He returns from England with a new attitude and allows himself to undertake Horatio’s guidance, ‘There’s a divinity that shapes our ends’. Interestingly, Hamlet does not partake in a soliloquy in this final act, symbolising that he is now ready to finally take revenge against Claudius. Shakespeare in this final scene also reveals to the audience that destiny will inevitably expose death in possibly more ways than one. The way in which he has displayed this thought throughout the play begins with the death of Polonius and ends with the death of Hamlet. Shakespeare then turns to tragedy upon the death of Hamlet as Horatio is given the responsibility to tell the story of his vengeful ways and controls Hamlets emotions as his moral obligations had faded. The human quality of tragedy is well recognized in this play as it attracts large amounts of sympathy, however sympathy is not felt for all of the…
There is controversy as to rather or not Rosencrantz and Guildenstern deserved their fate. Despite what these two did to Hamlet, their death was not necessary. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were blindly following the king’s orders and the king didn’t tell them his true intentions. Overall,it feels as if they had good intentions for Hamlet to recover or to die quickly and possibly find peace because it is possible they have believed he was completely mad.…
Another thing that judges Hamlets measure as a man is his madness. Whether his madness is deliberate or actual is questionable. Hamlet believes that his madness is just a façade to deter the others of his real intentions. Somewhere in the middle of the play, the readers are confused of whether Hamlet is truly crazy or just acting. It is understandable for a person to take risks to get things done, but there are also times where it is too much and has the opposite effect. In this case, Hamlet tries his best to get revenge on Claudius but due to his implied insanity, he is responsible for the death of Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes and Gertrude. If Hamlet had just killed Claudius at the first chance he got, then he…
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the returning prince finds that his scene of sanity is gone in picking up the broken pieces of his life. He tries to coup with it all, facing the reality of his father being dead, dethroned by his uncle, and losing the love of his life Ophelia. What more could a man take in staring death in the face and questioning it. As human beings we all have a purpose on this earth, to find what we are destine to do. Hamlet reaches acceptance of his situation. Wondering if he will be known for being a great avenger, or the son who didn’t avenge his father’s death.…
Throughout Hamlet's ordeal, he must interact with many people. Each interaction poses several possible ways to act, because of his obsessive nature, he often chose to sacrifice relationships in order to accomplish other goals and feel better about his situation. Many times, Hamlet could have tried to confront people concerning the way they were acting, but instead chose to ignore their existence, or in more extreme cases, end their existence. I can't stress enough how different the situation could have been had Hamlet not letting his emotions get the best of him.…
King Hamlet must have been a good father for his son to be so devoted and loyal to him. It almost seems that the Prince made an idol of his father. In Prince Hamlet's first soliloquy he described his father as an excellent king, a god-like figure and a loving husband. It is strange that the Prince did not convey information about being a loving father. It is left for us to infer that there must have been a special bond between father and son for the Prince to be so willing to carry out retribution against his father's murderer.…
Some will say Hamlet is just a regular man who becomes corrupted and evil throughout the play. Hamlet comes off as a villain. He acts to fate in a way a normal, non-heroic character would act. The emotions that he shows are much more intense than physical appearance. With heavy emotions Hamlet takes on the thoughts of suicide, which most people would say is a hero less act. If we look at the play once more, the actions he took were not just for him; he did it for a man he loved, his father. Can we not say that he suffered much more than he should have to bring justice? Hamlet is a selfless…
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.…
Further in the play, Hamlet obsession with death becomes much more noticeable- particularly when he is in the graveyard with Horatio. He sees his old playmate and jester, Yorick, in his state of decay and eerily uses his skull to portray deaths omnipotence. What could have once been the vibrant head of a politician or king is now reduced to a simple, dirty skull: “Here hung those lips that I have kissed/I know not how oft.” (5.1. 194-195) Furthermore, Hamlet realizes the notion that death is the unalterable and permanent ending of all men. Hamlet now is fully aware of death, and knows what he must do to avenge his father, yet he is immobile and is too scared to act. He asks himself “Am I a coward? Is it not monstrous/that this player here, but not in fiction, in a dream of passion/could force his soul so to his own conceit…” (2.2. 575-580) Hamlet is angered by the fact that he is too scared to perform a deed that should be committed for all the right reasons. He thinks too much and that is his ultimate downfall. Although very noble, he struggles with the issue of avenging his father's death, and since Hamlet is more into philosophizing than action, he thinks about his intention to kill Claudius, lessening his ability to execute his plans. When the ghost informs him about Claudius' actions, Hamlet is prompt by replying: " Haste me to know ’t, that…
