Hamlet is a tragedy in which many deaths occur at the end of the play. In Hamlet four significant characters experience the death of their father. That causes a lot of problems and leads to the outcome of the play. The characters whose fathers’ die are: Hamlet, Ophelia, Laertes, and Fortinbras. All of them literally go through the lowest part of their lives coping with their father’s death. Especially Hamlet and Fortinbras, their mind cannot deal with their father’s death, so the country of Denmark ends up getting even more problems than it really needed. Ophelia and Laertes father dies from a character who is also dealing with his father’s death. The play ends up in chaos involving Hamlet and Laertes fighting to death. They have their hatred …show more content…
Hamlet’s father killed King Fortinbras, which angers Fortinbras and eventually paves a way for his reason to attack the country of Denmark. Fortinbras is angered by what has happened to his father and wants to seek revenge for all the problems Hamlet’s father has brought to him. Eventually, Fortinbras plans out an attack on Denmark for revenge, but the attack is stopped and Fortinbras attacks Poland instead. This reaction is quite similar to what Hamlet ends up contemplating and eventually doing. Hamlet’s father dies poisoning to the ear from his own brother, King Claudius. Hamlet finds out and immediately wants to seek out revenge for his father’s death. During that time, Hamlet contemplates suicide and revenge and has many struggles trying to deal with his father’s death. His delay for revenge ends up hurting him at the end of play, in which he finally kills Claudius but dies shortly after from Laertes. Fortinbras and Hamlet reactions are somewhat similar, but Hamlet really goes through with his revenge unlike …show more content…
Both of them are truly saddened by the death of their father. Especially Ophelia, who ends up taking her life in the middle of the play. Her reaction to her father’s death is insanity. She mainly thinks she is the reason for her father’s demise and she does not know that Hamlet killed her father which is ironic. It is ironic because Hamlet and Ophelia were in love and now Ophelia’s other love, her father, is now dead. This brings more drama to the play when Laertes finds out of his sister’s and father’s death. Laertes is fumid to what happened to his family and seeks out revenge on Hamlet. His revenge is somewhat not justified, Hamlet did not mean to kill Polonius at all, and Ophelia’s death was sort of Hamlet’s fault but not all of his. Ophelia’s death should be mostly put on Hamlet but not all considering Claudius should be blamed too. He controlled Polonius on what to do, and Claudius is responsible for Ophelia’s madness. That is from when he sent spies to spy on Hamlet and Ophelia which had a bad effect on their relationship and ultimately lead to her insanity. These two characters had a significant impact on the whole
One of many tragedies written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet, takes place in the Kingdom of Denmark and is about the revenge of a grieving prince for the death of his father. Hamlet has a very low perspective of women, as past experiences have influenced him and make him think that they are subservient to him. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the two main woman are portrayed in contrast, as lustful and in search of one’s love, which deceives Hamlet of his opinion of them. At first, Hamlet believes that his mother and father, Hamlet Sr. and Gertrude, had infinite love for each other but after marrying the King’s brother only months after his death, Hamlet is given a bad impression of his mother and love itself. Month’s after the death of his father,
“Hamlet’s relation to the maternal has often turned on a psychology complete with Freudian repressed infantile fantasies and adult son’s fears and revulsion of complex female relationships and interactions” (Kumamoto 4). This insight into Hamlet’s behavior, and how deeply seated (yet, possibly unconscious) his revulsion of Ophelia’s desires may have been makes it easier for the reader to understand how his almost intuitive reaction to Ophelia is what, in turn, provokes her madness and thereby, her death. Hamlet could not, from a psychological standpoint, have loved Ophelia genuinely or pursued a life with her if he was fixated on his mother and at the same time, repelled by her blossoming sexuality and what he feels is her (his mother’s) impiety and harlotry.
After Ophelia’s death it afflicts both men. They are both deeply saddened. Hamlet is mostly enraged and shocked by her death. Laertes is also enraged, but wants to seek revenge.
Revenge is a dangerous downfall. Revenge has caused people to do incredibly stupid and recklessly acts. The worst part of revenge however, is how easily people can justify and rationalize their actions, an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth. Hamlet is no exception. Throughout Shakespeare’s Hamlet, revenge is an almost suffocating theme. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet are all seeking retribution for the deaths of their fathers. However, while seeking such revenge, they rely on their emotions which drive them to make gambles. Gambles that in the end lead to death save one. Fortinbras father was slain by King Hamlet during battle as seen in the text, "...valiant Hamlet for so this side of our known world esteem'd him did slay this Fortinbras." Fortinbras son was so angered by his father's murder that he not only sought revenge against King Hamlet, but against all of Denmark. Young Fortinbras empowered by his rage planned to take back
The story of Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, touches on the subject of grief and heartache provoked by losing a loved one. Throughout the play, the characters are faced with many trials that lead to ultimate sorrow. As each character dies, it causes a ripple effect of anguish throughout the kingdom and to those who care. Hamlet, the son of the late Old Hamlet and Gertrude, has been hit by the sudden and unexpected death of his father. He discovers that there is some foul play and that his Uncle Claudius, who is now the king, murdered his father. He must now figure out how to deal with his pains and emotions–just as Ophelia must when her father, Polonius, is killed. Polonius is murdered by Hamlet
In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces us to Fortinbras and Hamlet. Both characters are bent on avenging the death of their fathers who were murdered. In Act I, two different revenge plots by these two men are revealed, and while Fortinbras is very open and bold about killing Claudius, Hamlet is sly and quiet about his plan. Fortinbras is also dead set on attacking Denmark no matter what but Hamlet is indecisive about killing Claudius. Fortinbras plans to lead an army to attack Denmark while Hamlet’s plan of attack is to act crazy.
