Literary Analysis Of Hamlet

1802 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Compare Hamlet to Fortinbras

The Strategy of the Tragedy
Throughout the story of Hamlet, Shakespeare uses multiple themes and moods to develop plot, character development, and ideas. Some of these themes include, jealousy, forgiveness, revenge, death, truth, madness, and fear. While some themes may seem obvious to their significance, others become subject to debate and questioning. The beauty of a Shakespeare novel is that no matter how many times one may read it they are always picking up on new and interesting facts. Many of the monologues and soliloquies featured are very arguable to the true meaning of them and can be interpreted many different ways. Hamlet starts off with Claudius in full control of the Castle of Elsinore with King Hamlet already dead. Claudius is …show more content…

Shakespeare made sure that these comparisons were not only noticed by the other characters in the play but by the audience as well. For starters, Hamlet and Fortinbras are both heir to the throne by their fathers which are ironically named Hamlet and Fortinbras. Another key comparison is the duel in Act V between Laertes and Hamlet where they are both destined to avenge their fathers. This leads to the theme of revenge. Revenge gives the characters a sense of payback towards another that previously committed wrong. Revenge is one theme present in Hamlet that over rules all the other themes. Revenge is one of the stronger themes present and serves a higher importance than the other themes such as jealousy or fear and can lead to violent or regretful acts. Hamlet and Laertes are both able to avenge their father's by directly and indirectly killing their father’s murderers. Laertes is successfully able to murder Hamlet by a stab of the poisoned foil to the chest however Hamlet is not able to murder Laertes. Ironically, Laertes still dies from his own poisoned foil. As a result of Hamlet’s urge for revenge he stabs Claudius in the chest with no hesitation with the following quote “now follow death as you did to my mother” (Shakespeare V,II, 77, …show more content…

Very much like telling someone to “ have a taste of your own medicine “ some characters were unfortunate enough to meet that fate. Certain characters died by what they threatened another or killed another with. For example, Polonius was well known in the Castle for being snoop and spying on others. He even sent spies to France to see if Laertes was actually studying there (Shakespeare II,II,14,78). As a result of this Polonius suffered a stab to the chest while trying to listen in on Gertrude and Hamlet’s conversation. Much like how Claudius poisoned king Hamlet and suffers a stab to the chest by a poisoned sword and is forced to take a drink of the poisoned wine he accidentally killed Gertrude with. As well as the duel between Hamlet and Laertes how Laertes aimed to stab Hamlet with the poisoned sword but instead is stabbed with his own poisoned

Show More
Related

  • How contrast is used to develop the complication of revenge

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play “Hamlet”, Shakespeare uses two characters, Hamlet and Laertes, to develop a recurring theme of revenge. These two characters experience similar emotional suffering, as both of their fathers were murdered. One idea that made the readers question the mentality of these two characters was their motives. Hamlet was hesitant throughout the entire interval of the play to get revenge; which created confusion because Hamlet craved nothing more than revenge, yet he continued putting it off. In contrast to Hamlet’s tentativeness, Laertes, a man who initially did not know who killed his father, was willing to take his anger out on nearly anyone. Throughout the play, Laertes is seen as one who is eager to get to action, a quality often found in heroes, whereas Hamlet, the actual hero of the play, lacks this quality and hesitates to get revenge. In an attempt to portray the difficulty of revenge, Shakespeare uses the different ways Hamlet and Laertes see to their problems.

    Read More

  • Revenge in Hamlet

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare’s vast utilization of plot devices allow the story to develop in a riveting manner. The presence of vengeance as one of these plot devices appears consistently throughout the play, representing the deceitful, suspicious nature of the characters. The tragedy is built on the festering wounds of broken families and vengeful sons. Through the irrational behavior of these characters, Shakespeare foreshadows what can only be a dismal ending. Nearly all the characters die to avenge the life of another, tossing their lives away to obsessive and needlessly bloody deaths. These incredible usages of thematic imagery truly support Hamlet as one of the greatest independent pieces of classic literature, and in many ways explains how the text has survived the test of time.

    Read More

  • An Analytical Essay Of The Tragedy Of Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    Originally titled The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, this tragedy has been reproduced more times than any other play written by William Shakespeare (en.wikipedia.org 1 of 9). Prince Hamlet also has the lengthiest appearance of any character in all of Shakespeare's plays (en.wikpedia.org 6 of 9). In the play, Prince Hamlet is caught between balancing his need to avenge his father's death, dealing with the disgust he felt for Gertrude and Claudius' love affair, and maintaining the relationship he has with Ophelia without exposing his plans to kill his uncle Claudius for the murder of King Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Plot Synopsis Of Hamlet

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a classic tragedy style play set in Denmark during the middle ages. The story depicts a young prince Hamlet, who returns home to Denmark in order to attend his father’s funeral, where he is shockingly surprised at what he finds out. His mother, Gertrude, has already been remarried to a man named Claudius and he has been named king despite Hamlet’s right to the throne. Hamlet’s father comes to him as a ghost and confirms his suspicions in regards to King Hamlet being poisoned by Claudius. Prince Hamlet is asked to avenge his father and set everything straight so the King can pass on peacefully, but the Prince is unsure if the ghost is genuine. In order to set things straight, Hamlet puts on a play he calls, The Mousetrap, in order to sniff out some answers and ultimately lead him to aspire to kill Claudius. As a result, Hamlet gets Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Ophelia, and Laertes all killed in the process of his quest. In the final part of the play, Hamlet kills Laertes with his own poisonous sword, and then kills Claudius, shortly before he himself dies of poison.

