Revenge Without Guilt In Hamlet
Revenge without guilt – The complete and perfect scheme. (or Heaven Bound Hamlet)
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the intensely introspective character, Hamlet, purposely uses an internal dialogue and calculatingly waits and plots to cope with the moral issues, draw out his enemies and manipulate the situation to exact revenge without guilt, all while feigning madness.
Shakespeare and his contemporaries were fascinated by madness. This fascination was perhaps connected to not being able to distinguish disease from demonic possession. At any rate, mad characters appear with frequency in Shakespeare’s plays and particularly in revenge plays. Hamlet’s mad distraction is all the more interesting because it is created or manipulated by Hamlet, himself. …show more content…
He is often wordy and speaks more than any other character but, what he says and what he does are two different things. He is in constant deliberation with himself and even when alone (or seemingly alone), his soliloquies are used to remind himself of his plan, to check facts, evaluate himself in his role, or input newly found information. His plan actually counts on being watched almost all the time. This is calculated as he will be seen as more mad if he is also mad when he is alone. The idea that he may be more honest when alone is a manipulation and therefore an action. He is baiting the other characters at almost all times even going so far as to openly accuse them of their crimes. He calls Polonius a “fishmonger” (II ii 174) and asks him if he has a daughter even though he knows that Ophelia is he daughter. Confused, Polonius is further convinced of Hamlet’s madness. Hamlet also makes Gertrude take responisibility for her role in the corruption of Denmakrk. Having planted the seed that makes her take responsibility, he no longer has any responsibility for her actions. He has let revenge take its course, but he is not actually responsible for her death. He does not kill his own mother, but he must let revenge happen. His carefully planted manipulations work like a charm. Though she doesn’t actually take her own life, Hamlet has calculated her reactions perfectly and the murder/suicide of the Gertrude seems to be somewhat understood by both characters. It is actually Hamlet’s words that killed her, not his
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the intensely introspective character, Hamlet, purposely uses an internal dialogue and calculatingly waits and plots to cope with the moral issues, draw out his enemies and manipulate the situation to exact revenge without guilt, all while feigning madness.
Shakespeare and his contemporaries were fascinated by madness. This fascination was perhaps connected to not being able to distinguish disease from demonic possession. At any rate, mad characters appear with frequency in Shakespeare’s plays and particularly in revenge plays. Hamlet’s mad distraction is all the more interesting because it is created or manipulated by Hamlet, himself. …show more content…
He is often wordy and speaks more than any other character but, what he says and what he does are two different things. He is in constant deliberation with himself and even when alone (or seemingly alone), his soliloquies are used to remind himself of his plan, to check facts, evaluate himself in his role, or input newly found information. His plan actually counts on being watched almost all the time. This is calculated as he will be seen as more mad if he is also mad when he is alone. The idea that he may be more honest when alone is a manipulation and therefore an action. He is baiting the other characters at almost all times even going so far as to openly accuse them of their crimes. He calls Polonius a “fishmonger” (II ii 174) and asks him if he has a daughter even though he knows that Ophelia is he daughter. Confused, Polonius is further convinced of Hamlet’s madness. Hamlet also makes Gertrude take responisibility for her role in the corruption of Denmakrk. Having planted the seed that makes her take responsibility, he no longer has any responsibility for her actions. He has let revenge take its course, but he is not actually responsible for her death. He does not kill his own mother, but he must let revenge happen. His carefully planted manipulations work like a charm. Though she doesn’t actually take her own life, Hamlet has calculated her reactions perfectly and the murder/suicide of the Gertrude seems to be somewhat understood by both characters. It is actually Hamlet’s words that killed her, not his