Hamlet has a conversation with the Capitan of the Fortinbras army, and it was that conversation that influenced Hamlet to finally kill Claudius. Talking to the Capitan made Hamlet realize he has to take action, if the Fortinbras army can go to war over a miniscule matter, Hamlet can go to war over a huge matter that has been haunting him. After talking to the Capitan Hamlet realizes he has been very hesitant in seeking revenge because of over-analyzing his thoughts, and he vows that he will finally take action. He does.
To begin, the most important tragic flaw of Hamlet’s is his unwillingness to let go of his past, which in turn controls his fate. Hamlet’s father is killed by Claudius, his uncle, to marry his mother Gertrude, which drives Hamlet and his need to avenge his father’s death throughout the play. Hamlet is unable to let go of this desire which consumes his thoughts, which will not disappear until it is fulfilled. Hamlet returns to Denmark, prompted by the urge to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet continues to struggle with the death of his father when he
Revenge is the great motivator of men and women alike. People are compelled to seek justice for themselves and for the ones they love and many will commit atrocities to achieve their retribution. Revenge, and its role in Hamlet, is established early in the play with the presentation of the character Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway. Fortinbras is introduced as a hot headed, merciless, and revenge obsessed man who is assembling a private army to reclaim the land that his father, the former King of Norway, died for. The theme of revenge is further established in Act I when Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is convinced by the ghost of his father, the former King of Denmark, to avenge his death by killing the man who murdered him, Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and the current King of Denmark. Revenge continuously acts as a major motivating force for the actions of Hamlet and Fortinbras, and even affects Laertes, Hamlet’s old friend. When Laertes’ father is killed by Hamlet, he is convinced that he will find justice for his father by killing Hamlet. Love is the uniting force among these men, they all love their fathers and demand justice for their murder. The theme of revenge in Hamlet by Shakespeare shows how human emotion drives: Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes to commit horrendous acts in the name of “justice”.
Hamlet soon resolves to take action. He sets up a play to trap Claudius so he can find out if the ghost was telling the truth. This is his intelligence and craft. He will not impulsively commit murder because of the word of a ghost who seemed to be his dead father. When he meets with his mother later, he is very angry and emotional and kills Polonius believing it was Claudius. Hamlet shows himself to be a man of action before thought in this case. He is rather cold that he is not terribly sorry about this accidental death but does show genuine concern for his mother which leads him to fits of intense emotion.
Hamlet’s motivation throughout the play is to kill Claudius and avenge his father’s death, so every action he makes works to accomplish that goal. On the other hand, Fortinbras’ motivation toward action does not lie exclusively for the sake of revenge. Fortinbras, like Hamlet or any other proud prince, feels a certain obligation to exact revenge on his father’s killer. However, whatever he decides to do it would not entirely be accepted as revenge because King Hamlet is already dead when the play starts. Although it is unclear if Fortinbras desires to kill Hamlet in the name of his father, killing Hamlet would not be the same as killing his father, the true murderer. Rather than act as if responding to a vendetta, Fortinbras is motivated to restore honor to his father by reclaiming the parcel land in Norway that is seized after King Hamlet kills King Fortinbras.
This light-hearted scene, depicting a rather normal family, is placed directly before Hamlet's confrontation with his father's ghost, which is highly dramatic and very intense. By preceding this confrontation with a scene as light and fluffy as the one between Ophelia and her father, Shakespeare heightens the intensity of Hamlet's later scene. One is struck immediately by the contrast between the two fathers, as well as the two relationships. Ophelia loves her father dearly, apparently oblivious to the fact that he is a total fool; he gives her advice which unknowingly will lead to her death. Hamlet also loves his father with all his being; his father is not a fool, but the knowledge he imparts to Hamlet begins a long chain of events that will result in Hamlet's death as well. In this case the silly scene with Polonius, in addition to giving audience a well-deserved spell of
His uncle, Claudius, has killed his father, taken the throne, and married his mother. This leaves Hamlet feeling like his world has been crushed. By killing Claudius, Hamlet would not only avenge his father's death, but also dethrone a murderer and restore some order to his world. This sets Hamlet apart from Fortinbras and Laertes because Hamlet acts out of desperation while pride motivates Fortinbras and love makes Laertes act.
Revenge is one’s desire to retaliate and get even. Human instincts turn to revenge when loved ones are hurt. But, these misdeeds of taking upon revenge may lead to serious consequences. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet,” Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes’s each show how their desire for revenge unavoidably leads to tragedy. The loss of their loved ones caused these characters in Hamlet to take action. Young Fortinbras has built an army to get back the lands his father lost to King Hamlet and Denmark. His actions can be compared to the measures Hamlet is willing to take upon Claudius. Hamlet wants to kill his uncle, Claudius, for killing his father to gain royalty status. Laertes has the same anger as Hamlet killed Polonius,
In “Hamlet,” he is betrayed by the King of Denmark, his uncle Claudius, who killed his father, the previous King, so he could rule the kingdom and marry the Queen, Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet feels extreme betrayal by his mother as well, who chose to marry Claudius a mere two months after the death of his father. When trying to avenge his father by killing Claudius, Hamlet inadvertently mortally wounds Polonius, the father of his friend Laertes and his girlfriend Ophelia. This act forces Laertes to obtain revenge for his father’s death by killing Hamlet. Hamlet’s father killed the King of Norway during combat. The Prince of Norway, Fortinbras, thus wanted revenge on the entire country of Denmark.