Emotions
Far too often we see men and women with noble causes lose their motive because of their emotional behavior. Their emotions cause them to lose track. We see no finer example of a man with a noble cause whose emotions cause him to lose sight of his noble cause: the character of Laertes in the play Hamlet. Laertes has a vendetta against Hamlet for killing his father. Although Laertes meant well in avenging his father’s death, his emotional behavior overtook him in the process. If we look at other characters in the play, we find a similar struggle between a noble goal and one’s emotions. Hamlet fights the same battle as Laertes does; however, Hamlet is better able to control his emotions. To maintain a noble goal without faltering, one must be able to rid one’s self of emotions that lead to undesirable actions.
To understand Laertes’s erratic behavior, we must first establish his proper motive. The play Hamlet takes place in Denmark around the medieval times. Laertes’s desire to avenge his father’s death is an honorable trait in his society. In the play, the fathers put on a role as the giver of values. Laertes’s father, Polonius, gives Laertes certain values on living life: “Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;/ Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment”(1.3.72). Polonius instructs Laertes how to behave properly in life. Laertes needs his father’s opinions to make decisions in life. Laertes asks permission from Claudius to go to France only after Polonius has given his consent to go. Laertes did not ask to leave until his father agreed. Laertes values his father’s opinion so much that he does not wish to disobey it. Polonius tells the king that Laertes was persistent in seeking his permission: “By laborsome petition, and at last/ Upon his will I sealed my hard consent”(1.2.61). Laertes could have easily left for France on his own, yet he waited until he had his father’s approval. As Laertes embarks for his journey to France, he delights at a second chance to say goodbye: “Occasion smiles upon a second leave”(1.3.58).
Ophelia, sister to Laertes, also receives advice on behavior from Polonius. Polonius advises Ophelia to make herself less available to Hamlet. When Ophelia is confused as to how to behave, she asks her for advice: “I do not know, my lord, what I should think”(1.3....
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... stake”(4.4.55). Hamlet’s emotions fall apart here because Hamlet finally realizes that one must act when one’s time in called. Hamlet now knows that his emotions are interfering with his purpose of vengeance.
Hamlet’s ultimate battle with his emotions happens right before the fencing match with Laertes. With just one phrase, Hamlet defeats the emotions that have been plaguing him not to act: “Readiness is all…Let be”(5.2.221). These two words signify Hamlet’s preparedness to exact revenge for his father’s murder. Before this quotation, Hamlet’s emotions were impeding his actions. Now that his emotions are gone, Hamlet is ready to act.
Hamlet’s ability to eradicate his emotions allows him to pursue his noble cause in a proper manner. Although he and Laertes both had noble causes, Hamlet’s control over his emotions allows him to exact his revenge without any regrets or treachery. The play Hamlet, contrasts the characters of Laertes and Hamlet to show how deleterious emotions can be to a noble cause. For many people, a high level of emotions obstructs them in their daily actions. Only by conquering one’s emotions, much like Hamlet accomplished, can one pursue a noble cause properly.
...decisiveness and internal struggle. Hamlet loses his love, life, and his family, by trying to accomplish the desire of another individual’s need for revenge.
As Hamlet transforms from a motivated intellectual to an obsessed griever, Shakespeare evaluates the fluidity of sanity.The juxtaposition of Hamlet’s desire to act and inability to do so unveils Hamlet’s inner turmoil, for as Hamlet disconnects from family, distrusts his environment, and forms an obsession with perfection, the audience realizes his fatal flaw and watches him tumble into the grasps of insanity. This degeneration forces the audience to consider how equilibrium between thought and action influences the conservation of sanity, not only for Hamlet, but also for all of humanity.
Today, many people feel that Shakespeare’s plays are outdated and that despite being so forward for their times, they have lost their place in the modern world. Shakespeare’s plays though, touch on timeless themes such as love, friendship, and vengeance such as seen in Shakespeare’s Hamlet as Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras, all fight to achieve a common goal; the goal of avenging their father’s deaths. Hamlet is controlled by his inaction and manic nature, Laertes is consumed by his impulsiveness, and Fortinbras – unlike the others – exercises control in fighting to defend his honor. When we compare these three characters and their motivations we can see that being ruled by our emotions can lead to detrimental circumstances and regrettable
...e his half-apology to Laertes and self-contradiction of his repeated statement that he is only feigning madness, Hamlet’s desire to attain Laertes’ pardon clearly represents an important shift in his mental state. Whereas Hamlet was previously self-obsessed and preoccupied with his family, he is now able to think sympathetically about others. He does not accept responsibility for Polonius’s death, but does seem to act more compassionately after the upset of Ophelia’s death.
