Passion And Passion In Hamlet

Khalil Gibran once said, “Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.” The Shakespearean tragedy of Hamlet focuses heavily on the concepts of passion and reason, and is a prime demonstration of just how detrimental the effects of an internal conflict between these two entities can be for an individual. Shakespeare stresses the point that humans are polarized by reason and emotion. These two poles differ in all aspects, while both are gathered in man. Hamlet, the protagonist of Shakespeare’s greatest work, is a sample of this polarization. It is be relayed that the desire for revenge, or a passion, in Hamlet’s case, to redress a wrong can always interfere with one’s responsibilities.

The ghost of his father leads him to contemplate murder; this is an emotional decision for him due to the apparent lack of evidence. Commanded by his father’s ghost to, “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,” by his brother Claudius, who has robbed him of his wife and throne as well as his life. At this point, his inner turmoil has left him emotionally unavailable and completely disenchanted with humanity in general. Hamlet is so bent on doing it but swears that “with wings as swift/ As meditation, or the thoughts of love,’ he will ‘sweep to [his] revenge”, but keeps on the procrastination due to the voice of reason within him. These two sides within Hamlet offers a spectacle of conflict, that is, whether he wants to avenge his father’s murder or not. Although Hamlet does, in the end, reach his aim, he does so at the expense of his physical body and emotional stability. In his oratorio, he shows the height of his passion in the events of his father’s death and his apparent love for Ophelia. Later he is at it again feeling very angry with her and expressing his hatred towards her. This shows that Hamlet was, therefore, making decisions based on passion. It is, however, this passion that gets the lonely Hamlet thinking about the

Unlike Hamlet, Fortinbras, a courageous leader in Norway; and a foil to Hamlet, is known for seeking revenge with haste. “Now, sir, young Fortinbras/ Of unimproved mettle hot and full,/Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there/Shark 'd up a list of lawless resolutes.” Fortinbras, in a similar situation to Hamlet of losing his father, had not wasted any time, his impetuous behavior went straight for what he wanted. Hamlet, on the other hand, pondered about his revenge for a longer period. Fortinbras attempts to fight for what his father lost, “Importing the surrender of those lands/ lost by his father.” Fortinbras, who schemes to rebuild his father’s kingdom, leads thousands of men into battle, attempting to capture a small and worthless piece of Poland. He knows the added land will have little impact on Norway’s prosperity but, this campaign may cost “two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats.” Although he does not go through with the attack on Denmark, his attempt serves as a foreshadow for later acts that are similar to Hamlet, but better. This shows that pride is a driving reason behind Fortinbras’ plan because he is willing to put the lives of his countrymen at risk for minimal gain. Fortinbras ' swift and forceful actions had caught Hamlet’s attention. By having these characteristics he was given Denmark on Hamlet’s deathbed, “On Fortinbras; he has my