Loyalty In Hamlet Research Paper

Loyalty towards another person tends to be perceived as a desirable quality. It is often what leads to success in a relationship, as it is a demonstration of trust and admiration for the other. However, one must consider that loyalty can have consequences; especially when it becomes an obsession. Sometimes, actions done out of love and ambition towards one individual can result in one hurting oneself or one’s loved ones, as one is blinded by their desire to please the specific person. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, various characters demonstrate loyalty, and how loyalty, although, used with good intentions, can result in downfall. Extensive loyally can cause hindrance to one’s judgement, ultimately leading one to defeat, failure, and

After Hamlet finds out by the ghost that Claudius murdered his father, Hamlet is eager to know how his father was murdered, so that he can avenge him in the best possible way. Hamlet says, “Haste me to know ’t, that I, with wings as swift / As meditation or the thoughts of love, / May sweep to my revenge” (1.5. 29-31). Hamlet ordering the ghost to tell him the details of his father’s death, and stating that he will take revenge faster than a person falls in love, demonstrates his loyalty to his father. Even after death, he does not hesitate to defend his father’s honour. Although Hamlet’s devotion to avenging his father could be deemed admirable, there are problems with it. It is concerning because Hamlet acts as if revenge was the most important thing in his life. The use of the simile between a desire for love and a desire for revenge alludes to the fact that Hamlet may become consumed with thoughts of revenge. As often people who fall in love are infatuated with their love interest, Hamlet correspondingly plans to be infatuated with plans of revenge. Revenge and anger are immoral ideas and thus, it is clear to see how an obsession with revenge can become an obstacle to prosperity. Thus, Hamlet’s loyalty towards his father caused him to develop a thirst for murder, which becomes the source of his problems in the