Shakespeare’s overall tone in the play Hamlet epitomizes the long disputed question; is Hamlet’s outcome determined by fate or his own free will? Hamlet is forced to make a life-altering decision when his father’s ghost asks him to kill his uncle Claudius. Hamlet is faced with two options. His first is to kill Claudius, which is treason and face life in prison or even death. The other option would be to not avenge his father and suffer the consequences in purgatory, Hamlet states, “Till the foul crimes done in my days of the nature/ Are burnt and purged away”.
Shakespeare uses the persona of Polonius, as a satirical figure and as a foil, to show what is wrong with the court of the time. Polonius is also the father of Laertes and Ophelia who are integral to the final downfall of the Danish kingdom. The tensions that arise from the death of Polonius is prevalent throughout the remainder of the play, and his passing sets the tone for the rest of the piece. The diction that is used by Polonius in the play “hamlet” is really what defines him as a character. His use of complex language to increase his intelligence is both farcical and comical in nature.
No character is spared from this deception, and therefore, it stands as a key theme in the play, “Hamlet”. Behind everything else in this play, there is a constant awareness of the murderous nature of the king. He breached his brotherly trust by killing his brother, and deceived his country by lying about the “rank” deed. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown”. The murder was driven by lust for the queen and also a desire for power, two factors which remain with the king until the final moments in the play.
“Oh, my offence is rank. It smells to heaven./It hath the primal eldest curse upon ’t,/ A brother’s murder.” (3.3.37-40). The king is referring to the earliest case of betrayal in Cain, and the envious murder he committed on his brother. When Claudius realizes Hamlet knows of his sin, it beings to cause an internal battle within him regarding forgiveness despite the fact he wants to keep the fruits of his crime. “May one be pardon'd and retain th' offense?
Most often, Hamlet makes comments that suggest he is going to seek immediate revenge from his father’s murderer, but he remains stagnant. Early within the play he states that “with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love” he will “sweep to [his father’s] revenge,” but his indecisive nature thwarts his efforts (Act I. Scene v. Line 31). Because of his Protestant religious background, Hamlet considers the possibility of the ghost being a devil. Resilient against having his soul damned to hell, Hamlet second guesses himself and his decision loses “the name of action” (Act III.
iv. 43-45). In this part of the play, Hamlet sees himself as a procrastinator and Fortinbras as a man of action, creating a foil of his own. At the end of the play as Hamlet is dying, he realizes that he and Fortinbras have more similarities than not, and that Fortinbras would be the best option for Denmark, so he inherits the throne. Fortinbras as a foil plays an important role in pointing out the aspects that Hamlet needs in order to avenge the death of his
Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy Hamlet, follows Seneca’s use of long rhetorical speeches, an appearance of some kind of ghost and the one line exchanges. These features were all later used in tragedies by Elizabethan playwrights. This play starts with a crime committed by an individual and the protagonist seeks to avenge for his blood relation, his own father, in spite of everything, even death. Shakespeare uses emotive language to portray Hamlets deep suffering and remorse for his father, on top of his mother’s announcement of marriage to Hamlets uncle. “Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
He even contemplates suicide but his rational mind stops him from doing so. Hamlet is painfully aware that committing suicide will damn his soul to hell. Shortly after, Hamlet meets with the ghost of his father. The ghost of King Hamlet tells Hamlet that Claudius, the brother of King Hamlet, killed him. The ghost asks Hamlet to avenge his “most foul murder.” However, he warns Hamlet not to let revenge consume his mind.
Wherefore should I, Stand in the plague of custom and permit, the curiosity of nations to deprive me,” (Shakespeare 1.2.1-4) so Edmund punish his father for the lack of respect he has gotten over the years. Edmund does get retributive justice catches him at the end when he is killed. Fraser believes that it will not solve anything, anger “can easily serve to perpetuate violence and hatred- one act of violence leading to another in response, which can provoke yet another” (Fraser pg2). Fraser states “Forgiveness is
Hamlet in his first soliloquy demonstrates his disgust that his mother has allied herself in love and in politics with her late husband’s brother, so soon after his death, “frailty, thy name is woman... to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets”. Claudius is clearly established as the villain in Hamlet, murdering his own brother and then plotting to kill Hamlet. He lies and is deceitful toying with the notion that the appearance of things is not their reality. The audience is privy to the ‘reality’ of Claudius ‘deed’, and of his guilt, through an aside, climactically stating, “then is my deed to my most painted word. O heavy burden!”.