Vengeance is not always what one needs. In the play Hamlet, revenge is the center of this fictional world, in which Hamlet is the prince of Denmark. He is unhappy, grudge-bearing, distraught, and calculative. He is unhappy with his mother who married immediately after his father’s death. Due to her marriage, he tends to resent her and hold a grudge towards her for claiming that she loved his father yet married so quickly. He is distraught to the point of craziness when he finds out who killed his old man. Lastly, he is calculative about his way of acting upon certain situations. Hamlet’s father was killed by his uncle, he learns of this when his father’s ghostly figure appeared. His father’s visit makes Hamlet feel revengeful towards his uncle …show more content…
Both of their fathers’ were killed unjustly, thus fueling their revengeful characteristics. Hamlet’s father was killed by Claudius, he took both the crown and his mother’s love. After learning about the foul play, Hamlet promises to take revenge on his uncle: “I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records… I have sworn’t” (1.5.104-117). In his father’s death record, it is stated that he died in his sleep outside in the garden when a snake bit him. However, Hamlet has sworn to remove this foolish statement. Hamlet also believes it is his duty to avenge his father “[o] cursed spite, [t]hat ever I was born to set it right” (1.5.209-210). He, as the son of old King Hamlet, feels as if his birth’s fate was to avenge his father. Similarly, Laertes’ father was murdered, by Hamlet, in an unjust but accidental way. Laertes also sought revenge for his father’s death. He immediately came home from France and started looking for the murderer: “[h]ow came he dead? I'll not be juggled with... I'll be revenged” (4.5.140-145). He shows his anger and that he is not playing games. He does not care for any promises or alliances previously made; instead, he reveals his desire for revenge like Hamlet. His revengeful feelings and determination to fulfill them show when he mentions losing his father and having an insane yet grieving sister and for those reasons, he says, “my revenge will come” (4.7.26-30). He defines the source of
When one thinks of the play Hamlet, one word that comes to mind is tragedy. This play is surrounded by a whole group of people who only seem to find misfortune in every step they take. This essay will explain how Hamlet and Laertes are similar to one another. Both men seem to act on impulses to get their way, both men share a love for Ophelia and they both relate to their families in the same way.
We can see that his actions are both uncalculated and without caution as he begins frantically yelling at the King without even considering the affect that this could have on him in the future. Secondly, because of Laertes’ emotions towards his dead father he can be easily manipulated to give in to other people’s plans. As the King is unfolding his plans to kill Hamlet, he needs to get Laertes on board so he says, “Laertes, was your father dear to you/ Or are you like the painting of a sorrow/ A face without a heart” (4.7.107-109). Wrongly, the King knowingly plays into Laertes’ impulsiveness and emotions as a way to gain control of him and achieve his purpose. Finally, Laertes gives in to his impulses as he has a one-track mind. An example of this is when he says, “Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric/ I am justly kill’d with mine own treachery” (5.2.296-297). Despite the potential harm Laertes could incur he still continues to blind himself from the facts and sadly, this results in his death. Therefore, by letting his impulses and emotions control his actions he has achieved his goal of avenging his father’s death but at the greatest expense one could pay; the expense of his own
Each person goes through life questioning the whys and what ifs, but seldom do people act on those revengeful feelings unless they reach a point of action. Hamlet reaches such a point in life where wordplay no longer suffices, and he must act not out of necessity but out of filial duty and honor. In this soliloquy, Hamlet sheds his attachment for words and begins to act on his deeply held feelings of revenge/
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!
As stated in the similarities, both of the men's fathers are murdered. However, the way they are murdered is different. Hamlet's father is murdered by Claudius, and Laertes’ father is murdered by Hamlet. King Hamlet is murdered by poison and Polonious is stabbed by a sword. Each of these differences helps to add to the significance of Laertes as a foil for Hamlet.
Moving forward, rather than lagging behind, a truly noteworthy concept of revenge can be seen in the Shakespearean tragedy: “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” It is within this particular tragedy that prince Hamlet is enlightened, by the ghost of his father, to the murder of his father by his uncle, Claudius, an incestuous, adulterous beast who greedily claimed the throne and Hamlet's mother as his wife. (Hamlet 1.5.45-46, 49-53) Nevertheless, it is through this enlightenment that Hamlet sets off toward avenging his father's death, but along the way he is pitted against misfortune as the downward-...
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.
Hamlet or Laertes who will it be? Are they similar or more different? Who was killed first? Why they kill one another? Why are they mad? The similarities between Hamlet and Laertes are striking, and they deserve thorough examination.Hamlet’s character is based off of him being a protagonist, the good guy in the story. Background information is he is the Prince of Denmark, son of the Queen named Gertrude and King Old Hamlet. Also the nephew of the present King Claudius. Hamlet is really just full of hate, he’s unhappy with his mother marrying his uncle after his father's death “ I may be your nephew, but I am hardly your son” (Act I, Scene II). One character trait about him is he is a thinker not a doer, he over thinks way too much. There are
“If you seek revenge, dig two graves.” This ancient Chinese proverb explains the mood in Hamlet, a play, written by Shakespeare. The theme of revenge is seen throughout the play as each character extracts one form or another of revenge from a person who has wronged them. In the play the characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all desire revenge for a lost father; however, their motivations for murder differ.
Hamlet is ordered to avenge the death of his father after Claudius poisoned him while he slept (3.4.28). The young prince delays with his plan in order to make sure Claudius is truly guilty of the crime. Hamlet finds himself in a dilemma, which causes him to go mad. “He promises to avenge his father
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. Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras are similar in the fact that each had love, or at least respect, their fathers. Enough to make an attempt to wreak revenge upon their fathers murderers at the risk of their own reputation, freedom, and souls.
Hamlet later discovers that revenge is not the right thing to do. As Kastan ...
“Those who plot the destruction of others often fall themselves” (Phaedrus). This quote was said by a Roman fabulist and it depicts the entire concept of revenge in Hamlet. The nature of revenge causes someone to act upon anger rather than reason. Hamlet takes place in Denmark and is about Hamlet’s uncle who kills his dad to gain power of Denmark. After the killing, Hamlet seeks revenge on his uncle. In the play, there are several characters wanting vengeance like that of Hamlet. Throughout the play, Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all had a tragic death of a family member which caused their decision for revenge. Consequentially, these revenges caused the demise of two characters and the rise of power of another. The retaliation shown by the Prince of Denmark, as well as Laertes led to the downfall of their government.
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