Consequently, Hamlets’ tragic flaw leads to his downfall. His lack of action causes him not to kill Claudius when he has the chance, giving him the advantage. It can be seen that Claudius has the advantage to kill Hamlet when he states, “By letters conjuring to that effect/The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England” (4.3.65-6). Since Hamlet reveals that he knows that Claudius killed the former king, Claudius is deceiving Hamlet into going to England, where he will be executed. Hamlet reveals his knowledge of the murder when he puts on the play, re-enacting the former King’s murder. Now Claudius knows that he must kill Hamlet in order to avoid getting caught and stay on the throne. Claudius tells Hamlet that he is sending him to England for…
After his father’s death, Hamlet is in a frustrated state where he relapses into suicidal misery. It is in this state of mind that he meets the ghost of his father and learns of his “foul and most unnatural murther” (Shakespeare 1388). He then vows revenge on his Uncle for murdering him. Hamlet pretends to be insane so that he can calculate his moves according to the situation at hand. Some characters come to realize that he is not mad. In Act III Scene I, Claudius states that Hamlet’s actions although strange “lack’d for a little, was not like madness” (Shakespeare 1417). While confronting his mother, Gertrude, Hamlet goes into such a wild rage that he kills Polonius believing him to be the king. This action was rash when just before confronting his mother he hesitates and does not kill Claudius while he is praying. The erratic action of killing innocent Polonius, eventually leads to his death in the final scene. Laertes, Polonius’s son, and Claudius then plan on murdering Hamlet for killing Polonius. After Hamlet learns of Ophelia’s death, he gets into a confrontation with Laertes. In the…
In the Elizabethan era version of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, many characters ' actions have an effect on the audience viewing the play. In Act I Scene IV King Claudius discovers that Hamlet has killed Polonius, his chief counsellor. This enrages Claudius and he expresses anger, fear and disappointment. These actions shown by Claudius affect the audience of the Elizabethan era because it shows that a King feels AUTHORITY, HUMANITY AND INEFFICACY.…
Although Hamlet is characterized as relatively rational in his acts, he nonetheless still possess a strong desire to enact just vengeance on those who have wronged him. While Hamlet arrives at a propitious opportunity to kill Claudius in Act III, while the unknowing murderer sits in prayer while Hamlet, dagger in hand, watches, he ultimately chooses not to, postponing the act until his uncle “is drunk asleep, or in his rage / Or in th' incestuous pleasure of his bed / At game a-swearing, or about some act / That has no relish of salvation in ’t” (III.iii.90-94). Hamlet wishes not only for his uncle to pay the ultimate price for his sins – his life – he wants Claudius to suffer in eternal damnation, reflecting the intensity of Hamlet’s feeling (Bloom 20). Only now do audiences realize the full extent to which Hamlet wishes for vengeance. Even among Hamlet’s wit and the guise of his “antic disposition”, passion and hatred…
" . . . the young Norwegian Prince, who, like Hamlet, has lost a father and who, unlike Hamlet, has promptly taken positive action to avenge his father's death. But Fortinbras . . . has mastered passion; he will obey his royal uncle, rejecting the idea of revenge, and will expend his energy in an attack upon Poland. Fortinbras . . . is emerging as a foil to Hamlet" (Lowers 38).…
Hamlet succeeds in troubling Claudius, and because of this, Claudius decides to act. Claudius plans to send Hamlet to England where Hamlet would be executed upon arrival. The fact that Claudius could so easily organise Hamlet’s death shows the fear and panic that exists within Hamlet and Claudius’ relationship. While it is believed that Claudius would have always feared Hamlet, and what he would do if he learnt of the King’s murder, this scene, where Claudius discovers Hamlets murderous intentions and utter madness drives him to action.…
Claudius' entrance speech in act 3 reveals two very significant aspects of his character: that he is aware of the growing threat Hamlet poses for him, and that he is absolutely in control and capable of action. He is a contrast to Hamlet, who becomes entirely incapacitated by the very idea of action. The more Claudius knows, the more he calculates and acts; the more Hamlet knows, the more he thinks and bandies words.…
Hamlet’s linguistic signs give the physical painting of King Hamlet and Claudius a life-like presence. Hamlet’s description of the painting is not a literal record of what he sees, but a verbal account of what he perceives to be true: “The counterfeit presentment of two brothers” (III, iv, 55). Hamlet believes that Claudius’ image is the counterfeit of King Hamlet’s. He describes his father as being full of “grace” (III, iv, 56) and “command” (III, iv, 58), a man of whom “every god did seem to set his seal” (III, iv, 62). Thus, Hamlet’s description lends the image of King Hamlet the presence of something divine, and even more the presence of a god.…
