Throughout Hamlet we see a repeating theme. Action and inaction. We see this theme through Fortinbras, Hamlet, Claudius, Laertes and many more characters. Hamlet is the main character in this revenge play he is very much our inaction throughout it. When we see Fortinbras he’s taking action. Even the dead king takes action in the play. Hamlet asks the question “To be, or not to be.” Asking whether to take action or not in his own death. Hamlet begins the play depressed and not every active. He complains about his mother and uncle’s marriage but never really does anything about it. He doesn’t really say anything to defend himself or put his foot down about his grief over his father, he just allows them to push him around. The only time in Act I that we ever really see Hamlet take action is when the ghost of his dead father beckons for him. Where he learns of his father’s murder and seeks revenge. He then decides to act mad instead of just going ahead and killing the murderer. (I.v.94-110) He explains how he will get revenge on his mother as well. In Act II Hamlet acts mad to try to see if Claudius acts guilty. Instead of taking what the ghost said and acting on it. Act III Hamlet kills Polonius. He acted before he really knew who was behind the curtain, thinking Polonius was Claudius and stabbed …show more content…
Unlike Hamlet’s revenge plan; Claudius and Laertes didn’t take forever on their revenge. (IV.vii.130-165) They discuss their revenge on Hamlet. They also took their time on revenge waiting to duel or having another person (English king) do the work for them. (V.ii.287-288) Claudius tries to give Hamlet a cup of poison. His revenge backfires and his love drinks it instead. Laertes then takes action and cuts Hamlet in which it backfires and he also dies. Hamlet forces Claudius to drink from the cup in which he poisoned. They all die and Hamlet suggests Fortinbras as the new king. This is another time that Hamlet takes
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.
In Hamlet the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears and tells Hamlet to revenge his death he said that his uncle Claudis killed him. In (Doc A) the ghost tells Hamlet to act fast and he told him not to blame his mother for any of it even though she is probably involved. It would have been justified if Hamlet did this but he didn’t he took a slow time and he hurt his mother in the process of trying to revenge his father’s death. In (Doc C) he goes into his mom’s room and antagonizes her for killing the king and marrying his brother within a month. (Doc C) he hears someone hiding behind the curtain while he is antagonizing his mother and he think his uncle is behind the curtain so he stabs him and kills him but he didn’t realize it was Polonius behind the curtain. (Doc C) the Hamlets father’s ghost appears and tells him not to attack his
During the first act, Prince Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, King Hamlet. His father's ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius poured poison in his ear while he slept. The spirit also explains that he wishes for Hamlet to avenge his death, but not to punish Queen Gertrude for marrying Claudius. He tells Hamlet that she will have to answer to her conscience, and eventually God for her incestuous actions (absoluteshakespeare.com 1 of 4). It was believed during these times that when a person died, especially in such a tragic fashion, that their spirit lingered about while suffering in Purgatory. This could cause a normally virtuous person's spirit to become filled with malevolence and begin to meddle in living men's affairs (en.wikipedia.org 4 of 9). This belief caused Prince Hamlet to want to investigate his father's spirit's claims to ensure that they were indeed true. In order to do this, Prince Hamlet feigns madness in order to remain hidden from members of the court's suspicions while he plots his revenge on King Claudius (www.sparknotes.com 1 of 3). He also takes advantage of a group of actors who come to Elsinore Castle to perform by rewriting a play to recreate the scene of his father's murder. He does this with the hope of flushing a confession out of Claudius' guilty conscience. When Claudius sees the play, he stands up and leaves the room (en.wikipedia.org 5 of 9). After many more events, Claudius' guilt becomes more obvious. Claudius then begins to change his focus towards killing Hamlet, as he is beginning to become aware of the Prince's plans to kill him. Claudius then arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Polonius' son Laertes and has Laertes poison the blade of one of his swords to be used in the match (Hamlet).
The character of Hamlet is very prestigious, but he has many shortcomings. In many cases, he shows that he is all words and no action. He waits until the very last minute to take a course of action. Hamlet realizes this, and he wishes that he had the characteristics of Fortinbras, Laertes, and Horatio.
