In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a very clear and moral order is established as Hamlet completes his journey through the phases which define a Shakespearean tragedy. The play begins with Hamlet seeing his father’s ghost. He finds out that his father had been murdered by his uncle Claudius. After Hamlets encounter with the ghost, it is his wish to avenge his father. This causes all other moral dilemmas in the play, and is what defines the plays moral order. As the play continues Hamlet is always trying to remain morally in the right, always taking the precaution to remain so. As the play goes on, and Hamlet learns that Claudius now trying to kill him continues attempting to right the original wrong, and he does succeed at the end with Claudius’ death. Hamlets words “thus bad begins, and worse remains behind” (Act III, Scene IV) illustrate the moral order. The actions against him were wrong, but to a lesser extent, so was his revenge.
Near the start of the play, the ghost of Hamlets father tell him of a crime committed by Claudius. When Hamlet finds out that his father was murdered by his uncle, who then stole the crown of Denmark, he immediately commits himself to the ghost for revenge. “Haste me to know’t that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love ay weep to my revenge” (Act I Scene I). At this point Hamlet is completely justified his revenge and deem it morally right. Although the act of murder itself is wrong an “eye for and eye” almost justifies it. Claudius’ crime is deemed more important because it caused a chain reaction considering all the deaths throughout the play would not have come if it were not for that one murder. The crime itself is in a sense worse considering the circumstances. He murde...
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...s now righted by the death of Claudius, Hamlet is not morally wrong in killing him. Gertrude’s death due to poisoning is punishment for abandoning her husband. Finally Laertes’ treachery towards Hamlet is paid for by his death, and only Hamlets own death remains as the tragic consequence.
In conclusion, Shakespeare’s Hamlet contains a very conclusive moral order. Each crime committed is punished, and each morally wrong action is balanced by one that is right. Claudius’ murder and plots are balanced by Hamlet’s internal struggle with his own conscience and morals as he tries to right the wrongs committed against him. Hamlet’s indecisiveness throughout the pay were because of his morals even with the murder of his father he could not kill Claudius in prayer. This shows the opposite side of the moral issue, and helps to ensure that in the end, there is no imbalance.
In the beginning of the play, Hamlet's father comes to him as a ghost from the grave. He tells Hamlet of his uncle's betrayal of him and tells Hamlet that he must kill Claudius to set things right. Through this event, Hamlet...
In the play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the protagonist Hamlet is in a persistent mental battle between his religious, moral values and his desire to take revenge on the one who murdered his innocent father. Throughout the play, the actions that are taken by characters in Hamlet 's life ultimately lead to the demise and dismissal of each person who not only get in the way of Hamlet but go against the actions he takes. As the ghost of the late dead king appears to Hamlet and informs him of the truth behind what occurred that night Denmark lost a king and Hamlet lost a father, you see him embark on a journey of devotion to the father who was murdered by his uncle and everyone who has been caught up in the uncle’s web of lies. The philosophy of commitment and beauty are shown throughout the play through Hamlets vengeful task of revenge and deceit, King Claudius’s task to keep his murder a secret, Laertes commitment to murdering Hamlet, and the failed preservation of God made beauty.
Throughout the play, Hamlet thinks about the moral consequences of revenge, and as a result his revenge is delayed. Morality is the quality of being in accord with the standards of right or good conduct. In Hamlet, Hamlet struggles morally to accomplish his fathers’ ghost demand of revenging for him. A great example of Hamlet acting morally, is when as he was heading to his mother, who asked for him, he sees the king in church praying to God for forgiveness. When he sees the king praying, he thought it will be better if he killed him now in order to end his struggle. But as he was approaching the king to revenge his fathers’ death, he is he...
More tragic play The tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark is the most popular works of William Shakespeare. Probably the popularity of this play lies in the use of character of Hamlet in exemplifying the human mind through its complex workings. Hamlet’s internal dilemma of making the decision whether he should revenge the death of his father or not was a crucial turn in his life as the state of mind was the main reason which effected the decision power one makes in his life. His uncle Claudius was the one who murdered his father and the moment when the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears and asks Hamlet as to when the revenge of his foul and most unnatural murder is to take place. From this point onward Hamlet is under a constant dilemma. He does not find himself ready to take the revenge. If Hamlet had killed Claudius at the first opportunity than the revenge would have been taken but his internal dilemma would have never been solved. This play became very popular and the reason for the popularity was Shakespeare’s use of the character Hamlet and through this character he has tried to exemplify the complex workings of human’s mind. Shakespeare used emotion, reason and attitude of Hamlet to allow the readers to form an opinion or make a judgment about the basic aspects of the life of human beings. The reason the prince could not take the revenge of his father’s death was that he was a man of great moral integrity and to take revenge was an act which was against his deepest principals. Some of the other behaviors of the prince was that after the death of his father Hamlet became so disenchanted with his life that he lost all his desire and will to take any kind of revenge. Due to the delay in revenge Shakespeare was able to develop th...
He also committed the moral sin of killing his own brother and taking his wife. Claudius also deprived Hamlet of his rightful kingship. In addition, Hamlet now knows that his love of his mother is corrupted since she is affectionate towards his enemy. Hamlet should have acted decisively and killed Claudius as soon as possible after the Ghost told him to avenge his murder. But then comes the indecisive character in him that thinks it, though.
