not react as a sane person would. This act enrages Laertes, who then wants to avenge his father’s death. Driven to madness by the murder of his father, Laertes, with the help of Claudius conspires to kill Hamlet. His insane actions upset other characters and set the up for other
In the Tragedy of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, some of the most significant events are mental or psychological events that make the audience feel and have an emotional connection with the characters. These significant events can be awakenings, discoveries, and changes in consciousness that set off a mental or psychological effect to the readers. The author, Shakespeare, gives these internal events to characters such as Ophelia, Gertrude, and Hamlet throughout the play to give the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action.
The main character of William Shakespeare’s tragedy is actually a confused person that’s stuck between two choices. Some may argue that he feels guilty for his father’s death and so it’s his duty to avenge it. While others may disagree and conclude that he is just a maniac who is both violent and dangerous. Hamlet passes through the lane of hesitancy, where he hesitates to kill King Claudius. As a matter of fact, the main conflict of Hamlet is that he feels both the need to solve the crime and punish the responsible. In addition, he suffers from hesitancy in the correctness of their actions. Throughout the play, Hamlet says, “That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, /Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell.” (2.2.581-587) This
The story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a story of betrayal, revenge, and intrigue. Hamlet, the title character discovers that his uncle killed his father and married his mother effectively stealing the throne. Hamlet decides he must kill his uncle Claudius as revenge for what he had done. However, as the new king, Hamlet isn't sure how to get to him, so he decides to fake madness, but his plan backfires as Claudius doesn't trust him and makes sure he is always watched. In his fumbled plan for revenge, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, forces Polonius's son Laertes to seek revenge against him, and drives Ophelia crazy causing her to kill herself. Hamlet's insane behavior is a significant part of the story because it is supposedly part of his revenge plan, but also because of the additional problems, it creates. Some have argued that his madness was indeed an act, but rather real madness that he was trying to cover up by telling people
Hamlet and The Great Gatsby are very similar because of their themes. Hamlet, written by Shakespeare in 1603, and The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925 share the themes of madness, vengeance, mortality, murder, and disloyalty. Although the plots are not very alike, the two main characters in each have similar qualities. These characters are not exactly the same, their flaws and actions both lead them to being disloyal to others, including themselves, and in the end, their death.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet lead the protagonist down a never ending spiral for revenge on his father’s murderer, which ultimately lead to his own death and six others. I will uncover how Hamlet’s quest for revenge and his own personal arrogance and pride made him mentally unstable which lead to his own demise.
Can indecisiveness cause one to make a devastating choice? The play Hamlet takes place in and around the castle in Denmark. Shortly after the King of Denmark is killed, his son comes home to mourn his death. Hamlet, the kings son, is greeted by the ghost of his father who tells him to avenge his death and kill the man who killed him, Claudius. The play is a timeline of events that leads up to the ultimate death of Hamlet and many others. A tragic hero is a character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. A tragic hero always has a tragic flaw which is the problem that causes a character's downfall or death. Hamlet's tragic flaw is indecisiveness.
Hamlet is a story about revenge and power, due to the recent death of the King of Denmark. The following events include madness, which leads to Hamlet killing King Claudius’ advisor, Polonius. Word about the death of his father got to Laertes who was in England. Laertes returned to Denmark to find his sister distraught and drove to madness. Shortly after his return, Ophelia is found dead by the cause of drowning. Laertes believes Hamlet is to blame not only for his father’s death, but also for Ophelia’s death because the death of her father is ultimately what drove her to killing herself.
