As you begin to read and understand the tragedy of Hamlet, you should begin to see how the many characters affect what happens as the story progresses. The further you get into the plot, however, it is quite clear that there is one strong supporting character that shapes the role of the main character of the story. When Prince Hamlet, the main character learns that his uncle Claudius was the person who had killed his father, Prince Hamlet becomes enraged by this and vouches to honor his father's death by slaying his uncle for his wrongdoing. Prince Hamlet is further enraged and disgusted by the acts of his mother, Queen Gertrude who has most hastily agreed to marry the brother of the former king of Denmark. When this occurs, we begin to see …show more content…
As the mock play begins, Prince Hamlet is careful to bare witness to his uncle's actions and observes him during the production. When King Claudius becomes aware that he is being set up, he stands and runs out of the room which only gives Prince Hamlet even more suspicion that he is the culprit. At this point in the play, Prince Hamlet is given another opportunity to kill his evil uncle when he is disovered to be praying in his room. Hamlet again decides not to act on his rage because he thinks that killing someone who is in prayer is not right. Near the end of the play, Claudius comes up with a scheme of his own in which he will devise a fencing match between Laertes, in which a poisoned sword will be used to kill Prince Hamlet for revealing that he knows of the death. With one swift strike of the sword, Hamlet begins to die,but before he does, he finally succeeds in killing his uncle with the same sword that was used in his uncle's murderous scheme. It is also believed that the reason why Hamlet finally killed Claudius was because his mother accidentally took a drink of poisoned wine which was originally meant for
Claudius and Hamlet are both very selfish men. Claudius wants to be the king of
In the beginning of the play, Hamlet's father comes to him as a ghost from the grave. He tells Hamlet of his uncle's betrayal of him and tells Hamlet that he must kill Claudius to set things right. Through this event, Hamlet...
In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” there are many different events throughout the play that affect and shape the main character Hamlet. The biggest event being when Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, the king, who then proceeds to tell him that his uncle murdered him. This event will lead Hamlet to madness with sanity while plotting his revenge on his uncle which will ultimately end in his, his uncle and several other’s deaths at the end of the play.
William Shakespeare is famous for his hidden character relationships and underlying themes. One of the most intriguing character relationships we see is in Hamlet, between the best friends and school mates Horatio and the young Prince Hamlet himself. While Hamlet hides his feelings well, Horatio subtly indicates that his feelings for Hamlet have progressed past friendship, as he now views Hamlet as more of a lover than a friend.
One main theme that arises in the Hamlet is the power struggle between Hamlet and Claudius. The main problem is between Hamlet and Claudius; they are in an ongoing battle throughout the play to see who will rise with the power of the throne. Claudius is the antagonist in the story and has multiple people under him that follow his every rule (Innes). He is a manipulative character who seeks revenge on Hamlet through other people he knows. On the other hand, Hamlet is the protagonist of the story, he is very unhappy after finding out the news of how his father had been killed (Innes). He is overtaken though by the ghost of his father, Old Hamlet, and is seen to become mad as a consequence. Although Hamlet seeks revenge against his new stepfather he procrastinates killing him. Hamlet has also considered killing himself beforehand because of the struggle of power between his stepfather and himself. In the last scene of the play the power struggle that had been between Hamlet and Claudius comes to a conclusion as Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius and Hamlet die. Throughout the play Laertes, Horatio and Gertrude choose a side to be on, either between Hamlet’s and Claudius’s who both are trying to obtain the utmost power.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous work of tragedy. Throughout the play the title character, Hamlet, tends to seek revenge for his father’s death. Shakespeare achieved his work in Hamlet through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces that hunt Hamlet throughout the play: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. When Hamlet sets his mind to revenge his fathers’ death, he is faced with many challenges that delay him from committing murder to his uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlets’ father, the former king. During this delay, he harms others with his actions by acting irrationally, threatening Gertrude, his mother, and by killing Polonius which led into the madness and death of Ophelia. Hamlet ends up deceiving everyone around him, and also himself, by putting on a mask of insanity. In spite of the fact that Hamlet attempts to act morally in order to kill his uncle, he delays his revenge of his fathers’ death, harming others by his irritating actions. Despite Hamlets’ decisive character, he comes to a point where he realizes his tragic limits.
