In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Horatio is the confidant as Hamlet plots revenge against King Claudius, the murderer of King Hamlet. He listens to his friend’s plans without revealing them to the other characters. He is essentially the keeper of all truth. Unlike the other characters, Horatio seems to be the only person that Hamlet could trust without fearing that he would betray him. Known for his logic and sanity, Horatio is the complete opposite of Hamlet’s impulsive behavior. Although subtle, Horatio’s personality traits allow the audience to understand Hamlet’s mind in-depth. Due to this, Hamlet is comfortable giving Horatio awareness of his plans to avenge his father. Despite his minor role and based on a recent professor to student discussion, …show more content…
As a result of his faithfulness, he becomes a playwright of his friend. As Horatio notices that Hamlet is about to die, he states, “ Never believe it. / I am more an antique Roman than a Dane. / Here’s yet some liquor left” (V.2.323-325). Horatio does not want to continue living if his close friend dies. Moreover, he wants to commit suicide so that he can keep Hamlet’s secret of his insanity. If he dies, no one else would have the knowledge of Hamlet’s plan to kill his uncle. In Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Hamlet, the audience may notice that Horatio is holding the poisoned cup while Hamlet is on the ground, dying (Branagh). Horatio is having a difficult time accepting that Hamlet will die soon, and that he will no longer have a purpose of living if his friend dies. However, as soon as Horatio places the tip of the cup near his mouth, Hamlet urges him not to, causing Horatio to stay alive (Branagh). If Horatio did drink, then whoever arrives in the castle would not understand how everyone is dead. Therefore, the dying Hamlet wants Horatio to live so that he can tell the audience about Hamlet’s side of the story. Thus, Horatio ends up becoming the playwright of Hamlet, since he is responsible for reporting the tragic event. With his loyalty to Hamlet and eyewitness account of the events that happened while Hamlet is alive, he may be able to retell Fortinbras …show more content…
At the end of the tragedy, Horatio does not specifically tell what happened, but rather summarizes to Fortinbras. Technically, Horatio may be considered the playwright of the play itself. However, Jan H. Blits, a professor at the University of Delaware, gives insight that “Horatio’s name, in Latin, means “orator” (3). An orator supposedly speaks in public on various topics towards the audience. Machiavelli criticizes that “[instead] of imitating ancient deeds by doing others like them, [the] [humanists] imitate ancient deeds by portraying them on stage” (qtd. in Blits 3). This suggests that Horatio may not tell the exact story of Hamlet, but decides to make his friend’s side of the story a performance. Through his eyewitness account, Horatio can stimulate the events in Hamlet through the stage. Another critic, Anne Barton, insinuates that “Horatio astonishes us by leaving out everything that seems important, reducing all that is distinctive about this play to a plot stereotype” (qtd. in Kiefer 185). This indicates that instead of retelling the details of the story, Horatio calls the series of events accidental as if it was a play. It is true that Horatio does not reveal everything to the audience, since he is a
Horatio is the most trustworthy man in the royal court, which is highly significant because he is a witness of everything that happens with Hamlet, and therefore can be trusted to tell the entirely true story of what brought about the demise of Hamlet and the entire royal court, seeing as though they were all massacred in one day. He is introduced early in the play in Act I, Scene i, and is one of the first to see the spirit of the fallen King Hamlet. Alas, he knows that there was, in fact, a ghost of the king haunting Denmark, and that Hamlet spoke with him. After Hamlet speaks with the ghost he literally tells Horatio, verbatim, "Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, how strange or odd some'er I bear myself (As i perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on." (I. ii. 189-192). So, ahead of time Hamlet warns Horatio that he is going to be putting on a show of madness but it is not real. This is noteworthy because as the play develops, other characters perceive Hamlet to become progressively more deranged, however he is always perfectly coherent and rational when speaking to Horatio, seeing as though he is the only one who knows of Hamlet's act and stability.
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.
The Shakespearean drama Hamlet shows much deception and crime. Few friendships in the play survive till the end. But Hamlet and Horatio, best of friends, are not even separated by the hero’s death. This essay will elaborate on this relationship.
After talking with the ghost, Hamlet, comes back to Horatio and Marcellus and tries to explain to them never to let anyone know what has happened. Both are very scared but agree to the prince’s, but both are still looking to find out what happened between the ghost and him. Further on in the evening Hamlet takes Horatio to the side and explains to him that no matter how odd he acted that Horatio say nothing. (And therefore as a stranger-you most need help you Act1 sc5 line 187-202) He basically explained to Horatio that he was going to be acting much differently than normal, and he told him not to ask questions. This here proves he knew what he was going to have to do. It shows that he was willing to get his revenge by any way possible.
