Macbeth, Romeo and Juliette, Othello, Mid-Summer night's dream, The Merchant of Venice, and Hamlet are only few examples of Shakespeare's plays in which he expresses and portrays death. According to Harold Jenkins, "Murder [in Hamlet] is supposed to rid the world of the satyr and restore it to Hyperion"; however, by the end of the play we discover that Hamlet's inability to revenge his father's murder early on in the play has a negative impact on all the principal characters, including Hamlet himself.
To begin with, Polonius and Laertes are major characters that contribute greatly to this play. In fact, the first character to die, in Hamlet, is Polonius. It is tempting to presume that Polonius is cunning because he often acts in a deceitful manner when dealing with Hamlet, but to do so would be unwise. Being the king's counselor, it is his duty to obey the wishes of the king and queen, which was to discover the nature of Hamlet's madness. This loyalty eventually proves to be fatal for him. Hamlet stabs Polonius behind the curtain, "O, I am slain."(III.4.25), mistaking the counselor for king Claudius. This makes Polonius" death a tragedy. However, if Polonius were not present in the play, Laertes" loyalty to his family would not have been so strong. In addition, Polonius" death created a conflict between Laertes and Hamlet. Hence, Laertes had a reason to revenge his father's death, and it is why he needed to return to kill Hamlet. Polonius and his death helped develop and carry the plot in Hamlet. This conflict makes Laertes an asset also. Laertes" death is tragic because, although he kills Hamlet, he is avenging his father's death. The murder of Hamlet is due to pressure put on Laertes by Claudius. "What would you undertake / To show yourself your father's son in deed / More than in words"(IV.7.100-101) Laertes, influenced by angry Claudius, conspires to murder Hamlet. This makes Laertes" action excusable and his death a tragedy.
Hamlet Hamlet is a young man who's father dies and his life is turned upside down. ... Hamlet is battling his conscience. ... Hamlet is extremely indecisive. ... Hamlet wants to kill his uncle because he killed hamlets father. ... Hamlet only trusts Horatio. ...
The old king Hamlet is murder by Claudius and therefore Hamlet must take his revenge. ... Hamlet begins to doubt the ghost. ... Hamlet is contradicts himself. ... Hamlet's next problem is that of morality. ... Hamlet's flaw of irresolution, the uncertainty on how to act or proceed, is shown when Hamlet sees a play and the passion the actors had, after Hamlet's third soliloquy, in Hamlet's fourth soliloquy, and in Hamlet's indecisive pursuit in avenging his father's death. ...
Hamlet In the play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet never loses his sanity, in his plan to feign madness. ... It is after this statement that Hamlet begins to act mad. ... Guildenstern asks Hamlet what he means by this and Hamlet professes he is "" . . . but mad north-north-west. ... Polonius believe he [Hamlet] was mad. ... In a conversation, Gertrude questions Hamlet's sanity. ...
Hamlet In the play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet never loses his sanity, in his plan to feign madness. ... It is after this statement that Hamlet begins to act mad. ... Guildenstern asks Hamlet what he means by this and Hamlet professes he is "" . . . but mad north-north-west. ... Polonius believe he [Hamlet] was mad. ... In a conversation, Gertrude questions Hamlet's sanity. ...
Laertes is a mirror to Hamlet. ... Laertes is decisive and Hamlet is not. ... Fortinbras acts as Hamlet's inspiration; he motivates Hamlet to go forward with his plan to kill Claudius, which in the end leads to Hamlet's downfall. ... Horatio is Hamlet's friend and solid rock on whom Hamlet can trust and depend. ... Horatio cared for Hamlet greatly, and so Hamlet cared greatly for Horatio. ...
KING Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius? HAMLET At supper. ... If Claudius does not stand on one side of a titanic conflict, his betrayal of Hamlet's father and Marriage to Hamlet's mother, do ignite one: Hamlet's conflict with himself. ... In the end Hamlet dies along with most of the principle characters whether they were duplicities against Hamlet or not. ... By the end of the play Hamlet has thoroughly explored the question but like Hamlet, it remains an enigma. ...
Hamlet The study of Shakespeare's Hamlet has been one that is very extensive as well as enormous. ... A critic of Hamlet once said, "a man set out to read all the books about Hamlet would have time to read nothing else, not even Hamlet." ... "Hamlet is the tragedy of reflection. ... For where Hamlet saw that "the time is out of joint," Hamlet himself was "out of joint." ... (Mack. 64) Hamlet begins his questioning with the death of elder Hamlet. ...
Hamlet 1 Throughout Hamlet, Hamlet expresses his thoughts via several soliloquies. ... In this scene, Hamlet is being "set up" by Ophelia, Polonius, and Claudius. ... This is quite different than the "emotional Hamlet" seen in 1.2, or the "vengeful Hamlet" seen in 1.5. ... The three claim to be concerned for Hamlet's mental state of mind. This is ironic, because as the characters within the play see Hamlet mentally deteriorating, readers see Hamlet mentally developing. ...
Hamlet Tania Kozie-Slobodzian Hamlet is categorized as one of Shakespeare's tragedies. ... Horatio a friend of Hamlet tells Hamlet that he is afraid because he thinks he has seen a ghost who resembles the late King. ... The Ghost of Hamlet's father appears in front of Hamlet. The ghost is in fact Hamlet's late father. ... Now that Hamlet is said to be crazy, Polonius goes to the King and tells him about Hamlet's strange behavior concerning Ophelia. ...
