Comparing Hamlet by William Shakespeare and The Killings by Andre Dubus

When Laertes learns that Hamlet has killed his father, he immediately goes along with the king's plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes agrees to "be ruled" by the King so that Hamlet "shall not choose but fall; / And for his death no wind if blame shall breathe, / But even his mother shall…call it accident" (4.7. 69, 65-68). Laertes has lost all form of conscience because of his anger towards Hamlet, he even wants "to cut [Hamlet's] throat i' the church" which is a grave offense that would surely send Laertes to Hell (4.7.127). Hamlet, on the other hand, spends much of his time plotting how he will gain his revenge. He has "heard / That guilty creatures sitting at a play…have proclaimed their malefactions…/ Before mine uncle, I'll observe his looks…If ‘a do blench, / I know my course" (2.2.589-90, 593, 597.598-9). Hamlet chooses to show the King a play, very like that of Claudius' own murderous deed, in order to cause a reaction. When "the King rises" unexpectedly, Hamlet gains some evidence of the King's guilt, beyond the word of a ghost.

He is seen again delaying his revenge due to over thinking when refusing to kill Claudius in a moment of weakness. The prince’s reluctance to murder the praying king and thus sending him directly to heaven is ironic due to the fact that Claudius is unable to confess his sins and ask for God’s forgiveness. The readers once again observe Hamlet’s failure to execute his responsibility due to his overwhelming desire to perform the perfect revenge.

Laertes loses his family because of Hamlet’s actions. His father is killed by him and his sister kills herself because of her grief. Laertes and King Claudius begin to plot Hamlet’s murder, planning to poison him, by drink or wound, whichever comes first. However, the plan backfires on the both of them and Laertes dies from his own blade, but not before saying “The King, the King’s to blame.”

In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet, a studious young man and Prince of Denmark, struggles to face the death of his father and the task to kill his father’s murderer, Claudius. He was once known as a charming, smart young man before his father’s death. However, Hamlet experiences depression and anger at the world, causing him to look outwardly on society but failing to look inwardly on himself. The death of his father and the task for vengeance leads him to question whether or not he should follow through in killing Claudius. He becomes a man of thought rather than a man of action. In addition, the delay of King Claudius’ murder leads the readers to believe that he wishes not to kill him; he

When Hamlet hears a noise behind a curtain, and stabs at it wildly, assuming it is the man who killed his father, he finds out it is his friend Polonius, the father of Ophelia. After Ophelia learns of her father’s death, she loses touch with reality, and drowns. Once Hamlet decided to take action, he had no control over the actions of his revenge, which consequently led to his girlfriend’s death. Also, Laertes, the son of Polonius, after learning of his father’s murder by Hamlet, concocts a plot of his murder. He poisons a rapier to kill Hamlet, but Hamlet unknowingly uses that same poison against him. Laertes´ desire for revenge against Hamlet led to his own death from his own actions. After being poisoned in his duel with Hamlet, he says “I am justly killed with mine own treachery” (5.2.338). The characters who pursued these acts of vengeance expected satisfaction, but the opposite occurred. Thus, Hamlet, undermines the belief that revenge gives satisfaction and relief to the pursuer, especially because of Shakespeare’s acknowledgement of the drastic consequences. Finally, the play offers the idea that for both parties, revenge can be forgiven, which is more satisfactory than any other

Now Hamlet uses a rational “now he is praying; And now I'll do't./ And so he goes to heaven;/ And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd:/ A villain kills my father; and for that,/ I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ To heaven”(p.79). Hamlet uses this “logic” to further justify his inconsistency between his actions and his motive. Finally, during the last scene, Hamlet encounters yet another chance to avenge his father’s, and now also his mother’s murders after his fencing match against Laertes. Claudius tries to kill Hamlet by poisoning him, and poisons Gertrude instead; this is the final breaking point of Hamlet. After the death of his mother Hamlet, can no longer hold back and strikes his foil through Claudius’s heart. Then, he forces the poisoned wine down his throat. This occurrence yet again shows Hamlet’s indecisive character. He plans out the vengeance of his father’s death so many times perfectly, but kills Claudius without a plan and everyone witnesses the murder.

Hamlet is as much a story of emotional conflict, paranoia, and self-doubt as it is one of revenge and tragedy. The protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, is instructed by his slain father’s ghost to enact vengeance upon his uncle Claudius, whose treacherous murder of Hamlet’s father gave way to his rise to power. Overcome by anguish and obligation to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet ultimately commits a number of killings throughout the story. However, we are not to view the character Hamlet as a sick individual, but rather one who has been victimized by his own circumstances.

