Revenge is one’s desire to retaliate and get even. Human instincts turn to revenge when loved ones are hurt. But, these misdeeds of taking upon revenge may lead to serious consequences. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet,” Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes’s each show how their desire for revenge unavoidably leads to tragedy. The loss of their loved ones caused these characters in Hamlet to take action. Young Fortinbras has built an army to get back the lands his father lost to King Hamlet and Denmark. His actions can be compared to the measures Hamlet is willing to take upon Claudius. Hamlet wants to kill his uncle, Claudius, for killing his father to gain royalty status. Laertes has the same anger as Hamlet killed Polonius, Laertes’s father. Laertes uses all the power he has to get revenge on Hamlet. The corruption of these characters result the deaths of each major character.
Young Fortinbras was the first to lose his father, King Fortinbras, who was the King of Norway. King Fortinbras was killed in a fight against King Hamlet for the land of Denmark. "Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, to our most valiant brother."(I. ii. 24-25). Young Fortinbras wants to take revenge upon Denmark and reclaim what he believes is rightly his families’ (Tiffany). An army is raised to honor his father’s death and reclaim Norway’s lost states. Young Fortinbras’ actions can be explained as action with little thought. Although he directed an army to attack Poland, Young Fortinbras’ uncle, King of Norway, did not understand his reasons. But in the end, Prince Fortinbras gained possession of the Danish throne. Furthermore, Hamlet compares himself to Young Fortinbras. Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act IV describes Fortinbras as a “delicate and t...
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...nd rashly. Hamlet on the other hand is calm, composed and thoughtful. He greatly mourns his father’s death and plans out revenge but never seems to act upon it. Hamlet simply acts very methodically throughout the play. But in the end, only one achieved greatness, Young Fortinbras, as the other two were lead to death.
Works Cited
Cruttwell, Patrick. "The Morality of Hamlet—`Sweet Prince' or `Arrant Knave'?"EXPLORING Shakespeare. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Johnson, Edgar. “The Dilemma of Hamlet (William Shakespeare: Hamlet).”EXPLORING Shakespeare. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Tiffany, Grace. "Hamlet, reconciliation, and the just state." Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature 58.2 (2005): 111+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the character of Fortinbras, has been used as a foil for the main character, Hamlet. Hamlet and Fortinbras have lost their fathers to untimely deaths. Claudius killed Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, and King Hamlet killed Fortinbras' father. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras have vowed to seek revenge for the deaths of their fathers. Since the revenge tactics of Hamlet and Fortinbras are completely different, Hamlet perceives the actions of Fortinbras as better than his own and the actions of Fortinbras, then, encourage Hamlet to act without hesitating.
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. 4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print 539-663
As is hinted throughout the play, the state of Denmark has become corrupt. Marcellus' famous quote "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark"(Act 1, 5:90) is complemented by various other observations. "...tis an unweeded garden,"(Act 1, 2:134) and "our state to be disjoint and out of frame,"(Act 1, 2:20). In Elizabethan times it was generally thought that a monarch had to have rightful claim to the throne, lest the state descend into chaos. Fortinbras is essential to this overlying story line, as he is fundamental to the resolution of the corruption. The overlying story line is to make what was bad become good, and thus a complete resolution is needed. Fortinbras is instrumental in this resolution: as the only nobleman left to claim the throne rightfully, Hamlet bequeaths not only the land that Old Fortinbras lost, but also the state of Denmark. Hence Fortinbras attains what he had vowed to avenge, and the play comes full circle. All that made the state of Denmark rotten, all those involved with the corruption, are now dead hence the overlying story plot is fully resolved.
Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport: Greenwood, 1998. Print. Literature in Context.
...nalyzed and executed as he planned. Fortinbras ability to act upon reason and not emotion is one of the most significant differences he has with Hamlet. Hamlet and Laertes represent the extremes of action. Fortinbras therefore, is the midpoint of the two extremes; his ability to reason and the act upon the reason has resulted in his possession of both lands and throne as he set out to avenge.
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1709-1804. Print.
In conclusion, Shakespeare introduces the reader to two revenge plans by two princes and they cannot be more different. Fortinbras is very bold about his choice of attack and is determined to destroy Denmark and Claudius by using his army whereas Hamlet is sly and indecisive about his plan and acting like a madman to confuse everyone and get the job done easily. Act 1 in Hamlet shows the different revenge plans Fortinbras and Hamlet both have to avenge their fathers’ gruesome death.
Goldman, Michael. "Hamlet and Our Problems." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York City: Prentice Hall International. 1995. 43-55
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.
In William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras and Hamlet find themselves in similar situations. While Hamlet waits for the right time to avenge his father's death, Laertes learns of his father's death and immediately wants vengeance, and Fortinbras awaits his chance to recapture land that used to belong to his father. Laertes and Fortinbras go about accomplishing their desires quite differently than Hamlet. While Hamlet acts slowly and carefully, Laertes and Fortinbras seek their revenge with haste. Although Laertes and Fortinbras are minor characters, Shakespeare molds them in order to contrast with Hamlet. Fortinbras and, to a greater extent, Laertes act as foils to Hamlet with respect to their motives for revenge, execution of their plans and behavior while carrying out their plans.
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.
... Claudius says that Laertes is trying to get back the kingdom of Denmark his dad lost to Hamlets’ dad. Also, he believes that Fortinbras will try to take advantage of this time where a power change occurred. At the end, since Claudius, Laertes, Gertrude, and Hamlet die, Fortinbras is chosen as the king. Fortinbras completes his promise that he will regain the land that his dad had lost.
Hamlet contains three plots of revenge throughout the five acts of the play. Young Hamlet, after getting a shocking realization from his father’s ghost, wants to enact a plot of revenge against his uncle. Laertes, who was struck twice in quick succession by the death of his father and sister, wants to kill Hamlet. Away in Norway, Fortinbras wants to take revenge on the entire nation of Denmark for taking his father’s land and life. These three sons all want the same thing, vengeance, but they go about it in wildly different ways, but as Lillian wilds points out, “he also sees himself in the mirrors of Fortinbras [and] Laertes.”(153) It becomes clear that the parallels presented throughout the play are there to further illuminate the flaws of
Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. Print.