William Shakespeare is famous for his hidden character relationships and underlying themes. One of the most intriguing character relationships we see is in Hamlet, between the best friends and school mates Horatio and the young Prince Hamlet himself. While Hamlet hides his feelings well, Horatio subtly indicates that his feelings for Hamlet have progressed past friendship, as he now views Hamlet as more of a lover than a friend.
One way Shakespeare shows this in Hamlet is when the ghost of King Hamlet first appears, Horatio begs young Hamlet not to leave and converse with him, for fear of losing him to the ghost. Because of this sudden appearance of the past King Hamlet asking to speak to his son for an unknown reason, Horatio suggests to Hamlet that the ghost of his father will tempt him with the thought of suicide. He’s scared that Hamlet, in the heat of the moment, will not be able to resist his father, “And draw you into madness?” (Shakespeare I.iii.81) he suggests to Hamlet as to defer him of the idea that talking to his fathers ghost would be wise.
As a logical thinker, Horatio is expecting the worst, perhaps that the past King Hamlet will want the young Hamlet to be reunited with him, the only possible way of this being death. Just as Horatio fears, Hamlet ignores his petitioning to ignore the current notion, and as a final plea to convince his love not to go, he physically holds Hamlet back while commanding him not to go (Shakespeare I.III.87). Despite Horatio’s begging and pleading, Hamlet brushes off his pleas and visits the ghost of his father. Doing this truly upsets Horatio because the last situation he wants to imagine is Hamlet leaving him for the dead.
Another example is even though Hamlet disregards all of Hor...
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...iquid killer but to go acquaint the townspeople with the story of the conflict between Claudius and his father, and how Hamlet’s revenge is justified (Shakespeare). In this scene Shakespeare clearly shows Hamlet’s intensified feelings for Horatio.
In conclusion, although for most of the play we see only Horatio expressing his changed feelings toward Hamlet, in the final moments of his life Hamlet can no longer hide his transformed heartfelt love for Horatio and shows this when he begs him to stay alive and go on without him. To Horatio, this is the purest act of love he could’ve received from Hamlet and chooses to abide by his words. As for Shakespeare’s character relationships, the repetitive theme of forbidden love allows for the reader to seize the opportunity and create a world of possibilities consisting of different correlations between numerous characters.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one of the world’s most revered literature. The main character, Hamlet, is arguably one of the most intriguing characters the playwright ever developed. Hamlet is daring, philosophical, mentally unstable at times, and clever. Throughout the play though, these characteristics change and/or diminish as Hamlet is put through a plethora of unfortunate events. His father is murdered by Claudius, his mother soon after marries Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betray him, and his girlfriend most likely commits suicide. While Hamlet is incredibly philosophical, indecisive, and full of resentment in the beginning of the play, he becomes violent, instinctive, caring and sympathetic towards the end of the play.
Shakespeare must have known his Hamlet would be nearly impossible to decipher, otherwise he would surely have omitted Hamlet’s unlikely confidant, Horatio. Horatio becomes not only integral to the plot, but also allows the audience further insight as to what is stirring within the title character. Hamlet comes to deeply trust Horatio because he perceives that he “hast been as one in suffering all that suffers nothing” (III.ii.69-70). Horatio, a man “[w]hose blood and judgment are so well commeddled,” takes “with equal thanks … fortune’s buffets and rewards” (III.ii.71-74). Though soliloquys are a direct connection to characters’ thoughts and motives, confidants serve a higher purpose by not only eliciting these honest thoughts, but also asking the main character questions the audience wishes to ask. Horatio’s character is a critical part of this performance.
William Shakespeare wrote about a distraught prince trying to avenge the wrongful death of his father while all his faith in honesty and the good of man was nearly destroyed. In his play Hamlet, Hamlet is the prince and he is the one who would have lost all his faith in the good of man had it not been for his loyal friend Horatio. Many critics say that Horatio did not play such an important role in the tragedy, that he merely was the informant for the audience and that his character was not developed beyond that fact that he was just the honest confidant of Hamlet. That may be true, however, Horatio does serve two central purposes to the drama, and it is through these purposes that show the qualities that make Horatio memorable and admirable. Horatio is the harbinger of truth. It is through Horatio that the actions taken by Hamlet gain credibility. He is the outside observer to the madness. Hamlet could soliloquize on and on, but it is his conversations with Horatio that gives sanity to Hamlet’s thoughts. His second role is to be the loyal, truthful confidant of Hamlet.
In Hamlet, there’s a man named Horatio. He’s known as a scholar and also Hamlet’s best friend. Throughout the play Horatio is proven to be true to himself and all those around him. One reason that Horatio is a true friend to Hamlet is because he’s loyal to Hamlet. He never lied to Hamlet or anyone else for that matter. Secondly, he’s the teller of Hamlet’s life. Everyone deserves a friend that is always going to be there for them.
...r. Hamlet speaks to Horatio quietly, almost serenely, with the unexultant calm which characterizes the end of the long, inner struggle of grief. He has looked at the face of death in his father’s ghost, he has now endured death and loss in all the human beings he has loved, and he now accepts those losses as an inevitable part of his own condition. “He states, “The readiness is all” suggesting what is perhaps the last and most difficult task of mourning, his own readiness to die” (Bloom 135). Hamlet recognizes and accepts his own death.