Then he is sent to England. He discovers that Claudius is not going to wait for the perfect opportunity, but has already made arrangements to have Hamlet killed. He changes again. He arranges for the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and when the pirates attack, he takes the opportunity to board their ship, and bribes them to return to Denmark. He arrives on the shores "naked and . . . alone". "Naked" here means that he has only the clothes he stands up in, whatever he can find. Hamlet is now an opportunist. He no longer insists that the conditions be perfect. He will take his opportunity where he finds it. He becomes a fatalist: "There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow . . . the readiness is all." It is when he reaches this stage in his journey that he can do what he wants to do and needs to do. He expresses his love for Ophelia (too late) and is able to take his revenge on Claudius (almost too…
Hamlet’s courageousness is shown through many aspects. After being given a mission of revenge by his late father’s ghost young Hamlet not only accepts it, but also expands the mission to include purifying the whole court. He believes that his mission is not only to kill Claudius, but to kill corruption as well. Though he does not consciously announce his goal to root out the corruption in the court, it can be seen through his reactions after killing Polonius and manipulating the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. His reaction upon realizing that he had killed Polonius was not one of utter shock or one of regret; instead, Hamlet proclaims farewell to the “wretched, rash, intruding fool” (III.iv.33). Also, Hamlet tells Horatio that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern “are not near [his] conscience” (V.ii.58), even after he has ordered the killing of the two. Even though Hamlet may sound cold and heartless, it is not so because in Hamlet’s perspective, he was merely trying to rid the court of corrupted fools as it is part of his scheme of purifying the court. Hamlet’s murder of these three characters reflect great courage because by doing so he had to overcome his religious belief that murder is a sin and live up to the challenge of purifying the court.…
Although this scene provides the final catastrophe of the action, the first episode concerns an exchange of information between Hamlet and Horatio about Hamlet's rescue form certain death, and serves to demonstrate Hamlet's change in behavior. From the start, we see a Hamlet who is decisive and clever in his actions, specifically in dealing with Rosencrantz and Guilderstern's commission. Although he says, "Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting/That would not let…
Throughout the play of Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy's the main character, Hamlet is faced with the responsibility of getting vengeance for his father's murder. He decides to pretend madness as part of his plan to get the opportunity to kill Claudius who was the suspected murderer. As the play goes on, his portrayal of a madman becomes believable, and the characters around him respond quite vividly. Through his inner thoughts and the obvious reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor faking insanity in order to complete the duty his father assigned him.…
He is responsible for the play, for he chooses to tell Hamlet about the apparition of his dead father, and is responsible to retell the story of Hamlet at the end of the play; without Horatio there would be no play. Horatio portrays a character that Hamlet lacks, and thus sticks next to him throughout the whole play in order to keep him in check. Horatio's character portrays patience and endurance throughout the whole play for his friend Hamlet, while Hamlet is impatient and acts on his impulses instead of analyzing the situation and consequences that his actions may have. He is a truly loyal and honorable friend, and demonstrates the necessary qualities required in a true friendship. Horatio serves to illustrate the characteristics that Hamlet was lacking in order to have avoided his own tragedy. If Hamlet were more like Horatio, he could have avoided his tragedy, yet the constant influence that Horatio has on Hamlet, keeps a hold on him to the reality of the situation that no good will spring forth from his actions. His purpose is to show that Hamlet is not insane, but that instead Hamlet portrays characteristics that lead him to act spontaneously and without impulse. Horatio is the only person Hamlet can fully trust, and is necessary for him to have someone who constantly has his back and is willing to support,…
In Act 5, Scene 1, Hamlet knowingly risks his life by presenting himself at Ophelia’s funeral in front of Claudius and Laertes. Claudius wanted Hamlet dead because he knew about Claudius’ betrayal of King Hamlet, and Laertes wanted Hamlet dead because Hamlet accidentally killed Polonius thinking it was Claudius. This is truly inspirational because Hamlet risked the probable odds of death just to express his true love for Ophelia and make things right, even though she was already dead. In the end of the play, Hamlet ended up dying due to this choice, but I bet he died without a single regret, and that is the way it should…