The Law of Nature Must Carry its Punitive Consequences With It

No nation is entirely free from corruption. Nevertheless, if corruption is strong enough, it can hinder the good governance and decay the fabric of society. It is an obstacle to sustainable development, and leaves little room for justice to prevail. Throughout the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, a corrupting disease plagues Denmark and the people within it. The incestuous marriage between Gertrude and Claudius, in addition to murdering King Hamlet, is the main example of deceit, corruption and evil. Throughout the play we can

Polonius was not very well off. He told his daughter to stay away from Hamlet, which caused some problems. Then he decided to eavesdrop on Hamlet and Gertrude’s private conversation which gets him killed by Hamlet, who thought he was the king. His death pretty much is the last straw for Ophelia, who goes into utter madness.

Polonius’s relationship with his children is far worse that Hamlets relationship with his biological parents. In the first act, Laertes warns Ophelia not to fall for Hamlet because he simply cannot marry outside of royalty. Polonius overheard their conversation and chipped in, “Tender yourself more dearly, / or you’ll tender me a fool”. (I.iii.107-109) As an unmarried daughter, Ophelia has no choice but to be obedient to her father. This means that Polonius is free to force Ophelia to break up with Hamlet. He’s also free to use his daughter as bait to spy on

Polonius teams up with King Claudius and once again places demands on Ophelia which require her to disregard her own self to fulfill their wishes of deceiving Hamlet into revealing the cause of his erratic behavior. And once again, it is Ophelia’s duty to her father and this time to the king to be obedient. Disobedience to the king and his advisor are not an option. Polonius wants the king to look on him in good favor and he is willing to step on his daughter to get this admiration. He neglects Ophelia’s feelings by not even thinking of how his requests will affect her. He feels at liberty to request whatever he would like. He is purely worried about himself. Polonius holds a position of unquestioning authority over his daughter. He treats her as though she is not intelligent enough to make her own decisions and he knows that she will inherently obey him. To him her feelings are irrelevant and immature which he states when saying “Affection, puh, you speak like a green girl.”(1.3.101) Following her fathers instructions, she loses her lover and a piece of her happiness.

Taken separately, these two characters have different agendas concerning the Prince. Polonius' preoccupation with power exists at the same time as Ophelia's true (but nevertheless easily controlled) concern. When looked at together, these two people form something larger. Ophelia's sentiments, when mixed with Polonius' desire for power, result in a double-edged sword aimed at Hamlet. Other scenes within the play have both of these characters trying to pull Hamlet in such a direction as to give the King the advantage he needs. In this scene, though Hamlet is not present, Polonius and Ophelia form a kind of anti-familial unit. On one level, this father-daughter team works well within itself. But on another level, these two figures symbolize the hazy separation Hamlet himself feels from any type of

One of the most important subplots of the play Hamlet is the character of Laertes and how he demands revenge for the slaying of his father. Laertes is an antagonist character in the play Hamlet and works against the main character. However, Claudius is Hamlet's real enemy in the play so Laertes might be classified as a foil rather than a true antagonist. Laertes is an extremely important character to the plot, although his importance is only seen at the end of the play. Therefore, he should be classified as a major character. His actions ultimately begin the final climax of the play's plot. Laertes is the son of the priest Polonius and the older brother of Ophelia, late female companion of Prince Hamlet. At first, Laertes seems to only be a peripheral character but functions to further the plot in the latter half of the play upon his return to Denmark.

Laertes also brings revenge and betrayal out of Hamlet. Though an enemy, Laertes is a foil to Hamlet. Laertes helps in the development of Hamlet through the similarities they share. These include anger over the death of their fathers, and desire to exact revenge. Betrayal is also relevant because Laertes betrays Claudius in the end, revealing his plan to kill Hamlet. Hamlet betrays his father by verbally abusing his mother, against the wishes of his father. The differences between the two men are very strong. Hamlet would not kill Claudius in the church because he was praying. Laertes, however stated that he would kill Hamlet in a church, praying or not. Another difference is that Hamlet cannot be a man of action and a man of thought at the same time. He does not use his mind when he acts. He just acts. When he is pondering something, he is unable to act out his thoughts, and keeps quiet. Laertes, however, is able to act while thinking. He finds out that Hamlet killed his father and immediately devises a plan to kill him. This flaw makes Hamlet dangerous to himself, and is ultimately his downfall.

