Summary Of Hamlet In Shakespeare's Hamlet

The ghost of late King Hamlet came to Hamlet to inform him that Claudius had murdered him and demands Hamlet to execute him. Now, Hamlet is planning to avenge his deceased father by killing King Claudius, but does not know if he has committed the crime or not. Thus, having Prince Hamlet to change the scene in a play and have the actors play out late King Hamlet’s death called “The Mousetrap”. “Give me some light’ ‘Away!”(Shakespeare, pg 153, line 295). For example, this quote justifies that King Claudius had to do something with late King Hamlet’s death, because after the play Claudius cried for the lights to be turned on and then stormed out of the room.

Therefore, he creates a play where the performers do a scene which resembles the way in which Prince Hamlet believes his father Hamlet was murdered. Claudius jumps up and leaves the room when the play gets to the point of the murder. Horatio and Prince Hamlet both believe this makes Claudius appear guilty. However, when Prince Hamlet goes to kill Claudius, he is prayin... ... middle of paper ... ...nish prince who has an uncle who murders to receive his father’s throne. A ghost of his father reveals the truth which ultimately causes many more deaths through the act of revenge.

There are many theories to why Hamlet, who plays the prince in the tragedy, Hamlet, delays in killing his Uncle, King Claudius. Hamlet feels the need to murder King Claudius because he is convinced that his uncle is the cause of Hamlet's father's death. Even though the action of killing Claudius is not carried out until the very end it dictates Hamlets every move in the play. Though he does not know for sure that Claudius is his father's murderer, it is his obligation to prove that he is the cause of the death before committing this act. Hamlet is confused and is unsure if he should seek revenge and kill his uncle.

Revenge is defined as the action of causing hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. Shakespeare’s Hamlet contains the central idea of revenge. In this story, the father is murdered, the mother marries the murderer, and the son is left to the duty of revenge (Barzilai 87). It is Hamlet’s duty to follow his father’s commands and get his revenge on his uncle, but multiple problems occur and lead to his death along with many others. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet has returned from Wittenberg to honor the death of his father, King Hamlet, and the ghost of his dead father suddenly confronts him.

After a visit from his dead father as a ghost, and the revelation of his uncle's betrayal, Hamlet embarks on a path to avenge the death of his father (Shakespeare). In the midst of all the lies and deceptions, before his ultimate downfall Hamlet achieves his goal of avenging the death of his father by killing Claudius, while liberating Denmark from a deceitful ruler; his uncle Claudius. The death of King Hamlet established a mission to accomplish for the main character of the play. After his visit with the ghost, Hamlet discovered his mission - killing Claudius. However, he was still doubtful if the information he got from the ghost was truthful.

The start of the unfortunate event is when the king is brutally murder. Cluadius seemed to bring curse a pawn everyone around him. By the murder of Hamlet's father he was determined to avenge his death. Hamlet now had to avenge the death of his father and end the incestuous acts between a twisted uncle and mother. "He kills Polonius by accident, hoping that in a blind thrust through ther arras he might turn out at last to have dispatched the King..."(Murray pg131) Some may think that Hamlet let his emotions take over his actions in avenging his fathers' death , but Ophelia and Laertes also lots a father and they too acted like out of control.

Notably, the ghost tells Hamlet to enact his revenge in the opening scenes of the play; he seems hesitant, as if he questions death for the first time. Hamlet wants to make sure that Claudius did in fact kill his father, so he sets up a play to re-enact the crime scene and to Hamlet’s content, Claudius disp... ... middle of paper ... ...death of him. Hamlet’s obsession and numerous contemplations about death sets himself in the undesired direction of suffering with the deaths of his father, Ophelia and Polonius, all whom he believed were undeserving. His will to continuously get himself into situations that inflict a great deal of emotional stress is astonishing, and his change in attitude about his indecisiveness about murder is not beneficial, rather it kills him in the end. Having a healthy fear of death is normal --one must realize death is unavoidable, while constant thought about death creates unhealthy anxiety.

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.

His path of corruption started off when his father asked him to seek vengeance on Claudius for murdering him .Then while on this path of vengeance Hamlet kills Polonius believing him to be Claudius hiding behind the curtains. In doing this Hamlet corrupts his own soul by murdering a relatively innocent man. His father then sets him back on the path of murdering Claudius when he comes to remind him of his goal since hamlet has not made much progress. This was elaborated by Stirling here”, The necessary trap has been laid and has done its work; Hamlet has been a shrewd avenger in refusing to Claudius at a prayer; and how he is at the point of redeeming his mother”

The thought of knowing the secret of .your father’s murderer must be extremely agonizing. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, this is the unfortunate tragedy the Prince of Denmark faces. Shakespeare implies the pyramid structure using the five acts, which builds the intensity of the drama before revealing the tragic climax. Hamlet is ordered by the ghost of his beloved father to restore order to Denmark and seek revenge on Claudius. This young prince is eager to revenge his father’s death but he is not sure morally if it’s the right thing to do.