    Read More

  • Hamlet and Disease

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the play Hamlet, Shakespeare displays many underlying themes by way of imagery.  Throughout the story, disease plagues Denmark and the people in it, shown by imagery that Shakespear delivers consistently throughout.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hamlet And His Father

    2197 Words  | 5 Pages

    At the age of 13 a young boy named Hamlet lost his father. Hamlet was much like his father he had always been a loving child who cared about everyone around him and saved little time to worry about himself, he was one of the most selfless people you would have come across. Hamlet’s father spent his whole life raising Hamlet to be the most caring person he could be and to be kind to everyone even if they didn’t deserve it. Hamlet’s mother Gertrude was not as kind as his father and didn’t see the good in everyone as his father did but Hamlet’s father taught him to stay true to himself and not worry about what mind set his mother had. Hamlet always felt that his mother was jealous of his father because Hamlet had such a special bond with his father and she wanted Hamlet to love her as deeply as his father, but that couldn’t happen because of her negative outlook on life.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Character Analysis

    3136 Words  | 7 Pages

    The most distinguish characteristic of William Shakespeare’s drama is his unique ability of carving and coloring characters through their innate conflicts. The portrayal of inner psyche of different characters played dominant role in all of Shakespeare’s major dramas.

    Read More

  • Laertes and Polonius as Foils to Hamlet

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the foils important to the play is Laertes.  Although Laertes does not appear  often in the play, he brings much to the plot and to Hamlet's character. These two are similar in many ways. They both seem to be about the same age, are well educated, and gentleman. One main thing that they have in common is they both are seeking revenge for their father's deaths. Both of their fathers were unnecessarily killed. Hamlet's father was killed by his father's brother for the crown and his wife, and Hamlet killed Laertes' father over mistaken identity. It was the revenge of these two that made up the plot of the story. Because of Laertes, the two could finally fulfill their revenge in the battle at the end that killed both Hamlet and the new king. If Laertes had not challenged Hamlet, the king would have died by some other way; however, the king died by poisoning just as he had killed his brother.

    Read More

  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    The complexity and effect of father-son relationships seems to be a theme that Shakespeare loved to explore in his writings. In Hamlet, the subject is used as a mechanism to identify the similarities between three very different characters: Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet. They have each lost their fathers to violent deaths, which leads them to seek vengeance. As different as they may seem, they all share the common desire to avenge their father’s deaths. The method they each approach this is what differentiates each of their characters, and allows the audience to discern their individual characteristics. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet’s intense loyalty to their fathers drives them to individual extreme measures of revenge, exemplifying Shakespeare’s masterful use of describing the human psyche during Elizabethan times.

    Read More

  • Analysis of William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    436 Words  | 1 Pages

    To understand a play, you must first understand the fundamentals for the play: protagonist, antagonist, exposition, rising action, crisis, climax and resolution. I will examine Hamlet by William Shakespeare. This is a great example for the purpose of this paper it provides a clear and great examples.

    Read More

  • Two Graves

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    The theme of revenge is ever present throughout Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. Shakespeare shows this theme through the use of three different characters: Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes. They are all in a similar situation because each of their fathers have been killed and they all feel that they should seek revenge against the murderer. All three characters are foils for each other because of their different views on revenge and how quickly they take revenge. Vengeance does not always come out the way people want it to, and often leads to more than one death as stated by ancient philosopher Confucius: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." This shows what can happen when you choose to seek revenge. Hamlet keeps procrastinating the revenge he wants to take against Claudius, Laertes wants to take revenge instantly, and Fortinbras shows the rational part of revenge. These three paths show the different possibilities and what can happen as a result of these paths.

    Read More

  • Hamlet, Laertes & Fortinbras: Avenging Their Fathers

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    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. Each characters father had a substantially high social class in their respective countries, which in turn gives them high social class as well. With Hamlet and Fortinbras as sons of kings and Laertes as the son of an aristocrat of high regard in the Danish court, all had a lot to loose if unsuccessful in their ploy. Each of the sons believed that the killers had dishonored their fathers as well as themselves. Each acts in a way that they consider to be an attempt at restoring it to the family, as honor was a significant thing to uphold in this day.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Revenge Essay

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Macbeth and Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet contains many themes which set the plot for this writing. The first theme Hamlet contains is moral corruption and dysfunction within the family and community. Hamlet is pushed by his mother and King Claudius to life his spirits. However, this causes issues with his family because he is furious with how quickly his mother remarried after his father, King Hamlet, died. The dysfunction of Hamlet’s family continues when he learns of how his father died. King Hamlet’s ghost tells Hamlet of how he was murdered by his own brother, King Claudius. King Claudius’s killing of King Hamlet is revealed during the performance of the Mousetrap play. Next, Hamlet mistakenly kills Polonius after he antagonizes his mother about her deceitfulness. King Claudius then demands England to kill Hamlet. All of these actions tie together the theme of immoral conduct and the ruining of Hamlet’s family and the community. ("Resources for Teachers." Themes in Hamlet. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.)

    Read More

  • Revenge in Hamlet

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his play Hamlet, William Shakespeare frequently utilizes the word “revenge” and images associated with this word in order to illustrate the idea that the pursuit of revenge has caused the downfall of many people. He builds up the idea that revenge causes people to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. In Hamlet, Fortinbras, Laertes and Hamlet all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. Hamlet and Laertes manage to avenge their father’s deaths and in doing so, both rely more on their emotions rather than their reasoning, which eventually leads to their downfalls at the end of Hamlet.

    Read More

More about Literary Analysis Of Hamlet

Open Document