This passage from the last soliloquy of Hamlet tries to explain the position Hamlet is placed in in. For example, line 34 “How all occasions do form against me...35 and spur my dull revenge!” These two lines critically reveal that Hamlet is being triggered by some actions to carry out revenge against the person who killed his Father (203). In the passage, the question to take action is not only affected by the sensible contemplation, such as the call for certainty, but also by emotive, ethical and psychosomatic factors (Shakespeare
An example of this is when he finds out about his father's death, he immediately assumes it was Claudius and enters the castle by force, fully intending on killing him. This is what Hamlet needs to be like, but only in moderation. Sometimes, when the time calls for it, you must act on instinct, without having to think it through for a couple of days. Hamlet didn't want to be brash and end up getting killed like Laertes did, but then again, Laertes did avenge his father's death a lot faster than Hamlet did. And in spite of all the thinking and planning, Hamlet still ended up the same way that Laertes did.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is laden with tragedy from the start, and this adversity is reflected in the title character. Being informed of his father’s murder and the appalling circumstances surrounding the crime, Hamlet is given the emotionally taxing task of avenging his death. It is clear that having to complete this grim undertaking takes its toll on Hamlet emotionally. Beginning as a seemingly contemplative and sensitive character, we observe Hamlet grow increasingly depressed and deranged as the play wears on. Hamlet is so determined to make his father proud that he allows the job on hand to completely consume him. We realize that Hamlet has a tendency to mull and ponder excessively, which causes the notorious delays of action throughout the play. It is often during these periods of deep thought and reflection that we hear one of Hamlet’s famous soliloquies, which are obviously relative to Hamlet’s apprehensions and worries surrounding his current situation. The seven soliloquies throughout the play offer insight pertaining to the deteriorating mental state of Hamlet, and the circumstances which induce his decent into madness.
Hamlet, Laertes, and Alfred have set their hearts and minds to do just as they please without regard how their actions affect others and without regard to moral standards. Hamlet and Laertes have settled in their own mind that the way to find peace is through the death of the person that murdered their fathers....
Throughout the novel, Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras portrayed very distinct personalities. After learning of his father’s death Hamlet states, "Haste me to know't, that I with wings as swift As meditation or the thought of love, May sweep to my revenge" (1.5.29-31). Though Hamlet wanted to seek immediate revenge
The decisions of Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras are utilized to show the importance of balancing thought with action in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The lives of the three characters are all following similar paths at the start of the play, but their personalities take them in very different directions. For Hamlet, the idea of revenge consumes him, and he becomes too obsessive to accomplish much of anything. Laertes on the other hand jumps into the pit of revenge too quickly, and gets lost in all the hubbub. However, Fortinbras knows how to carefully dance around the subject of revenge in a manner that he succeeds with little to no damage to himself. Although it is important to act quickly in tense situations, it is also important to not ponder so much that the opportunity is lost.
In the beginning of the play it seems that Hamlet is mourning too much and over reacting, but when Ophelia loses her father it makes Hamlet’s mourning seem subtle. Ophelia is very affected by her father’s death and it eventually leads to a factor in her insanity and death. This changes the way we look at Hamlet and Ophelia. Another foil for Hamlet is Polonius, Laertes’ and Ophelia’s father. Hamlet and Polonius are both very quick to speak or and lash out in excitement. Both of them have made major mistakes because of this unwanted trait.
One of the most analyzed plays in existence today is the tragedy Hamlet, with its recurring question: "Is Hamlet's 'antic disposition' feigned or real?" This question can only be answered by observing the thoughts of the main characters in relation to the cause of Hamlet's real or feigned madness. In the tragedy Hamlet, each of the main characters explains Hamlets madness in their own unique way. To discover the cause behind the madness of Hamlet, each character used their own ambitions, emotions and interpretations of past events. Initially one of the most accepted causes for Hamlets instability is that of denied love, conjured by the self fulfilling Polonius.
Theater audiences and literary enthusiasts are not spared of Shakespeare’s astonishing ability to capture the human spirit in his play Hamlet. The story of the tormented prince who desires revenge but is unable to take action delves deep into the human mind than plays before it. While some uninformed readers may write off Hamlet’s behavior to poor writing, it is clear that the Oedipus complex is the true driving force of Hamlet’s actions when delaying his revenge.
Hamlet is a scholar, speaker, actor, and prince. For some reason, Hamlet is not able to avenge his father's death without considerable delay. There is one major flaw in Hamlet's character which causes him to postpone the murder of Claudius. I believe that this flaw is Hamlet's idealism. While his idealism is a good trait, in this case, Hamlet's environment and his...
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.