... to Horatio is not a thank you or I love you. He tells him to stay here to tell my story. People need to know my story. What kind of friend is that? Horatio was a part of Hamlets plot all along. Hamlet never truly cared about him. He just wanted someone to be able to tell his story in the end.
Hamlet, a young prince preparing to become King of Denmark, cannot understand or cope with the catastrophes in his life. After his father dies, Hamlet is filled with confusion. However, when his father's ghost appears, the ghost explains that his brother, Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, murdered him. In awe of the supposed truth, Hamlet decides he must seek revenge and kill his uncle. This becomes his goal and sole purpose in life. However, it is more awkward for Hamlet because his uncle has now become his stepfather. He is in shock by his mother's hurried remarriage and is very confused and hurt by these circumstances. Along with these familial dysfunctions, Hamlet's love life is diminishing. It is an "emotional overload" for Hamlet (Fallon 40). The encounter with the ghost also understandably causes Hamlet great distress. From then on, his behavior is extremely out of context (Fallon 39). In Hamlet's first scene of the play, he does not like his mother's remarriage and even mentions his loss of interest in l...
This not only showed Horatio’s friendship to Hamlet, but also how he knows that by spilling the word of the ghost it would have caused chaos in the kingdom. Throughout the play, we see Horatio question Hamlets judgement a handful of times. One being when he wanted to approach the ghost and the other being when Hamlet wanted to fight with Laertes. Horatio, being the friend he was, spoke the truth about what he thought about hamlets actions. Being concerned not only for his friend’s safety, but also his mental stability. We see a great connection between Hamlet and Horatio. After both attending the same school, they have been bonded at the hip. Horatio is not only a faithful friend, but also a friend that will be with Hamlet through thick and thin. He was there for Hamlet from his first interaction with the ghost, to his final words, never giving up on Hamlet and trying to protect him the best he could. Their friendship was unbreakable and Horatio would even take a bullet for Hamlet. After Hamlet was killed, Horatio had the courage
Horatio is Shakespeare's utilitarian character. Horatio serves as a foil to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, prompts Hamlet to disclose his feelings, gives vital information in the form of exposition (verbal or in a letter) or verification of Hamlet's reality, and helps to build the suspense of the play. The only emotional aspect of his character is that he remains alive, and serves as a vehicle for Shakespeare's moral of Hamlet.
The one person who has stayed loyal to Hamlet during all this has been Horatio, who even passes on Hamlet’s tale after he dies. The relationships in Hamlet both affected how the story ran, and how Hamlet acted throughout the play. Many of his prior relationships change drastically throughout the play,
Throughout the play Hamlet is in constant conflict with himself. An appearance of a ghost claiming to be his father, “I am thy father’s spirit”(I.v.14) aggravates his grief, nearly causing him to commit suicide and leaving him deeply disgusted and angered. Upon speaking with his ghost-father, Hamlet learns that his uncle-stepfather killed Hamlet the King. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown”(I.v.45-46) Hamlet is beside himself and becomes obsessed with plotting and planning revenge for the death of his father.
Throughout literature, there a character who provides a moral compass for other characters. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Horatio’s character seems fairly simple: somewhat of a “yes-man” to Hamlet, often agreeing with anything Hamlet says. However, at the end of the play we understand his significance, as he is one of the last survivors. This transition is unexpected because for most of the play, Horatio is a reserved character and doesn’t speak very often. Despite this, it is clear that Horatio and Hamlet’s friendship is extremely deep, and Hamlet trusts Horatio more than anybody. At first, the relationship is one of a prince and an advisor, but as the play goes on we realize they are in fact close friends. Horatio is much more than a “yes-man” to Hamlet, even though this may not be visible for most of the play. This friendship is due to three of Horatio’s characteristics: trustworthiness, loyalty, and admiration, which make him an ideal friend to Hamlet. These traits also inspire confidence in Horatio from other characters in the play. Even Shakespeare shows that he values Horatio by allowing him to survive at the end of the play.
Hamlet admires Horatio for the qualities that Hamlet himself does not possess. He praises Horatio for his virtue and self-control: "Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man/As e'er my conversation cop'd withal" (III.ii.56-7). Horatio's strength of character is unwavering, and Hamlet longs for the peace of mind that such stoicism must bring to Horatio:
Due to all the confusion and sadness Hamlet falls under a depression and has deadly thoughts. Prior to the quote Claudius and Gertrude got married, Claudius Hamlet’s new stepfather was making fun oh him for still mourning over his father’s death. Afterward Horatio enters and begins to talk with Hamlet. Hamlet is so distraught that once he hears about the apparition from Horatio he says this: “I will watch tonight. Perchance “twill walk again” (1.2.258-259) Hamlet just needs some closure and is willing to do ANYTHING to see his father again.
When considering Hamlet’s generally isolationist and lonesome nature, it is possible to conclude that Hamlet suffers from a mental disorder. Throughout the course of the play, Hamlet tends not to share his inner feelings with others and does not have many close friends. One notable exception is Horatio, Hamlet’s closest and most loyal friend. Horatio is the only character to whom Hamlet expresses his true feelings, and Hamlet welcomes Horatio’s calm level-headedness, providing an insight into the kind of person Hamlet appreciates: “Give me that man / That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him / In my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart, / As I do thee” (3.2, 64–67). If Hamlet’s idea of a friend is any indication as to why he strays away from shar...