In the opening of Hamlet, readers are introduced to the main theme of the play while the changing of the guard takes place. The men on guard seem uneasy as Bernardo comes to relieve Francisco of his duty, with numerous questions as to the identity of those who approach. The source of this unease comes from some of the men seeing a sort of apparition before them twice before. Marcellus and Horatio greet Bernardo as the guard change takes place and Francisco takes his leave. Horatio teases Bernardo about the ghost they claim to have seen and asks if it has appeared again, but Bernardo has not seen it this night. Bernardo and Marcellus both believe this apparition is real because they have seen it themselves, but Horatio refuses to believe in …show more content…
The appearance of King Hamlet's ghost allows Horatio to recount the earlier events that led to all the commotion in Denmark. By his explanation, if either King had lost the fight they would sacrifice their life and their lands to the other. While it seems the King of Denmark won this fairly, King Fortinbras' son has gathered the means to attempt to reclaim what his father had lost. Horatio notes that the Prince is bold but 'of unimproved mettle'; while the lust of revenge motivates him to act brazenly, he has not yet proven himself. Denmark takes this threat of vengeance seriously whether the Prince be proven or not as they have made preparations to protect themselves from the attacks. The Prince has put effort and careful planning into this attack, as some time has passed between the death of his father (King Hamlet was the victor and survivor of the battle that took King Fortinbras' life, though King Hamlet is now dead for reasons we are not aware of at this point) which was spent recruiting and organizing an army compromised of outlaws. Horatio is now more sure that the Prince's plan of revenge means real trouble for Denmark after seeing the ghost of King …show more content…
Marcellus gives us insight to how much this has affected Denmark by recounting the increased guard, the weapons being shipped in, and how steadily cannons are being made in anticipation. The risk of Prince Fortinbras' revenge is severe enough that Denmark is readying itself for a war, the results of which readers will likely see going forward in the play. Likely the Prince's revenge will not be the only example illustrated as Hamlet is widely known as one of the great revenge stories, surrounding the title character himself. As we have observed the ghost of King Hamlet, we know that by some means he had died as well. Dependent on the circumstances, his son Prince Hamlet could easily have a thirst for revenge due to the untimely passing of his own father. Many of Shakespeare's plays take the main theme and turn it on its head by showing the readers different ways the characters handle the same conflicts and the results of these differences. With both Princes sharing the tragedy of a dead father, Fortinbras' desire for revenge could be shared with Hamlet to better illustrate the complexity of the idea of revenge once the circumstances of the King of Denmark's death have been
This play takes place mostly in Elsinore, Denmark between the fourteenth and fifteen century following the death of the late King Hamlet, who has been dead for two months prior to the beginning of the play (Shmoop Editorial Team). Act One commences in the middle of a routine nightly shift where Horatio, Hamlet’s friend, and two other guards witness the coming of a spirit that bears an uncanny resemblance to the recently deceased king. Meanwhile at Elsinore Claudius is crowned King with Hamlet’s mother as his queen. This chain of events causes discontent within Prince Hamlet as he delays his mourning time out of spite for the coronation. Afterwards, Horatio and the guards come to the consensus and tell Hamlet of their encounter so that the Prince may meet with the Ghost. The Ghost reveals to Hamlet that he was a victim of a well-planned murder at the hands of Claudius.
Hamlet, after learning that his father's death was a murder and vowing to take revenge, wants to be certain that what he has been told is the absolute truth before he attempts to take revenge on Claudius. Even after Hamlet is sure beyond any shadow of a doubt that Claudius is the murderer, he hesitates to kill him. Fortinbras, on the other hand, has been taking action even before the play begins. As the play opens, the audience learns that Denmark is in a state of alert; the country has been preparing for a war. From Horatio, the audience also learns that the young Fortinbras is getting ready his "lawless resolutes"(I.i.111) for action against Denmark for the killing of his father and for the return of lands previously owned by Norway (I. i. 79-107). These differences between Hamlet and Fortinbras' actions are further mentioned in Hamlet's last soliloquy (IV. iv. 32-66).
Many characters in the play have confidence in Horatio because of his trustworthiness. Horatio is very trustworthy, and not only in the way that he can keep a secret if needed, but he is honorable and keeps his word, and is honest to himself, showing integrity. Here, Horatio shows this trait by revealing to Hamlet that Hamlet’s father’s ghost had appeared.
After talking with the ghost, Hamlet, comes back to Horatio and Marcellus and tries to explain to them never to let anyone know what has happened. Both are very scared but agree to the prince’s, but both are still looking to find out what happened between the ghost and him. Further on in the evening Hamlet takes Horatio to the side and explains to him that no matter how odd he acted that Horatio say nothing. (And therefore as a stranger-you most need help you Act1 sc5 line 187-202) He basically explained to Horatio that he was going to be acting much differently than normal, and he told him not to ask questions. This here proves he knew what he was going to have to do. It shows that he was willing to get his revenge by any way possible.
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the theme of revenge is very palpable as the reader examines the characters of Hamlet himself, as well as Laertes, son of Polonius, and Fortinbras, prince of Norway and son of the late King Fortinbras. Each of these young characters felt the need to avenge the deaths of their fathers who they felt were untimely killed at the bloody hands of their murderers. However, the way each chose to go about this varies greatly and gives insight into their characters and how they progress throughout the play.
In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces us to Fortinbras and Hamlet. Both characters are bent on avenging the death of their fathers who were murdered. In Act I, two different revenge plots by these two men are revealed, and while Fortinbras is very open and bold about killing Claudius, Hamlet is sly and quiet about his plan. Fortinbras is also dead set on attacking Denmark no matter what but Hamlet is indecisive about killing Claudius. Fortinbras plans to lead an army to attack Denmark while Hamlet’s plan of attack is to act crazy.
