Why Is Horatio Important In Hamlet

    Hamlet is a character that we love to read about and analyze. His character is so realistic, and he is so romantic and idealistic that it is hard not to like him. He is the typical young scholar facing the harsh reality of the real world. In this play, Hamlet has come to a time in his life where he has to see things as they really are. Hamlet is an initiation story. Mordecai Marcus states "some initiations take their protagonists across a threshold of maturity and understanding but leave them enmeshed in a struggle for certainty"(234).  And this is what happens to Hamlet.

       In Act I, Scene II, one is first made aware of the strength of Hamlet's relationship with Horatio when the latter informs Hamlet that he has seen what he believes is the ghost of the former King Hamlet. This introduction to the relationship between Horatio and Hamlet demonstrates the strong bonds of trust and confidence they share. Unlike the other characters who have seen the apparition and would choose to shrink away from it, Horatio, recognizing the ghost for who it might be, tries to make contact with it, albeit unsuccessfully. After this initial contact, and recognizing the significance of what he has witnessed, it is Horatio that takes Hamlet into his confidence to relate what he has seen. "As I do live, my honored lord, 'tis true, / And we did think it writ down in our duty / To let you know of it" (1.2. 220-222). Horatio gives Hamlet a very detailed account of the sighting, answering Hamlet's questions with the honesty and insight of a concerned friend. It is obvious by Horatio's candor that he is neither fearful of Hamlet's response, nor is he concerned that Hamlet will not believe his accounting of the event.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play. Most of the characters in the play have selfish motives at heart. Lust, greed, pride, and revenge are just a few sins that are committed in the play. There are few instances within the play that show goodness and kindness. Hamlet has so many people around him trying to bring him down, but he had one friend that was loyal to him, and that was Horatio. The other key characters in the play were only out for their own good. However Horatio was looking out for Hamlet. Unfortunately, Horatio was the only one.

Sunday, September 17, 2017. The first story that appeared across the newsfeed was that of our Commander in Chief retweeting a video of himself. This time he was hitting a golf ball, it smacks Hillary Clinton in the back and knocks her down. Perfect. Could there have been more ironic imagery for the novel than this? Picture it, the most powerful man in the world, the one with the nuclear codes, tweeting videos where he is implying to the world that he is knocking down a woman. His competitor, a former Senator, Secretary of State and First Lady.

Horatio, unlike Laertes and Fortinbras, was very level headed and almost scared. He wanted to protect Hamlet, and make sure he was making the right decisions, but Hamlet was very quick to make decisions, even when he spoke he had a very little filter on what came out of his mouth. Hamlet, who was not quick to avenge his father’s death, was quick to many other actions, and Horatio was a lot more guarded on what he thought Hamlet should do. Without Horatio, no one would have been watching out for Hamlet, Horatio was used to be an example of just how cautious Hamlet should have

’s course on it’s own without trying to change it. This moment is when Hamlet first started to understand the meaning that life and why we should value and appreciate our lives. At this scene, Hamlet’s conscious then decides to understand the mistakes that he has made and face the consequences, but not be afraid because that’s how his fate ended up to be. Secondly, Hamlet understands the value that life gives because he told Horatio not to kill himself.

But we must remark how Hamlet speaks of Horatio; he does so in words of passionate admiration. His election had sealed Horatio for himself because in suffering all, Horatio suffered nothing; and it is the man who is not passion’s slave whom he would wear in his