Hamlet agrees to a sword match with Laertes not knowing that Laertes will have a sharp, poisoned sword while he will be given a blunted sword. To make sure that their plan to kill Hamlet works, Claudius poisoned a drink to give to Hamlet but Gertrude ends up drinking it causing their plan to unravel. Laertes then wounds Hamlet with the poisoned sword, but in the scuffle they exchange weapons and Hamlet slices Laeretes with the toxic blade. He then slashes Claudius with the poisoned blade and forces him to drink from the toxic cup. The four of them die but with his dying breath, Hamlet pleads with Horatio not to drink from the cup so he can tell his tragic story and announces Fortinbras as the King of Denmark.
Hamlet sees that Fortinbras is willing to risk his own life just to avenge his father and his name. After becoming crowned prince after his father’s death, Fortinbras rallies his forces in Norway and marches off to war and rev...
At the start of the play, Hamlet is depressed and feels lost over the death of his father. He no longer has trust or respect for his mother and contemplates suicide. Through Claudius killing Hamlet’s father, Hamlet is already affected negatively. It is arguable that Hamlet already began to go crazy as soon as the death of his father occurred. When Hamlet finally meets his father’s ghost he discovers the truth and immediately decides to seek vengeance on his uncle. While the ghost tells Hamlet “Taint not thy mind” (Hamlet: I.v.92). It is arguable that Hamlet’s antic disposition is actually a reflection on is lunacy. While Hamlet pretends to be mentally unstable he harrasses Ophelia in her private closet with “...his knees knocking each other;/ And with a look so piteous in purport/ As if he had been loosèd out of hell/ To speak of horrors” (Hamlet: II.i.81). Hamlet’s father’s murder has sent him into shock, and he is realizing that he must take action and seek revenge on his poisonous and evil uncle. The poison of revenge starts to plague its royalty, and Hamlet’s attitude is changed from being depressed and suicidal, to angry and insane “Oh, from this/ time forth,/ My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!” (Hamlet: IV.iv.65). Hamlet decides to only
He describes man as “in action how like an angel”(II.ii.284). Then he shows that this image of angelic man is inaccessible to him, even repellent, saying “and yet to me, what is this quintessence of dust?”(II.ii.290) In the middle of the play Hamlet lectures the traveling players about how best to act, however Hamlet does not act for scenes to come. He only acts when he stabs Polonius who, while exasperating, is innocent. Hamlet tells Horatio “There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now”(V.ii.204-205) This quote does not seem like a man who is about to avenge his father’s death. When Hamlet does act it is at the last possible moment. Killing Claudius only because he has learned that Claudius was planning to kill him, and the realization of the death of Gertrude, and Laertes. He stabs Claudius with the poison sword and forces him to drink from the poison cup. Killing him “twice”. He also insults Claudius, calling him “thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane,”(V.ii.325) which in Elizabethan terms is quite the insult. However taking action does not resolve or integrate Hamlet’s character. As he dies, Hamlet charges Horatio with telling his story, as though only in death will Horatio be able to make a coherent narrative out of all of his delay and wavering and
... Horatio not to die so that he could tell everyone the truth about him. Forinbras and Laertes were both the complete opposite of Hamlet (5.2.312-14). Forinbras proved his strength throughout the play and ended up winning. He wanted to reclaim the land that was taken from his father, the former king of Norway. He immediately started constructing an army. In Act IV, Scene IV Hamlet passes the armies of Fortinbras and realizes that he should be more like Fortinbras. Hamlet plans on carrying out his revenge without any further delay. Laertes wants revenge against Hamlet for killing his father. He immediately returns from France to revenge his father’s death by storming the palace and then asking questions. Hamlet realizes that Laertes is the spitting image of himself. He recognizes the want for revenge and the pain, which he himself feels for his father’s death.
