In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, an intelligible moral order is discover as the protagonist, Hamlet, goes through life’s challenges, which defines Shakespearean tragedy. The play begins with Hamlet coming across his father’s ghost, at this point he learns that his father was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. It is Hamlet wishes to take revenge over Claudius for murdering his father. This causes a moral conflict in the play, and starts the moral event of the play. In the beginning, morally speaking, Hamlet is in the right, always being precaution to make sure nothing changes. As the play moves forward Hamlet’s urge for revenge grow stronger.
Near the beginning of the play, the ghost tells Hamlet the crime Claudius Committed. “Is by a forged process of my death rankly abus’d: buy know thou noble youth, the serpent that did string thy father’s life now wears his crown” (1.5.36-39). When Hamlet finds out that his uncle murdered his father, who stole his wife and his crown, he has an instant urge to get revenge for the murderer who committed this foul act; “ Haste me to know’t, that meditation or the thoughts of love/ may sweep to my revenge” (1.5.30-32). This justified Hamlet’s feelings. One would agree that his revenge is morally right, although murder is wrong. The seriousness of Claudius’ crime grows when one contemplates that all deaths throughout the play would not have happened if Claudius did not kill his brother.
Although the act of murdering someone is wrong; the seriousness of Claudius crime grows when one contemplates that all the deaths would not have happened if Claudius did not kill the king. The crime itself is bad because Claudius kills his brother for his personal gain. In the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, D.J. Snider ...
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...in moral order.
In conclusion, Shakespeare's Hamlet contains a very ultimate moral order. Each crime that was committed is punished, and each morally wrong action is equaled out by one that is right. Claudius' murders are equaled out with Hamlet's internal struggle with his own conscience and moral beliefs. Laertes eventually admits to his wrongs and helps clear Hamlet's name in his dying moments. Hamlet's uncertainty and procrastination throughout the play were caused because of his morals beliefs. Even though Claudius murdered Hamlets father, Hamlet could not kill him while he was praying and repenting for his wrong doing. In the end, Hamlet he kills Claudius for poisoning his mother. This shows a different side of the moral issue, and helps make sure that at the end, there is no misunderstanding and the order of the moral events are equal and no side has won.
Ultimately, Hamlet does decide to kill Claudius. He does so for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, his mother; in drinking Claudius' drink and poisoning herself, she becomes conscious of Claudius' treachery and implies withdrawal of all support of Claudius. This eliminates the threat of motherly estrangement, virtually paving the way for Hamlet to kill Claudius. Also, however, Laertes informs Hamlet of his knowledge of Claudius' treachery in the very end, as well as his distaste for Claudius, thus removing the threat of friend estrangement. In addition, Claudius' treachery is itself immoral, justifying Hamlet to kill him on principle and since Hamlet was mortally wounded, he had nothing to lose.
Hamlet is given reason to believe that his Father was murdered. A ghost bearing the “…same figure like the king that’s dead.” (Bernardo 1:1) informed him that the old King’s death was “Murder most foul…” (Ghost 1:5). When Hamlet eagerly inquires as to the meaning of the Ghost’s words he is told that “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown.” Upon hearing this Hamlet immediately knows that his Uncle Claudius, the new king and his new step-father, is the guilty party. A mature person upon hearing news like this would, most likely, also have gone slightly insane with anger. How ever a mature person, upon regaining some control of his or her faculties, would have taken steps to punish the murderer in a just fashion. These steps would have included informing to populace and the Queen of the New King’s treachery against the old. Hamlet does not do this, instead he schemes and plots ways to kill his Uncle as opposed to giving him the opportunity to exculpate himself. Had Hamlet acted with maturity and expressed his concerns about his uncle the lives of many people would have been spared.