He expresses, “Alas, poor Yorick! I/ knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most/excellent fancy (V.i, 178-180). Hamlet’s recognition of the skull of Yorick acts as an eminent shift in Hamlet’s mentality. After his philosophical contemplation of mortality throughout the play, Hamlet is finally able to come to terms with death and the afterlife. He realizes that once people die, their social differences, among others as well, are irrelevant and crumble to dust just as the bones of their bodies do. This prepares Hamlet for revenge because he is able to trump his fears of death, given the fact that he has nothing to lose, since all people die the same when everything is finished and settled. Additionally, the death of Hamlet’s mother acts as the final situation, which causes Hamlet to reach his breaking point, ultimately killing Claudius. When he learns that Gertrude had died due to Claudius’ poisoning of the drink, he states, “Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned, Dane. Drink of this potion. Is thy union here?/ Follow my mother” (V.ii, 318-320). The moment that Hamlet learns from both his mother and Laertes that Claudius is the cause of their deaths, Hamlet finally comes to the realization that he was waited too long, which has resulted in the death of two he cares closely for. He understands that he has received enough validation, which is why he is finally able to kill Claudius. In fact, it is fitting that Claudius is killed with the same weapons that he had poisoned and rigged in order to ensure Hamlet’s death. Either way, it is evident that once Hamlet comes to the realization of his true values, he can then overcome all obstacles in order to pursue his revenge. Therefore, William Shakespeare illustrates through Hamlet’s character that once a person comes to terms with their own values, he will be able to find purpose and
Hamlet and Laertes are dramatic foils because of their different personalities, their difference in personalities cause them to be dramtic foils. A dramatic foil is a character who contrasts with another character. A quality that differs from Laertes from Hamlet is how they handle obstacles. Hamlet approaches situations with more thought; planning and strategizing. Laertes on the other hand likes to jump to conclusions, and reacts with no thoughts about future consequences. Throughout the play Hamlet and Laertes prove to have different personalities, but share love for the same people, and are both on missions to avenge their father.
Hamlet, is unsure who he has stabbed and killed through the curtain, but hopes that it is Claudius. Hamlet concurs with his mother that his actions are reckless and brutal. He quickly refocuses his concerns back to addressing his mother's actions which he veiws as reprehensible. Hamlet’s need for revenge as a result of Claudius’s betrayal against him and his father encourages Hamlet to appear insane. His choice to appear insane drives him to try murder Claudius in an unforeseen way. Hence Hamlet seizes what he believes is his first possible opportunity to kill Claudius and exact his revenge. Upon realizing that it is not Claudius he has killed, but an innocent bystander, he shows no remorse.
Serving as a character foil for Hamlet, Laertes is a very unique character. His character throughout the play is very impulsive, through thinking and acting. His father Polonius even tells him that he must be careful on how he acts and gives him advice on how he must act. (Act 1 Scene 3) Besides being impulsive, Laertes is a caring person as well. When his father died, he returned home in vengeance. When his sister went crazy, his first reaction was anger and pain, but it then turned to anger seeing how affected she was by her father’s death. Later on when she dies, he storms out filled with rage and at her funeral, he was crying so much that Hamlet fought him to prove he was affected more.
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Hamlet, the minds of most characters are overcome by apparent insanity. Certain characters suffer from genuine madness, which dictate the actions the character will make. Yet, for others, it is quite simply an act and tactic necessary in order to achieve goals, as shown by the play’s witty and clever characters. The story’s astute protagonist in the end attains his goal of avenging his father’s death by murdering his own uncle, Claudius. Although Hamlet died shortly after murdering Claudius, many argue that he dies as a hero and the extermination of the royal family benefits the greater good for Denmark and its citizens. However, prior to the bloodshed, Hamlet reveals that he is the utter opposite of a hero.
Arguably one of William Shakespeare’s most complex plays, Hamlet chronicles the story of a Danish prince who must avenge his father’s death by murdering the man who killed him and usurped the throne, his uncle Claudius. According English literary scholar, A.C Bradley, Hamlet’s inability to kill his uncle is due to his constant hatred of life and himself, and because of this feeling, he is subconsciously unable to fulfill his promise. Hamlet’s inability
Claudius, as seen in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is both intelligent and clever, two traits that, put together, complement his manipulative and dangerous nature. Due to his cunning nature he portrays the role of a very complex villain. The death of King Hamlet by Claudius results in Prince Hamlet to act out of character, which thus resulted in the tragic death of Polonius and Ophelia. While Hamlet and Gertrude were having conversation, Polonius was hiding behind the huge carpet that was hanging on the wall. Unknowingly, Hamlet stabs Polonius. Hamlet thought that it was Claudius behind the carpet and therefore stabs through the carpet to fulfill his promise to take revenge for his father’s death. Claudius is responsible for the death of Polonius