Claudius is the brother of Hamlet’s late father, and is now married to Hamlet’s mother. Claudius appears to be a sympathetic husband who only has Gertrude and Hamlet’s best interests at heart. He is actually the main conspirator against Hamlet. He arranges for Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and others, to spy on Hamlet. When he feels Hamlet is becoming too big of a problem, the ‘loving father and husband’ plans to have his stepson murdered upon arrival in England. Hamlet finds evidence of this, and returns to Elsinore. Claudius receives a letter from Hamlet, stating he will be returning, which causes Claudius to manipulate Laertes by pretending he cares for him. He also claims to mourn the death of Laerte’s father, Polonius, stating, “I loved your father”, in order to convince Laertes to agree to kill Hamlet (IV.vii,34). Claudius arranges for what appears to be a friendly duel between Hamlet and Laertes, but plots to use this match to end Hamlet. He poisons Laertes’s blade, and as a backup, poisons the cup of wine Hamlet is to drink from. Claudiu...
Revenge has caused the downfall of many a person. Its consuming nature causes one to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. Revenge is an emotion easily rationalized; one turn deserves another. However, this is a very dangerous theory to live by. Throughout Hamlet, revenge is a dominant theme. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. But in so doing, all three rely more on emotion than thought, and take a very big gamble, a gamble which eventually leads to the downfall and death of all but one of them. King Fortinbras was slain by King Hamlet in a sword battle. This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was written in a seal'd compact. "…our valiant Hamlet-for so this side of our known world esteem'd him-did slay this Fortinbras." Young Fortinbras was enraged by his father’s murder and sought revenge against Denmark. He wanted to reclaim the land that had been lost to Denmark when his father was killed. "…Now sir, young Fortinbras…as it doth well appear unto our state-but to recover of us, by strong hand and terms compulsative, those foresaid lands so by his father lost…" Claudius becomes aware of Fortinbras’ plans, and in an evasive move, sends a message to the new King of Norway, Fortinbras’ uncle.
“Those who plot the destruction of others often fall themselves” (Phaedrus). This quote was said by a Roman fabulist and it depicts the entire concept of revenge in Hamlet. The nature of revenge causes someone to act upon anger rather than reason. Hamlet takes place in Denmark and is about Hamlet’s uncle who kills his dad to gain power of Denmark. After the killing, Hamlet seeks revenge on his uncle. In the play, there are several characters wanting vengeance like that of Hamlet. Throughout the play, Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all had a tragic death of a family member which caused their decision for revenge. Consequentially, these revenges caused the demise of two characters and the rise of power of another. The retaliation shown by the Prince of Denmark, as well as Laertes led to the downfall of their government.
With his thinking mind Hamlet does not become a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. What would the people think of their prince if he were to murder the king? What kind of effect would it have on his beloved mother? Hamlet considers questions of this type which in effect hasten his descision. After all, once his mother is dead and her feelings out of the picture , Hamlet is quick and aggressive in forcing poison into Claudius' mouth. Once Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the killer it is only after he himself is and and his empire falling that he can finally act.
Hamlet has been pretending to be mad, and goes to his mother chambers. Hamlets mother Gertrude is upset with him for offending his stepfather/uncle. Hamlet begins to get angry and hostile towards his mother. The two of them begin to argue and out of grief and revenge the first death of the play happens. Polonius has a knack for spying on people. Polonius is hiding behind the curtain spying on Hamlet and his mother. Polonius is determined to suggest that Hamlet is mad because he is deeply in love with Ophellia. Unfortunately when Hamlets mother yells out in distress is get Polonius attention, “What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murder me?/ Help, ho!/ What ho! Help!” (Act 3.4.26-28), this alerts Hamlet that there is someone behind the curtain. Hamlet in is fit of revenge thinks that it is the King, and stabs the man through the curtain. Hamlet finds out that it was not the King, but Polonius. This death was directly involved by Hamlets mind being clouded by revenge. Hamlet is overrun in his mind with the idea of revenge for his father’s murder, his uncle, that he lashes out without knowledge and kills an innocent Polonius. This murder is the first, but it will not be the last for
In writing Hamlet, William Shakespeare plumbed the depths of the mind of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet, to such an extent that this play can rightfully be considered a psychological drama.