The whole story of Hamlet would not have unraveled as it had were it not for Horatio. Hamlet’s quest for revenge stems from his encounter with his father’s ghost; however it was Horatio who, after seeing the ghost for himself, thought to “impart what we have seen tonight/ Unto young Hamlet…” (I.i.185-86). At the meeting with Hamlet in which Horatio and his friends arrive to tell Hamlet about the ghost, Horatio is set up to be the protagonist’s confidant for the remainder of the play. Hamlet corrects Horatio’s comment that he is Hamlet’s “poor servant ever” by saying, “Sir, my good friend. I’ll change that with you” (I.ii.168-69). Later Horatio solidifies his position as a major character by accepting Hamlet’s request to help him “Observe my uncle” for any suspicious actions during the Murder of Gonzago (III.ii.85). At this point in the play, Hamlet’s trust for Horatio has dev...
...ever be truly known if it was an act or not, one can surmise from the information given that Hamlet never truly went insane and he remained clever throughout the entire story. Only certain people ever say a side of insanity in him, and those who witnessed it were his enemies. Whether it was to frighten them, make them believe his actions were not his own, hide his true intentions and plans, or something else is never disclosed, but one can assume that he was in his right mind the entire time. His fake insanity leads not only to his own and his enemies’ deaths, but also the deaths of those few remaining people that he truly loves and cares about. Horatio is the only survivor and Hamlet tells him to continue living so that Horatio can tell the true story of what happened without the bias of thinking Hamlet’s actions were nothing more than the insane acts of a madman.
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.
There are many ways to interpret Hamlet 's relationship with Horatio. Most obviously, Horatio is the only person in the play that Hamlet trusts. He is the only one who knows for certain that Hamlet 's madness is an act, the one person Hamlet confides in personally, and the one whom bids Hamlet goodnight upon his death. Considering his conflicts with his family, Horatio is the only "family" Hamlet has. He understands that Horatio is very rational and thoughtful, yet not overly pensieve like himself. As the play continues, Horatio questions Hamlet 's judgment twice. Once is when Hamlet tells him of a letter from King Claudius that he has found in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 's pack, telling the King of England that he must have Hamlet killed. The second instance is when Hamlet tells Horatio that he will fight Laertes, son of Polonius, who Hamlet killed earlier in the play. Horatio loves Hamlet with all his heart, but he is directed by a more sensible disposition, which makes him to speak the truth to Hamlet, despite the fact that Hamlet never once takes Horatio 's warnings. In fact, there is only a single point in the play at which Horatio loses his sensible outlook, and it is but a momentary loss. At the end of the play, when Hamlet is killed in his fight with Laertes, Horatio, in his grief, offers to kill himself with his own sword. It is Hamlet 's dying request that Horatio tell
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:
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play. Most of the characters in the play have selfish motives at heart. Lust, greed, pride, and revenge are just a few sins that are committed in the play. There are few instances within the play that show goodness and kindness. Hamlet has so many people around him trying to bring him down, but he had one friend that was loyal to him, and that was Horatio. The other key characters in the play were only out for their own good. However Horatio was looking out for Hamlet. Unfortunately, Horatio was the only one.
...dience that Horatio is very honorable because he is one of the two surviving characters in the play. If Horatio had the morals of everybody else in the play, he would likely be dead as well. As a result of Horatio having the traits, trustworthiness, loyalty, and admiration for Hamlet, he is able to be in the fortunate positions of Hamlet’s friend, and one of two surviving characters. Shakespeare often makes a character in his plays who is ethical and honest compared to the other characters, such as Benvolio, in Romeo and Juliet. By keeping Horatio alive, Shakespeare shows the audience that Horatio is this character in Hamlet. Although Fortinbras also survives, Horatio is morally superior, especially because of Fortinbras’ violent nature. Thus, as a result of his trustworthiness, loyalty, and admiration, Horatio is the most virtuous character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
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.
Hamlet’s words to Horatio “words to speak in thine ear”, meaning that he has got things to tell Horatio that will make him speechless mean more than what he is just speaking about at the moment. Images of ears and hearing are very symbolic in the play of Hamlet, and they never symbolize anything good. We can first see this when Claudius poured poison in King Hamlet’s ear and killed him. Therefore, when Hamlet says these words to Horatio we can predict that they mean something negative and that there will be a downfall in the play. The downfall in “words to speak in thine ear” is that Hamlet learns the truth about Claudius. He learns that he has sent him to be killed, and he tells Horatio about the whole truth of Claudius. This is what has stirred
Horatio is the scholar who sees the world through the eyes of a scholar. Views things with cool and logical manner. Everyone recognizes this. When the ghost appeared before him and the other men, they urge him to talk to the ghost. In this there is double plot as it asserts Horatio's intelligence and it proves that Hamlet is not just seeing things.
Horatio, you’re about to know everything. I’ll start with telling you the letter I wrote to the King of England.