"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (Act I, Scene IV). These words, spoken by Marcellus to Horatio, mark the beginning of a series of mischievous events within the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. After King Hamlet is murdered, his ghost appears to Hamlet demanding the revenge of his murder, accusing his brother Claudius. The protagonist, Hamlet, is then faced with the challenge of acting in the right manner, and seeks to find out if what his father's ghost disclosed was true or not. When Hamlet murders Laertes' father, Laertes seeks revenge for his father's death before asking any questions. Although Hamlet and Laertes go about their actions in different ways, both characters are admired by the common people of Denmark, afflicted by the deaths of their fathers, and affected by each of their own moral capacities; therefore, highlighting each other's characteristics throughout the play.
Caught in the spur of the moment, Hamlet murders Polonius and causes an outbreak of emotions in Denmark. King Claudius is told by a messenger that "The rabble call [Laertes] "lord" and-as the world were now but to begin, antiquity forgot, custom not known, the ratifiers and props of every word-they cry, "Choose we! Laertes shall be king!'" (Act IV, Scene V). Laertes heard of his father's murder and came back home from France in order to seek an explanation and avenge his father's murder from King Claudius along with a group of supporters. When Laertes questions King Claudius about the ambiguity surrounding Hamlet's freedom from punishment, Claudius responds by pointing out "the great love the general gender bear [Hamlet]" (Act IV, Scene VII). Had the King punished Hamlet, the public would have born a bitterness towards him because they "convert [Hamlet's] gyves to graces" (Act IV, Scene VII).