Before examining Horatio and Hamlets friendship, it is important to look at Horatio as a character, if only to see why he offers such good companionship to Hamlet. From the very beginning of the play, Horatio is portrayed as being part of the old regime, meaning he was loyal to the old King Hamlet and does not necessarily works of the new king and the way he acquired the throne. It is understood that Hamlet and Horatio were not old friends but they at least have known of each other and were amicable because of their close relationship to the old King. (Evans 7) Horatio is characterized as being someone that would never break a loyalty no matter what was offered to him and that is why he can never be a close friend to King Claudius and possibly why he offers Hamlet his friendship regardless of how he is acting throughout the play. (Lucking 4) Hamlet and Horatio may share similar interests in that they both disapprove of what is going on and feel like it is a disgrace to the dead king Hamlet and all that he has worked for and stood for. (Doubt 7) Sharing all of these common feelings towards everything is what defines a friendship in the first place. Another possible reason why Hamlet feels inclined to trust Horatio is that he is the only one that still showed support to Hamlet and felt for him

If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart… tell my story,¨ (V.ii.375-384). Hamlet wants Horatio to live so he can fulfill Hamlet’s plans of giving everything back and making everything right that he, himself did not get the chance to go. Hamlet ends his life with goodness in his

Horatio is Hamlet’s best friend in the play whom is let into the mind and secrets of

Shakespeare accurately shows the political and social statuses of the day in Hamlet, and accurately demonstrates the ideas of Karl Marx through Hamlet. Marxist ideas demonstrate that society that is dependent on a class system will lead to a struggle between the classes and inevitably lead to revolution. In Hamlet, Shakespeare accurately shows the inner struggles of a class system through the wide variety of characters. The main characters span from the high class and royal family all the way down to the lowest class and the gravediggers. Through the interactions between the characters, it is easy to see the oppressions given to the lower class by the upper class. The result of this, as seen in the final scene of the play, does not end well for the upper class. In this scene, all the royal family, as well as Ophelia’s family, end up dead. The fact that the only one to survive is Horatio also perhaps shows some insight to the class struggle to the end. Horatio is the only one of the main characters to not be of the same social status, yet is the one who lives to tell the story to Fortinbras. He also is shown to be the one that remains honest and true throughout the

A lot of popular books and plays have been made into movies. Although directors try to keep the movie as close to the book or play, changes have to be made. One great example of this is Catching Fire and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. (Collins, Lawrence). A major chunk of the book is left out in the movie. This change was probably made to keep the movie from being four hours long. This change causes some crucial details from the book to be left out of the movie. Many other books and movies have differences. Some differences between Romeo and Juliet and Romeo+Juliet were the time period in which they are set, the party thrown by the Capulets, and the way Juliet takes her own life (Shakespeare, Luhrmann). A similarity between the play and movie was the language that the characters used. The director would make these changes to modernize the movie so younger audiences would be attracted to watch the movie.

     Horatio’s most important role as a foil does not become evident until the end of the play. His conversation with Hamlet just before the fatal duel with Laertes provides us with an insight into Hamlet’s state of mind. Horatio advises Hamlet to back down if he does not like the circumstances, and Horatio will attest to Hamlet’s

Hamlet’s character drastically develops over the first four acts of Hamlet, and his character development is most evident through the soliloquys he delivers throughout the play. The most character development can be seen from the first soliloquy, to the second, the third, the sixth, and the seventh and final soliloquy. Hamlet’s inner conflict with his thoughts and his actions are well analyzed in his soliloquys, as well as his struggles with life and death, and his very own existence. He begins the play wondering what purpose he has in life now that his father is dead and his mother has remarried to his uncle. After finding out foul play was involved in his father’s death, he is motivated by revenge. Finally, he wonders how he can enact his revenge while continuously overthinking and overanalyzing his actions.

Without Horatio, there is no one to give truth to Hamlet's words. Horatio bears witness to the ghost: “Look, my lord, it comes” (I. iv. 38), giving credence to Hamlet’s later claims that he has seen the ghost of his father. When Hamlet is forcing the guards to swear an oath, it is to Horatio that he tells of his plan “to put an antic disposition on” (I. v. 172). If this scene did not occur as it did, with Hamlet informing someone of his actions, then Hamlet's sanity would be questioned from the very beginning of the play. After all, if there is no one else to confirm the facts, who can say that Hamlet truly loses his sanity in Act I, and then his "act" is not an act at all?