Murder Methods: Unfolding Motives in Hamlet

Murder is always more than a dead body; but majority of the time, people focus more on the reason behind the murder, not knowing that the method of killing can also reveal useful informations, such as cause, motive and significance. In the last two acts of Hamlet, many characters die in various ways under William Shakespeare’s pen. Polonius, the former courtier for the late king Hamlet, is killed by Hamlet behind the arras when he is eavesdropping for Claudius in Gertrude’s closet. His death inflict pain on Ophelia, causing her to suffer and allegedly commit suicide. But they are not the masterminds of any plan, they are merely tools. Later, Claudius is killed with double doses of poison; and Hamlet dies of poison after knowing that justice

King Hamlet, also known as the ghost, definitely sees Claudius through his facade after Claudius mercilessly murders him when he is sleeping. He refers to Claudius as “that incestuous, that adulterate beast, with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts--O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power so to seduce!--won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen” (I.v.49-53). By calling Claudius “traitorous”, the ghost implies that Claudius murders the late king Hamlet partly because of his greed for power and fame, which also explains Claudius’s need to control the young Hamlet and eventually creating a plan to exterminate Hamlet as a threat. The ghost also denounces Claudius’s character as “incestuous” and “adulterate” in reference to his marriage with Gertrude. He claims that Claudius seduces Gertrude into the marriage by corrupting and convincing her that marrying her brother-in-law shortly after her husband’s death is an acceptable behavior. Using corruption as a tool, Claudius manipulates people around him to achieve certain goals, such as killing Hamlet. When Laertes is struggling with anger, hate and the need to revenge for his family, Claudius advises, “now must your conscience my acquaintance seal, and you must put me in your heart for a

Both Claudius’s and Hamlet’s deaths suggests that corruption is destructive to someone’s mind and even life; and it is arguably worse than ignorance. But ignorance also has a price; in this case, it is still death, just notably less painful. Polonius and Ophelia represent unawareness, and their stories show the importance of analysing situations and the impact of their actions. Although this play is written hundreds years ago, the message behind the text is still worthwhile to ponder