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.V.31). In Shakespeare's play titled Hamlet, Lies, deception, and foul play are all encompassed into an iconic tale of revenge. The tragedy takes place in Denmark, following the death of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet. Shortly after his death, King Hamlet’s brother Claudius marries, the Queen, who is prince Hamlet’s mother. The ghost of the dead king later shows himself to Hamlet in order to reveal that he was actually murdered by his own brother Claudius. After the ghost instructs Hamlet to avenge his death, he composes a plan involving false insanity, to discover whether Claudius really did kill his father and how to avenge his father's death. In comparing the original Hamlet play, to movie

By so doing it was believed that the sins of the dead person would be

Hamlet is undeniably an epic among all plays. Shakespeare’s command of storytelling and the meticulously sculpted layers of the play add to the sheer grandeur of the life of Hamlet and the multitude of forces acting against him. The complex dialogue, the magnificent story arches, and the archetypal themes are all essential to the understanding and enjoyment of Hamlet, but there is one particular subject matter that The Bard placed at the center of all the conflict and emotion of the play: grief. The Prince of Denmark’s burdened life after his father’s death is completely coerced by the tearing force of grief throughout his mental and emotional state of being. His purpose, his insanity, and ultimately his downfall stemmed from this encumbrance.

Hamlet, unlike Fortinbras and Laertes, did not follow what his advisor told him without questioning why he should take the advice. As time passes, Hamlet still has not acted out the revenge he promised his father. Out of disgust for his irreverence for his father he says, ?why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, that I, the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, must like a whore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab? (II.ii.594-598). This statement prompts one to believe Hamlet has been convinced by his father?s words to act, but does not want to do so hastily. Hamlet questions the validity of his revenge by devising a plan to provide evidence of King Claudius? guilt. Hamlet took advantage of his position at the local theater by instructing his actors

Here, Hamlet shows despite his need to revenge for his father, he is held back from his constant thought of his actions as well as his moral considerations. It’s been clearly stated that Hamlet has a strong sense of heaven and hell; that he won’t kill his uncle while praying, because he thinks he might go to heaven. Hamlet himself doesn’t want to kill his uncle without being assured that he is guilty. This is why, by the end of the play, Claudius' death is something we applaud, regretting only that he was not killed sooner. The reason of this delay is because of Hamlets’ moral triumph. His morality often keeps him from acting; it makes him mull around in his uncertainty and anxiety, instead of just acting and bringing his struggle to an end.

scene Laertes is talking to the king about avenging his father's death, so the king tells him it was Hamlet who killed Polonius. After hearing this Claudius and Laertes come up with a plan to kill Hamlet and end this once and for all. This shows how short tempered Laertes is because he does not even want to know the full story he just wants to kill Hamlet. Hamlet the main character of the play is very timid, loyal, and has an inability to take action. In act 1 scene 5 Hamlet sees the ghost of his father for the first time and the ghost tells Hamlet the truth about his death. “The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown.”(Act 1 Scene 5), this quote is what the ghost tells Hamlet that it was Claudius his own brother that murdered him and took the crown. “So, uncle,

The death of King Hamlet effected many individuals lives to the point where great changes were made. Especially in regards to his son, Hamlet, who took the death – murder- of his father personally in both mental and emotional ways. By doing so, Hamlet portrays and experiences the death and loss of his father by acting out in manners in which magnify his isolation and alienated actions. These would include excluding and distancing himself, turning on those closest, and taking on measures one would never do so when thinking rationally or clearly.

The ghost tells him that he was murdered by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, the current king. The ghost then asks him to avenge his death. Hamlet decides to act like he is crazy so he would have a better shot at killing him. While pretending to be crazy Hamlet has the Players act out a play that was similar to the murder of Hamlet's father. Claudius stopped the play half way through. After he sent everyone away Claudius started to pray and Hamlet sneaks up on him about to avenge his father's death. However, he decides not to kill him then because if Hamlet kills Claudius while he is praying then Claudius will go to heaven. He decides to wait until he has not had a chance to confess before he kills him. Hamlet is so against him going to Heaven instead of Hell because Claudius killed Hamlet's father before he had a chance to confess to God, so Hamlet believes he went to hell. Hamlet did not try and kill him again until the end of the play. At the end of the play Hamlet is sword fighting with someone that Claudius has made a plan with to kill Hamlet. The plan was that the guy would use a sharp poisoned sword so is Hamlet got cut he would be poisoned and die. The back-up plan in case Hamlet wins is that Claudius will offer Hamlet poisoned wine in celebration. However his mother drinks it. Hamlet was cut with the sword and after his mother died he stabbed Claudius with the poisoned and makes him drink all the wine. Then Hamlet dies (Shakespeare, (1011-1107). The two plays both