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the king of Denmark is murdered by his brother, Claudius, and as a ghost tells his son, Hamlet the prince of Denmark, to avenge him by killing his brother. The price Hamlet does agree to his late father’s wishes, and undertakes the responsibility of killing his uncle, Claudius. However even after swearing to his late father, and former king that he would avenge him; Hamlet for the bulk of the play takes almost no action against Claudius. Prince Hamlet in nature is a man of thought throughout the entirety of the play; even while playing mad that is obvious, and although this does seem to keep him alive, it is that same trait that also keeps him from fulfilling his father’s wish for vengeance
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.
Hamlet was told by the ghost of king hamlet to get back at Claudius for his death, or his soul will travel on earth forever. Even before hamlet knew about Claudius killing his father he had problems. It made hamlet mad that his mother would marry so fast and with his uncle. What Claudius did was an outrageous, back stabbing, and unbelievable thing. It was clearly an act of jealousy for his brother's throne and the wife. Claudius did pay back for his actions. Claudius lost his wife, his messenger, and died and even after his death kept loosing because he lost his castle to Fortinbras.
In the first place, he does not respect his mother and verbally hurts her by saying, “A horrible act- almost as bad, my good mother, a killing a king and marrying his brother.” (3.4 29-30) After that, Gertrude says, “O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart into twain.” However, Hamlet feels no shame and guilt about what he said and what he did to his dearest mother, showing he lacks conscience and responsibility. Furthermore, Hamlet says, “And so he goes to heaven, and so am I revenged. That would be scanned: A villain kills my father, and I, my father’s only son, send this same villain to heaven. Seems like I just did him a favor.” (3.3 75-79) He does not want to murder Claudius since he is thinking about sending him to the hell. Due to the revenge, he has become a man who is full of
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...
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 play, Hamlet seeks revenge on his uncle Claudius. Claudius killed Hamlet’s dad and then married his mom to become the leader of Denmark. Later in the play, Hamlet sees his dad’s ghost and is informed of the horrific act committed by his uncle. Hamlets’ dad’s ghost says, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I. V. 25). Hamlets’ dad says this to Hamlet so that his uncle could get retribution for his action. Hamlet has many opportunities to kill Claudius but is unable because of the wrong timing. While Claudius is praying, Hamlet has an opportunity to slay him but doesn’t because if he killed him in his prayers he will make him go to heaven instead of hell. Another minor reason for Hamlet’s revenge against his uncle is his affection towards his mother. As the play progresses, we are able to determine that Hamlet’s relationship with his mom is close to incest status. With this information, we are able ...
Throughout Shakespeare’s play, revenge intertwines to bring about the deaths of most of the main characters. Hamlet’s course of revenge initiates the first fatality when Polonius gets caught spying on him and Gertrude (III. iv. 24-25). By pursuing revenge, Hamlet killing Polonius paves the way for more lives to be lost. Claudius sees the murder as an opportunity to eliminate Hamlet, because Laertes’s obsession with revenge leaves him vulnerable. Laertes’s and Hamlet’s revenge lead to the deaths of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and finally Hamlet (V. ii. 287-357). The revenge of each character ironically ended their own life. By acting upon revenge and having inimical intentions, the individuals brought fatalities that were unnecessary.
From this play we learn of the difficulty associated with taking a life as Hamlet agonises as to how and when he should kill Claudius and furthermore whether he should take his own life. Hamlet being a logical thinker undergoes major moral dilemma as he struggles to make accurate choices. From the internal conflict that the playwright expresses to us it is evident that it can kill someone, firstly mentally then physically. The idea of tragedy is explored in great detail through conflict where the playwright’s main message is brought across to the audience; Shakespeare stresses to his audience the point that conflict be it internal or external it can bring upon the downfall of great people and in turn have them suffer a tragic fate. It is Shakespeare’s aim to show us the complexity of man and that moral decisions are not easily made.
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.
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.
Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.
... be overstepping the boundaries of morality. Not only does Hamlet want to kill Claudius, but he also wants to damn his soul. This contrasts greatly with Claudius’ act of murder, which is carried out with no preference for the victim’s afterlife. As a result of Hamlet’s tendency to over-think situations, his mission of vengeance is once again delayed.