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Similarities Between Hamlet And Laertes

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Revenge is a universal theme in many pieces of writing throughout the ages, and Hamlet is by all means no exception. Revenge fuels several characters throughout the play, however I think there is definitely some parallelism between the characters of Hamlet and Laertes. Both young men share a lot of similar reactions and feelings and even very similar motives for revenge.
Hamlet and Laertes both want revenge for the death of their fathers. What makes the motives of the two young men so ironic is the fact that Hamlet just so happens to kill Polonius, father of Laertes, while in the process of trying to get revenge on his father. Due to the fact that Hamlet is being so adamant in avenging his father’s death, he speaks to his mother in a way that makes it seem as if he wishes to bring some form of harm to her. His mother calls out for help in fear Hamlet will kill her. Polonius is near and calls for help. When …show more content…

He tells Laertes in order to make sure the young man gets revenge for his father, King Claudius will have them fence, and stack the odds in Laertes favor. He places poison on the edge of Laertes’ sword and places poison in the drink of Hamlet.
When the fight is about to take place, Hamlet comes to Laertes and tells him he knows what he did was totally unjust. He asks for Laertes’ forgiveness, claiming it wasn’t truly Hamlet’s fault, rather than Hamlet’s mental illness to blame. Laertes tells Hamlet that he loves him, but they fight anyways. Laertes manages to cut Hamlet with the tip of the poison sword, but while fighting, the poisonous swords become switched, and Laertes gets stabbed with his own poisonous sword.
In my opinion, the main theme in Hamlet is revenge, but the theme of revenge is what ends up making this play a tragedy. Revenge gets the characters in this play essentially nowhere, and eventually everyone in this play is killed by the thought of

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