To begin with, Laertes is the most similar foil to Hamlet when it comes to circumstance and rage. They both want revenge for their father’s death, though their method of revenge are different. Laertes is a man of action and wants to get revenge right away after learning that his father Polonius has been killed. In contrast to Laertes, Hamlet does not even make public knowledge of his father’s murder. Laertes doesn’t procrastinate his attempt at revenge like Hamlet. However, he is very shallow and Hamlet is a genius in comparison. Hamlet thinks of ways to plan his revenge against Claudius, though it is his tendency to overthink that leads him to his tragic flaw. He himself realizes that Laertes is put in a similar position to himself. “I’ll be your foil, Laertes: in mine ignorance your skill shall, like a star i’ the darkest night, Stick fiery off indeed” (V.ii.5-7). Rage is another emotion the characters have in common. When Laertes learns of his father’s death, he gets enraged and wants to get revenge instantly. "To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation: to this point I stand, that both worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes; only I'll be revenged most thoroughly for my father." (Act 4 Scene 5 lines 128-134). Laertes says to Claudius that he will honor his father when he says that he was “in deed his father’s son more than in words” and that he will kill Hamlet. “To cut his throat i’

    In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the characters of Laertes and Hamlet both display impulsive reactions when angered. Once Laertes discovers his father has been murdered, he immediately assumes the slayer is Claudius. As a result of Laertes' speculation, he instinctively moves to avenge Polonius' death. "To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation: to this point I stand, that both worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes; only I'll be revenged most thoroughly for my father." Act 4 Scene 5 lines 128-134 provide insight into Laertes' mind, displaying his desire for revenge at any cost.

Polonius shows the need to manipulate a situation regardless if it concerns him or not. This is especially seen through the relationship with his children. Without even knowing the full situation, Polonius has jumped into trying to

“Marry, well said, very well said. Look you, sir, Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris, And how, and who, what means, and where they keep What company at what expense; and finding By this encompassment and drift of question That they do know my son, come you more nearer Than your particular demands will touch it. Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him, As thus: “I know his father and his friends, And, in part, him.” Do you mark this, Reynaldo? (A.II.sc.i.ln 6-15).” Polonius wants to know what is Laertes doing and has sent Reynaldo to do his spying for him. We can see how these actions and character traits will continue throughout the play and will lead to his poetic death. Even though his death is an accident, he gets what he deserves because he is where he shouldn’t be: the King and Queen’s chambers. Hamlet thinks he is Claudius and that is why he kills him. When Hamlet finds out that it is, in fact, Polonius he says, “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune. Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger. (A.III.sc.iv.ln 32-34).” Polonius’ death is the most notable act of poetic justice in the play. Shakespeare uses this character’s death to show the audience how snooping and meddling into other people’s business is morally wrong and you will be punished for it accordingly.

On the other hand, Laertes wants to revenge his father’s death. Therefore this mistake murder leads Hamlet to his downfall as Claudius and Laertes want to kill him.

The relationship is between Polonius and Laertes, is the ultimate bond. It is a bond, which contains the necessary love and respect in a father-son relationship, but yet it lacks the closeness, or real emotional bonding required in a true relationship. Polonius as a father loves Laertes and listens to him and councils him on different topics. He is proud of his son and his intelligence, yet he does not altogether trust this intelligence enough to let him use his own discretion in France. In the first scene of Act Two, we see Polonius

Laertes serves a foil to Hamlet, although they are not similar in birth, they are similar in that they both have a dear father murdered. Using this parallel, Shakespeare uses Laertes to show what Hamlet should be doing, contrasting Laertes’s words of action to Hamlet’s own words of action. We see this most clearly when Laertes is talking with Claudius and he says that he will “cut [Hamlet’s] throat i' th' church” to avenge his father, this contrasts directly with Hamlet who decides not to kill a praying Claudius when he has the chance (4.7.144). Laertes also serves as external conflict as he challenges Hamlet to a fight and is convinced by Claudius to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword. Without this fight, who knows if Hamlet would have gotten around to kill Claudius? But when we really look at Laertes’ words and consequent action, we see another similarity with Hamlet, both are rash and passionate. This is significant because

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