Avenged by Noble Death Death might be the end of a legacy, but dying for a noble cause leaves a legacy that will never perish. People are avenged when death is a result of standing up to wickedness. In the final moments of the play, this theme is supported by the death of Laertes, and Hamlet himself. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare reveals that it is more noble to die for a worthy cause, than to live without taking action against evil. In Hamlet’s death, he is avenged by killing King Claudius, honoring the late King Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude. As a part of the falling action, Hamlet prepares to kill the king, as his mother and father were killed. “Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, / Drink off this potion! Is thy union here? / Follow my mother.” (Shakespeare 126). Although Hamlet is moments away from death, he is able to get revenge on Claudius, and bring purity to his family name. Hamlet’s royalty is proved by Fortinbras saying “Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage; / For he was likely, had he been put on, / To have proved most royal.” (Shakespeare 128). The memory of Hamlet will be known by all. His heroic deed will be forever remembered. Hamlet’s noble act of killing Claudius will be a part of the …show more content…
In the final moments of the story, Laertes says, “He is justly served. / It is a poison temper’d by himself. / Exchange forgiveness with me , noble Hamlet.” (Shakespeare (126). Laertes makes things right with Hamlet by explaining the plot against him, and later offering an apology. In his confession, he proclaims, “The foul practice / Hath turn’d itself on me. Lo, here I lie, / Never to rise again. Thy mother’s poison’d. / I can no more. The King, the King’s to blame.” (Shakespeare 125). Although he was part of the plan to kill Hamlet, Laertes makes amends with Hamlet, revealing the evil plan against him, thus making his death noble to
After the fatally wounded Laertes points the finger at the king, Claudius, who has been a silent observer to Laertes' confession, backs up, trying to distance himself from being the focal point responsible for the evil that has taken place. However, he is unsuccessful, as a raging Hamlet follows him. The closeup of Hamlet killing the king twice amplifies his triumph.
In Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” Hamlet and Laertes act as dramatic foils, where their similarities are used to highlight their differences. Each character learns that his father has been murdered and each plots his revenge against the murderer. In the first act of the play, the ghost of Hamlet’s father tells him “Let not
...e story. Indeed, if Hamlet acts quickly, there would be only one act of Hamlet. Laertes, upon hearing of his father’s demise wants swift and fervent justice. Although he is the more impassioned of the two, it is this incisiveness that leads to Laertes’ demise. He allows himself to be manipulated, enamored by the king’s rhetoric. Laertes, suddenly realizing the plot at hand, repents for his killing of Hamlet, true to his character even in the face of death. Hamlet seeks to blame his "madness" for the death of Polonius, and never admits fault for the fate of his schoolmates.
This is the story of a man who could not make up his mind. "O wicked spite that ever I was born to set it right," Is a quote from Hamlet Even agreeing that he wished he did a lot of things way differently. Hamlet dies in the play because Laertes stabs him with the poisoned sword. Laertes stabs him because they are having
Hamlet’s love for his father is clear in his first soliloquy, when he compares his father to his uncle as “Hyperion to a satyr” (citation). By alluding to his father as a radiant sun god, Hamlet demonstrates reverence and devotion. Therefore, it is no surprise that Hamlet’s reaction to news of his father’s murder is to pity the “poor ghost” and swear to “revenge his [father’s] foul and most unnatural murder” (citation; citation). Even with this massive obligation and genuine love for his father, Hamlet is slow to act. Laertes, however, never shows any signs of caring for his father, only treating him formally as “my lord” (citation). Yet, when Laertes finds out that his father has been murdered, he takes immediate action by invading the palace to kill the person responsible. When asked to calm down, he angrily proclaims “That drop of blood that’s calm proclaims me bastard” (citation). From Laertes’s point of view, failing to avenge his father would be a personal insult to his honor and his family. Thus, while both are trapped by filial obligation, Laertes feels doubly compelled to avenge his father by his duty to his family and his reputation, making him a prisoner of fate and
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.
Both Hamlet’s and Laertes’ fathers were killed. When Laertes discovered that his father’s been murdered he immediately assumes that Claudius is the killer. As a result of his speculation he moves to avenge Polonius’ death. Laertes lines in Act IV Scene 5 provide insight into his mind displaying his desire for revenge at any cost. “To hell, allegiance!
