Similarities Between Hamlet And The Cask Of Amontillado

Evil exists naturally in the world, and there are many acts that are considered evil. As a result, evil is often a theme in literature. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare, and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe each rely heavily on evil to portray a message. Out of all of the evil acts that exist, exacting revenge is the evilest act that a person can make, for a person’s rash decision to exact revenge will ruin their sense of morality. The characters of Hamlet and Laertes in “Hamlet” each commit terrible acts of revenge, as does Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado.”

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

the royal bed of Denmark be / A couch for luxury and damnèd incest” (1.5.83-4). The ghost tells Hamlet that if he were a true son he would not let his uncle Claudius remain on the throne. Hamlet decides that he must avenge his father and take the life of the new king. He does not take any time to question the repercussions that come with exacting revenge. His reckless decision proves fatal for several characters, one of whom is Polonius. After killing Polonius, Hamlet exclaims “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! / I took thee for thy better…” (3.4.32-3). Because of his desire for revenge, Hamlet no longer cares about the value of human life. He feels no regret after killing Polonius and even blames him for intruding. Furthermore, after discovering the true reason behind his trip to England, Hamlet has Guildenstern and Rosencrantz—two of his lifelong friends—killed for meddling in his affairs. He states “They are not near my conscience. Their defeat / Does by their own insinuation grow” (5.2.58-9). Hamlet does not regret causing their deaths, and again blames the victims instead of himself. Hamlet allows his need for revenge to cloud his morality which causes him to commit heinous acts. Laertes reacts to his father’s death in the same way that Hamlet does.
The rage Laertes feels after his father’s death affects the decisions that he makes. Immediately after hearing his father is dead, Laertes returns from Paris with the intention of overthrowing Claudius and taking the crown. However, one of the first things Laertes says is “How came he dead? I’ll not be juggled with” (4.5.133). Laertes has no idea who killed his father, implying that the decision to overthrow the king was made hastily. His need for revenge leads him to murder Hamlet later in the story. Laertes is so angry with Hamlet that he is quickly tempted to take a sword that is both “Unbated and envenomed” (5.2.289). It is with this sword that Laertes wounds and kills the protagonist of Shakespeare’s play. He commits an immoral act in order to exact revenge. It is not until after Hamlet is stabbed and will inevitably die that Laertes realizes the horror of his crime. He begs “Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet,” knowing that his actions were unjust and hasty (5.2.300). Laertes is outraged by his father’s murder, so he irrationally decides that revenge is his best option. Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado” also seeks vengeance, and thus loses his morality.
Few characters are as crazy and immoral as Montresor in Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” for he decides to exact revenge in a horrifying way.

Montresor is a man who feels pride in himself and in his family, so when Fortunato—an acquaintance of Montresor— “venture[s] upon insult,” Montresor “vow[s] revenge” against him (1). Montresor hastily decides that he must kill Fortunato, even though his use of the word “venture” implies that Fortunato had not yet insulted him, but nearly did. Montresor’s impulsive need for revenge causes him to formulate a plan to murder his acquaintance. He keeps Fortunato intoxicated by “presenting him…[with] wine,” he “fetter[s] him to the granite,” and he “plaster[s] up… [a wall of] new masonry” to trap Fortunato in the catacombs (39, 71, 89). All of these acts are signs that the need for revenge has made Fortunato insane. A person who has any sense of morals would not commit crimes such as Montresor’s. His impetuous decision to exact revenge caused him to lose his

morality.
There is no act more evil than exacting revenge. A person’s hasty decision to avenge themselves leads them to lose their morals. In “Hamlet,” the protagonist decides to kill his uncle after his ghost father visits him and tells him to do so. Likewise, Laertes rashly storms the palace to take the throne without even knowing who killed his father. Once he discovers Hamlet is at fault, Laertes sets out to murder him. Their paths of vengeance lead to more deaths than anticipated, however; by the end of the story Claudius, Gertrude, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, and Hamlet are all dead. The act of revenge causes evil to repeat itself over and over, resulting in many more casualties than expected. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor vows to avenge himself and his family after Fortunato allegedly insulted him. To exact his revenge, Montresor commits a crime that is particularly heinous in today’s society. His acts are similar to those of serial killers; he premeditates a murder based on an arbitrary wrongdoing that Fortunato committed against him. In each of these stories, the characters decide it is necessary to exact revenge, and in doing so they cause a vast amount of deaths, and lose any sense of personal morals.