Analysis Of Denying Humanity In Pursuit Of Revenge

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Denying Humanity in Pursuit of Revenge Humanity is considered synonymous with compassion and tolerance. These definitions coincide with core Christian values of treating others with respect. These traits culminate into a general understanding that humanity is mainly characterized by having strong morals and conscience. In Paul A. Cantor’s critical essay of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, called “Hamlet’s Christian Beliefs Stifle his Heroic Impulse”, the author attributes many of the protagonist’s decisions to his religion, and more specifically his conscience. Hamlet is about a prince whose father was murdered and replaced as king by his uncle Claudius. Throughout he play, Hamlet contemplates Claudius’ guilt and how to exact revenge in a way …show more content…

This piece takes into account Hamlet’s thoughts of suicide, how his revenge will affect Claudius’ soul, and his dislike of deceit and other violations of Christian law to emphasize Hamlet’s devoutness. This devoutness is demonstrative of Hamlet’s strong moral compass and willingness to follow his conscience. This same consideration of one’s conscience is not demonstrated by two other characters in Hamlet who are in situations similar to Hamlet’s, Laertes and Fortinbras. Laertes is the son of a noble man named Polonius, who Hamlet accidentally murders because he mistook him for Claudius. Fortinbras is the Prince of Norway, whose father was killed by Old King Hamlet in war. All three of these young men have faced the death of their father, and pursue justice. However, Hamlet’s deep sense of morality binds him to Christian doctrine, which prevents him from immediately taking action toward avenging his father’s death. Laertes and Fortinbras lack this dominant moral compass possessed by Hamlet. This is made clear by their immediate, aggressive pursuit of vengeance and their employment of deception as means to an end. Hamlet’s conscience causes him to approach his suspicion of Claudius’ hand

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