However, Hamlet incapable of doing it and proceed to what according to Ghost told him to (Javed 332). This is an identity crisis for Hamlet, as he does not know whether he is acting upon his free will or upon the Ghost words. Killing Claudius is what the Ghost wanted. However, Hamlet is confused whether he want to Claudius or not, hence the delay in his actions. ”Hamlet is too delicate or too subtle for the purpose. A less self-questioning hero would have been a better instrument” (Javed…
Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, can be seen as one about duty, in particular Hamlet's struggle with his duty to his father and the possible consequences involved. Hamlet's duty is revealed when he speaks with the ghost of his father who commands Hamlet to "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." The appearance of the supernatural and the suggestion of a "most unnatural murder" also presents the idea of corruption as it portrays the idea of death against the natural order. Hamlet clearly struggles with this command from his father's ghost, as avenging his father's death would mean that Hamlet himself would have to murder not just another person, but his uncle CLaudius, the new king of Denmark. Therefore, Hamlet struggles to take immediate action but instead he tells the ghost, "with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love may sweep to my revenge." This simile suggests that Hamlet is eager to seek revenge quickly, however his response is paradoxical as "meditation" and "thoughts of love" suggest that he may have to think about the task ahead of him first. This highlights Hamlet's struggle with his duty as while he wants to avenge his father's death, he is also unsure and so cannot…
I think there is a misplaced speech in Hamlet which has resulted in much unnecessary confusion. You'll remember that in Act I Hamlet meets his father's ghost, who tells his son that he was murdered by Claudius. Hamlet is full of resolve to do the right thing, but he makes no attempt to kill Claudius until Act III, Scene IV. (That attempt is frustrated when he mistakenly believes Claudius is praying.)…
Hamlet is in a situation where his sanity is turning into insanity. He is like one of those people who tell so many lies that they start believing their own lies. Hamlet's acting is so vivid to him that, unconsciously, his state of mind has become irrational. He is turning against everyone in order to follow the orders of revenge from his father's ghost. In order to do so, he is finding any possible way to bring out the guilt in everyone due to his father's murder. In Act III, scene ii, Hamlet has written parts for players to put on a show for Claudius in order for him to bring out the guilt within Claudius. The play doesn't affect Claudius until it is revealed that Lucianus, the kings nephew, is the one that kills the king. Claudius then cries out due to the fear of Hamlet killing him. Also, in this scene, Hamlet admired Horatio's level-headedness and calmness because those are some qualities that Hamlet lacks. Hamlet tries to break his mother down in Act III, scene iv, Hamlet comes to speak to his mother because she believes that he has offended Claudius. In return, Hamlet tries to break her down by putting her sins in front of her because she married the king's brother so soon after his death. When she cries for help, innocent Polonius enters and Hamlet says "How now! A rat?" and kills Polonius because he thought that it was Claudius. Hamlet's insanity is like a blind rage. He is so focused on revenge that he doesn't realize what he is doing. Hamlet is taking sick…
Do you know how Shakespeare develops Hamlet’s character in relation to Claudius, Polonius, and Gertrude? In Hamlet’s 3rd soliloquy Shakespeare develops Hamlet’s character in relation to Claudius, Polonius, and Gertrude.…
In Hamlet, King Claudius is shown to be an all-around evil, greedy man. This is first shown when Claudius kills his own brother just to gain power of the Kingdom of Denmark. Then Claudius plans to have another attempt in a selfish murder against his nephew-step-son Hamlet. When Claudius realizes that Hamlet suspects that Claudius killed Hamlet’s father, Claudius does whatever he can to get rid of Hamlet. First Claudius sends Hamlet to England to keep him from telling anyone in Denmark about his crime. The King says, “Do it, England, for like the hectic in my blood he rages, and thou must cure me. Till I know ’tis done” (Act 4. Scene 4). The King is relieved that Hamlet is gone, and can no longer tell his secret; but when Hamlet returns the King feels his secret is threatened. This threat causes the King to set up a plan to kill Hamlet, so that his secret is safe for good. He sets up the dual that is intended to kill Hamlet, and he comes up with a back-up plan in case the dual does not work. The King says, “And that he calls for drink, I’ll have prepared him A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, if he by chance escape your venomed stuck” (Act 4. Scene 7). This blindness of greed, and selfishness caused the King to create a plan to kill Hamlet, which backfired and killed everyone, including the…
Gertrude sits highly on her throne as Queen of Denmark, but however royal she may be, she lacks the qualities of a good mother and loyal wife. She provides little to no care towards Hamlet despite her obvious acknowledgement of his sudden change in his personality and attitude. She quickly remarries two months after her husband's death, to her own brother-in-law, disregarding that her son is furious and grief-stricken. ____ How does Queen Gertrude's shallow personality, poor parenting, and turbulent relationship with Hamlet further drive the intensity of the play?…