipus, Prince Hamlet, and Romeo may be considered tragic heroes. Along with this list, Julius Caesar of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is also often credited as being a tragic hero. The play, following the turmoil occurring within the Roman senate, involves a
Finally we arrive at the sword match between Hamlet and Laertes. Hamlet is unaware of Claudius’ poisoned goblet and the poisoned tip of Laertes’ sword. When Laertes cuts Hamlet, he makes the choice to stab Laertes, who would see him dead as well.
Claudius instructs Laertes to kill Hamlet and further states, “And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe, But even his mother shall uncharge the practice And call it accident” (4.7.73-75). Laertes follows Claudius’ instructions and prepares for the fencing match. Claudius is thrilled; Hamlet will die a slow death to the sword and it will be Laertes who kills him. No blood on Claudius’ hands and his secret will be safe from the people of Denmark. Throughout Act V, Scene II Laertes is performing the kings dirty work without realizing until it's too late. After the fencing match takes a turn for the worse Laertes and Hamlet both fall with a sword to the chest. However, Hamlet stabs Claudius ending his reign as king of Denmark. Realizing the sick truth to Claudius, Laertes proudly says, “Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my father’s death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me!” (5.2.350-352). Through it all, Claudius the mastermind, used Laertes anger to kill Hamlet to his own sword and also kill Laertes all in one
Hamlet and Laertes have agreed to a fight to the death, but Laertes and Claudius have a trick up their sleeve. “I bought an unction of a mountebank,So mortal that, but dip a knife in it,Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, Collected from all simples that have virtue Under the moon, can save the thing from death” (IV.vii.138-142). Claudius really wants hamlet gone, he will do anything to achieve that. Hamlet and Laertes start to duel, both with the intent of killing the other party. Hamlet strikes Laertes with his foil. “A hit, a very palpable hit.” exclaims Osric (V.ii.272). Hamlet really gets into it now, but he shows cockyness. Claudius drops a “pearl” into the cup, in celebration Gertrude decides to drink from the poisoned cup. Hamlet tries to stop her but fails. Laertes manages to get a hit off on Hamlet with the poisoned sword. Hamlets taunts Laertes to come at him again but he was distracted, Gertrude collapses on the throne. Laertes has succumbed to his own poison “Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric. I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery.” (V.ii.301-302). Laertes was poisoned from the beginning with revenge and it finally came to bite him in the rear. Before dieing Gertrude warns hamlet of the poisoned drink, Laertes fronts to his own wrong doing exclaiming that the king poisoned the drink. Hamlet bursts into rage knowing that his stepfather would do such a thing to him. Hamlet forces his
He gets a chance to kill the crown, and thinks ‘’Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven/ And that his soul my be as damnes and black/ As hell, whereto it goes’’ (3.4.98-99). But he hesitates, Claudius prays so he might go to heaven if Hamlet kills him now; he wants Claudius to burn in hell and wants himself to go to heaven. He looses his temper and kills the person behind the curtain, ‘’ How now, a rat? Dead for ducat, dead’’ (3.4.25-30). He assumed that was Claudius who sneaked into his mother’s closet and now he goes back to being a sinner so he can kill the crown now, but the one behind the curtain turns out to be Polonius. Hamlet does not care about him although Ophelia loves Polonius. Hamlet decides to take action after he sees Fortinbrass and his army ‘’O, from this time forth/ My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth’’ (4.4.68-69). He sees that they go to death willingly and he does not stand up against Claudius, with this he sets his mind to killing Claudius. Sadness comes with the loss of Ophelia and he goes in a duel with Laertes. Horatio tries to change his decision, but Hamlet says ‘’Not a whit, we defy augury. There is a/ Special providence in the fall of a sparrow’’ (5.2.233-234). Hamlet decides to do the duel and he thinks that he cannot run from his destiny. He gets into a duel full of cheats, Hamlet looses his mother to
In scene II, Hamlet and Laertes commence the fencing fight that was planned earlier (from act IV, Claudius poisoned Laertes’ sword which would enable him to kill Hamlet after just one scratch. As a backup plan, Claudius has a cup filled with poison to give to Hamlet in case Laertes in unsuccessful). Hamlet is cocky and confident entering the match. Hamlet gets the first hit on Laertes. The King offers Hamlet the poisonous drink. He refuses, as he wants to finish the match before drinking. The Queen, instead, grabs the drink; Claudius commands her not to drink it, but...
Webster’s dictionary defines tragedy as, “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.” A tragic hero, therefore, is the character who experiences such a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a result of his choices and related actions. The character of Hamlet, therefore, is a clear representation of Shakespeare’s tragic hero.