...m to put his life in danger to find out more information about Hamlet, which ultimately leads to his death. Claudius also planted the idea of murdering Hamlet into Laertes’ mind, and this became the main goal of Laertes towards the end, which leads him to his death. Hamlet has hurt the women that he loves, both Ophelia and Gertrude die. Claudius and Hamlet also die, which is ultimately how the corruption of the nation of Denmark ends, through this it can once again be the great nation that it once was.
Of course, by his delaying his revenge, the entire plot of the play goes in a different direction. Immediately after this scene Hamlet speaks with his mother, unknowing of the fact that Polonius is hiding behind a curtain in the room with them. When the Queen becomes frightened by Hamlet's irate demeanor she cries out for help, as does Polonius. Hamlet mistakes Polonius for Claudius and stabs him to death.
Hamlet, a young prince preparing to become King of Denmark, cannot understand or cope with the catastrophes in his life. After his father dies, Hamlet is filled with confusion. However, when his father's ghost appears, the ghost explains that his brother, Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, murdered him. In awe of the supposed truth, Hamlet decides he must seek revenge and kill his uncle. This becomes his goal and sole purpose in life. However, it is more awkward for Hamlet because his uncle has now become his stepfather. He is in shock by his mother's hurried remarriage and is very confused and hurt by these circumstances. Along with these familial dysfunctions, Hamlet's love life is diminishing. It is an "emotional overload" for Hamlet (Fallon 40). The encounter with the ghost also understandably causes Hamlet great distress. From then on, his behavior is extremely out of context (Fallon 39). In Hamlet's first scene of the play, he does not like his mother's remarriage and even mentions his loss of interest in l...
Hamlet struggles constantly, trying to decide how he should go about avenging the loss of his father to his deceitful uncle-stepfather. Planning to kill him isn’t easy. Hamlet is given many opportunities to kill Claudius, but keeps stalling for time to be certain the ghost had spoken the truth about the murder. Finally, Hamlet decides upon a plan. “the play’s the thing/Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King”(II.ii.612-613). He will stage a performance for the King that would actually be a reenactment of his father’s murder. The play he chooses to reenact is entitled "The Murder of Gonzago" with a few changes made to accommodate Hamlet’s new lines and actions reflecting Claudius murdering his father. Upon seeing Claudius’s crazy behavior during and following Hamlet’s play, Hamlet realizes that his ghost-father had spoken the truth.
Hamlet’s mourning about the death of his father and the remarriage of his mother drives him to madness. This is the main characters inner tragedy that Shakespeare expresses in the play. First he considers suicide but the ghost of King Hamlet sends him on a different path, directing him to revenge his death. Shakespeare uses Hamlet to articulate his thoughts about life, death and revenge. Being a moral character he must decide if revenge is the right thing to do. Shakespeare relays many scenarios of reasoning to the audience about mankind His hero sets the wrongs on mankind right again.
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.
Old Hamlet is killed by his brother Claudius. Only two months after her husband’s death a vulnerable Gertrude marries her husband’s brother Claudius. Gertrude’s weakness opens the door for Claudius to take the throne as the king of Denmark. Hamlet is outraged by this, he loses respect for his mother as he feels that she has rejected him and has taken no time to mourn her own husband’s death. One night old Hamlets ghost appears to prince Hamlet and tells him how he was poisoned by his own brother. Up until this point the kingdom of Denmark believed that old Hamlet had died of natural causes. As it was custom, prince Hamlet sought to avenge his father’s death. This leads Hamlet, the main character into a state of internal conflict as he agonises over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Shakespeare’s play presents the reader with various forms of conflict which plague his characters. He explores these conflicts through the use of soliloquies, recurring motifs, structure and mirror plotting.
Upon examining Shakespeare's characters in this play, Hamlet proves to be a very complex character, and functions as the key element to the development of the play. Throughout the play we see the many different aspects of Hamlet's personality by observing his actions and responses to certain situations. Hamlet takes on the role of a strong character, but through his internal weaknesses we witness his destruction.
Hamlet’s tragic flaw was shown to him in a dream by the ghost of his father. His father tells him that he was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. In this scene, the tragic flaw was transferred and manifested itself in Hamlet’s actions. His obsession with revenge and death is all he can think about. He needs to act quickly and decisively but finds himself procrastinating about what to do. In Act III, Hamlet holds the knife over the head of his uncle, Claudius, but cannot strike the fatal blow. Instead, he writes a play about the same scenario to study the reaction of Claudius as to a clue of his guilt. After he decides Claudius is guilty of murdering his father, he still relents from taking his revenge. He says, “Haste me to know ‘t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thought of love May sweep to my revenge.