Horatio's role in Hamlet is minor, however he serves two purposes central to the drama. Horatio provides the truth. It is through Horatio that the actions taken by Hamlet and other characters gain credibility. He is the outside observer to the madness. Hamlet could soliloquize to no end, but it is his conversations with Horatio that ground the play in reality. Horatio believes Hamlet and thus we have permission to believe. He sees the Ghost and so we can believe that Hamlet has seen the Ghost. If Horatio were not there, Hamlet's sanity would truly be in doubt.
In discussions pertaining to the nature of Hamlet’s ghost, there is much debate. On the one hand, authors such as W.W. Greg believe that Hamlet’s ghost was merely a hallucination, but on the other hand, Maurice Egan believes that Hamlet’s ghost was a real character who truly existed. Egan also contends that the ghost is sent from purgatory, however, authors such as Roy Battenhouse believe that the ghost is pagan and came from hell. Others such as Robert West maintain that the ghost is neither from heaven or hell, but was written to be purposefully confusing so that any audience member could think of the ghost in many different ways. I personally believe that the ghost was a real character who came from hell and appeared before Hamlet in order to have him exact his revenge on Claudius.
The theme of vengeance is apparent within the tragedy before the tragedy even begins. King Fortinbras is defeated by King Hamlet, leaving Prince Fortinbras orphaned. This naturally brings about bitterness between Prince Fortinbras and King Hamlet. Prince Fortinbras is angry, within reason. His father was just killed, his lands stolen, and now he is the person to whom all of the duty is left. These feelings lead Fortinbras to a state of angered reactions. He prepares an army to march into Poland and Denmark to recover the lands that his father had lost. He takes action, leaving the rest of his life behind, and marching over to get retaliation against the man who killed his father. He sets his mind on what he has to do, and sets off, away from his home, in a strong, purposeful manner. When Fortinbras prepares to march through Denmark, his address to King Claudius is direct, purposeful, and unemotional.
When the encounter with the ghost occurs at the beginning of the play, Horatio’s original skepticism introduces doubt. When Horatio agrees that the spirit exists, the readers are allowed to believe that the ghost was not a figment of Hamlet’s imagination. At the first sighting of the ghost, Horatio, urging Hamlet to stay away from the ghost, says, “What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord.../And there assume some other horrible form/Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason/ And draw you into madness? Think of it./The very place puts toys of desperation/Without more motive, into every brain” (III.ii.75). Horatio is foreshadowing Hamlet’s descent into madness. Here, Horatio is...
Vengeance, redemption, and desire plague Denmark’s royal family in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet after a haunting family secret forces Prince Hamlet to choose between morality and honor. After Hamlet’s father dies, the kingdom hastily adjusts to his uncle Claudius’ reign; however, Hamlet remains devastated and loyal to his father. When his father’s ghost unveils that Claudius poisoned King Hamlet, the prince’s devastation mixes with a fervent desire for revenge that eventually dictates his every thought. Despite being ostensibly committed to avenging his father’s death, Hamlet habitually discovers reasons to delay action. As Hamlet’s procrastination persists, his familial relations deteriorate and ultimately cause him to reevaluate his position in society. Furthermore, Hamlet becomes chronically paranoid and calculates each aspect of his plan; therefore, the audience doubts his ability to successfully exact revenge. This paranoia escalates exponentially and fuels an uncontrollable obsession with perfection that usurps his sanity. Although Hamlet remains devoted to his murdered father, his perpetual procrastination eventually leads to mental degeneration through decaying relationships, prompting incessant paranoia, and fostering uncontrollable obsessions.
“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.
Returning home for his father’s funeral, Hamlet encounters many problems with the family leadership. The exposition in Hamlet is full of information, because the audience needs to comprehend the situation surrounding Denmark to appreciate some of the characters’ motives. The setting takes place at the King’s castle in Denmark, after a short war with their rivals in Norway. The conflict between these two countries is the background context for the tragedies that follow in Denmark. King Hamlet kills the King of Norway in a single ambush and upon his retreat home dies from a deliberate poisoning by his brother. Fortinbras, the prince Norway, in turn makes his own plans for revenge. Fortinbras gathers a group of evil men and sets out to return to Denmark to revenge his own father’s death. Opening scenes around the castle reveal the Demark guards on duty day and night, in fear of attack from Norway. During their watch a ghost appears as a symbol of trouble for the co...
In the act 1, sense 1, the appearance of ghost implicated that something would be happening in Denmark and created interest and caution to audience and Horatio. Ghost always represents horror and fear nowadays, and people think that ghost maybe has unfinished hope before death or revenge for somebody. In the Shakespeare world, ghost shows up in somewhere, where it’s not supposed to be. That means that there is someone else, especially in western culture. Horatio said, “has the ghost appeared again tonight” (1.1 21), and “it will not appear” (1.1 29). Horatio was educated, so he didn’t believe that. On the other hand, Bernardo and Marcellus believed the ghost was real and tried to prove it. Through the conversion and background between Horatio and officers, the plot creates the suspense and question to audience. Does the ghost really exist? Meanwhile, the audiences feel curious about the ghost.
As a logical thinker, Horatio is expecting the worst, perhaps that the past King Hamlet will want the young Hamlet to be reunited with him, the only possible way of this being death. Just as Horatio fears, Hamlet ignores his petitioning to ignore the current notion, and as a final plea to convince his love not to go, he physically holds Hamlet back while commanding him not to go (Shakespeare I.III.87). Despite Horatio’s begging and pleading, Hamlet brushes off his pleas and visits the ghost of his father. Doing this truly upsets Horatio because the last situation he wants to imagine is Hamlet leaving him for the dead.