Throughout Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the revelation of Claudius’ betrayal of the late King Hamlet becomes the causation of a slippery slope of events that revolve around a revenge on Claudius for his betrayal against the late King. Consequently, this key act of betrayal forms the plays overall theme of revenge while also showing the connection between power and corruption and the idea that ‘”what goes around, comes around.”
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was forced upon him.Death is something he struggles with as an abstract idea and as relative to himself. He is able to reconcile with the idea of death and reality eventually.
In the beginning of the story, Hamlet’s character was struggling with the sudden marriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle, Claudius, a month after his father is death. For a young man, it’s hard to believe that he understood why his mother quickly married Claudius especially since, Claudius is his uncle. Later he learned that his father’s ghost was sighted. Intuitively, he knew there had to be some kind of “foul play.” At this point, Hamlet is a university student; his morals and way of thinking are defined by books and what was taught to him. This is seen when he speaks about the flaws of men, setting a bad reputation for all, and the man’s flaws causing their “downfall.”(a.1, sc.4, l.)
With his thinking mind Hamlet does not become a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. What would the people think of their prince if he were to murder the king? What kind of effect would it have on his beloved mother? Hamlet considers questions of this type which in effect hasten his descision. After all, once his mother is dead and her feelings out of the picture , Hamlet is quick and aggressive in forcing poison into Claudius' mouth. Once Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the killer it is only after he himself is and and his empire falling that he can finally act.
Throughout Hamlet, each character’s course of revenge surrounds them with corruption, obsession, and fatality. Shakespeare shows that revenge proves to be extremely problematic. Revenge causes corruption by changing an individual’s persona and nature. Obsession to revenge brings forth difficulties such as destroyed relationships. Finally, revenge can be the foundation to the ultimate sacrifice of fatality. Hamlet goes to show that revenge is never the correct route to follow, and it is always the route with a dead
Claudius is justly punished for the murder of king Hamlet. The punishment fits the crime because his brother's son killed him. King Hamlet killed by the brother killed by the king's son. He was murdered. It was pay back, "what goes around comes around" "an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth" What these two quotes are mainly saying is that you get what you give. Claudius took his brothers life therefore his life was taken away. Not only did Claudius kill his brother to marry his wife and take over his throne, but he caused the deaths of the queen, king Hamlet, Polonius and Ophelia.
In the play, Hamlet is a tragic hero since he does not try to stop the war but conduct a revenge that becomes a vicious circle. He is unable to make a decision whether he should revenge on the death of the elder King or not, losing the characteristics that heroes have. Surprisingly, Hamlet kills Polonius in a moment, meaning he kills other people’s father as well. He detests the behavior of Claudius, now he has become another Claudius. Thus, Polonius’s son, Laertes starts getting revenge for his father’s murder. Laertes states, “To hell, allegiance! Vow, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation. To this point I stand that both the worlds I give to negligence. Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged most thoroughly for my father.” (4.5 129-134) Hamlet wants to get revenge for his father because he is experiencing the loss of a loved one; however, he causes other people suffering the same pain. Comparing the two people taking revenge, Laertes displays more characteristics of a hero and is more manly than
One of the most popular characters in Shakespearean literature, Hamlet endures difficult situations within the castle he lives in. The fatal death of his father, and urge for revenge leads Hamlet into making unreasonable decisions. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet’s sanity diminishes as the story progresses, impacting the people around him as well as the timing and outcome of his revenge against Claudius.
Once Hamlet has learned of his father’s death, he is faced with a difficult question: should he succumb to the social influence of avenging his father’s death? The Ghost tells Hamlet to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.31) upon which Hamlet swears to “remember” (1.5.118). Hamlet’s immediate response to this command of avenging his father’s death is reluctance. Hamlet displays his reluctance by deciding to test the validity of what the Ghost has told him by setting up a “play something like the murder of (his) father’s” (2.2.624) for Claudius. Hamlet will then “observe his looks” (2.2.625) and “if he do blench” (2.2.626) Hamlet will know that he must avenge his father’s death. In the course of Hamlet avenging his father’s death, he is very hesitant, “thinking too precisely on the event” (4.4.43). “Now might I do it…and he goes to heaven…No” (3.3.77-79) and Hamlet decides to kill Claudius while “he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed” (3.3.94-95). As seen here, Hamlet’s contradicting thought that Claudius “goes to heaven” (3.3.79) influences him to change his plans for revenge. Hamlet eventually realizes that he must avenge his father’s death and states “from this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth” (4.4.69). From this, Hamlet has succumbed to the social influence and has vowed to avenge his father’s death.
Morality is a remarkable dispute of a person’s actions within one’s own mind. Typically, everyone in the human species possesses a sense of their own regards to the matter of positive or negative outcomes. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character faces a vast majority of internal struggles throughout his story. Hamlet is surrounded by tragedy and betrayal. Hamlet’s endeavors in the play coincide with those of a modern day soldier. Hamlet’s character relates to a soldier on the aspects of honor and murder, but they differ in their sense of morality.