During the final scene and act of Hamlet, both foils are engaged in an alleged friendly battle, where the king has placed a bet on Hamlet that he will win over Laertes. After their battle Laertes manages to hit Hamlet with the poisoned tip of his foil and in turn Hamlet gets him back. After the queen falls and dies, Laertes states to Hamlet “Hamlet, thou art slain: ...here I lie, never to rise again: thy mother’s poison’d: I can no more: the king, the king’s to blame” (5.2.306-313). Laertes tells Hamlet that he is going to die due to the poisoned blade, also that he himself is also going to die for the same reason and that Gertrude is also going to die for drinking the poisoned cup that was intend for Hamlet. He also states that Claudius is the one who devised everything. This line symbolizes how Hamlets prolonged revenge caused the deaths of so many innocent lives that had nothing to do with his father’s death. If he killed Claudius in the church or before that, then Hamlet wouldn’t have had so many lives lost during the cross-fire. After Laertes got wounded by his own sword he stated that “Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric: I am justly kill’d with mine own treachery’ (5.7.299-300). Laertes admits that his plan backfired by killing him. He caused his own death, but unlike Hamlet, Laertes didn’t kill any innocents along the way with his plan except himself. Finally after all his time spent acting mad, choosing to live or not, hesitating to act upon chance Hamlet finally kills Claudius “Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion. Is thy union here?’’ (5.2.318-319). Hamlet killed Claudius with the same weapon he had killed his father being the poison. Even though after such a prolonged mission, Hamlet kept his word that he promised to himself during Claudius’s confession “or about some
Ironic as it sounds, Laertes is the person to thank for Hamlet’s eternal peace even though he was the one who poisoned the blade that killed Hamlet. The reasoning behind this is that even though Hamlet and Laertes are responsible for each other’s they both confessed their guilt and asked for each other’s forgiveness, which they both received. Denmark’s Protestant religion states that those who die without the chance to ask for forgiveness will wait in Purgatory until their judgement is passed and if not for Laertes opening up to Hamlet, they both would have passed on to the afterlife without forgiveness and would have to wait in Purgatory. Laertes is also given the credit of bringing to light the foul deeds that Claudius carried out such as the planned murder of Prince Hamlet because if Hamlet were to accuse Claudius of everything he did then the accusation would have been heard by deaf ears because everyone still thought Hamlet was insane at that point. Hamlet was given a final chance to finally take revenge on Claudius for the deaths of those close to Hamlet and restore the kingdom to order. All of this was managed in Hamlet’s final hour when he finally
Laertes is looking to seek revenge on Hamlet for killing his father and eventually his sister later in the play. "I dare damnation. To this point I stand, that both the worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes, only I 'll be reveng 'd Most throughly for my father." (4.5.132-135). Laertes is very different in the way he is going about seeking revenge, he is willing to kill any and everybody with no hesitation to revenge his father’s death unlike Hamlet, who is contemplating throughout the play on if he should or shouldn’t kill the necessary people in order to seek revenge.
...his father, ruined his mother, and even tried to kill Hamlet himself, he is still not confident enough to take action. However just like Laertes, Hamlet does get his revenge in the end, but was it worth all the unwanted death?
When he feels Hamlet is becoming too big of a problem, the ‘loving father and husband’ plans to have his stepson murdered upon arrival in England. Hamlet finds evidence of this, and returns to Elsinore. Claudius receives a letter from Hamlet, stating he will be returning, which causes Claudius to manipulate Laertes by pretending he cares for him. He also claims to mourn the death of Laerte’s father, Polonius, stating, “I loved your father”, in order to convince Laertes to agree to kill Hamlet (IV.vii,34). Claudius arranges for what appears to be a friendly duel between Hamlet and Laertes, but plots to use this match to end Hamlet.
He has the ability to perform tasks that may be unpleasant or dangerous. Laertes does not simply try to kill someone by thinking cautiously the whole time, but by directly confronting them and facing them head-on. When Laertes returns home to Denmark he even confronts Claudius about the death of his father. Swearing Laertes says “I dare damnation. To this point I stand,/That both the worlds I give to negligence,/Let come what comes, only I’ll be reveng’d/Most throughly for my father.” (IV. v. 133-136). With this declaration Laertes plots with Claudius to kill Hamlet and they construct a plan to have Laertes fence with Hamlet and for him to kill him. They instrument a plot of revenge for the death of Polonius, quickly coming up with three ways to kill Hamlet: stabbing him with an unblunted sword, placing poison on the sword, and poisoning Hamlet’s drink (IV. vii.). After they construct this plan they swiftly utilize the plan. Laertes did not wait for the perfect moment, at the perfect time, and at the perfect place. He created the place, time, and moment to carry out the dangerous task. Hamlet, however, waited and waited for what he thought one day would be the perfect moment in which he could kill his uncle. Even when Hamlet had an opportunity to kill Claudius, he talked himself out of it. When compared to Laertes, Hamlet is a coward because of his inability to
His father was killed by Hamlet and his sister was driven insane due to the series of events that took place because of Hamlet. Like Hamlet, Laertes wants to avenge his father by killing the man who killed Polonius. As described earlier, Hamlet is slow to act. Laertes, on the other hand, acts quickly and with precision, wasting no time in acquiring his target and formulating a plan. Robert Palfrey Utter, Jr., puts it best, Hamlet and Laertes both come to the same conclusion that murder must be carried out, but Hamlet reaches that conclusion only “after he has had a few minutes to think it over.” (140) Once Laertes finds out that the man who killed his father was Hamlet he is ready to charge in and kill him as soon as possible. He is only stopped by Claudius, who advises him on a more subtle approach. Straight off the bat it is clear how efficient Laertes is compared to Hamlet. Hamlet wastes a large amount of time scheming up complex ideas on how to get a confession out of Claudius and how to kill him. Laertes on the other hand wastes no time in getting a straight and to the point plan that he can execute immediately. After spending more than half the play watching Hamlet squirm around on the stage getting almost nothing accomplished, the audience would be acutely aware of the stark difference between Hamlet and Laertes even though they share the same motivations. Laertes has his speed but he shares in Hamlets lack of critical thinking when he gets hot headed. He is in such a blind rage that he doesn’t think on what he is agreeing to do with Claudius. Just like Hamlet, his brash actions cost those around him his life. In carrying out the plan, the King, the Queen, Hamlet, and he all die to the poison that was used in the duel. Hamlet was slow and reckless while Laertes was quick and reckless. Wilds sums up the relationship between Hamlet and Laertes perfectly, “Laertes and Hamlet have been foils to each other
...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.