Hamlet
In the play Hamlet, three characters are confronted with the death of a father. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet all deal with the loss of their father. In addition, the three of them are confronted with men they consider enemies of their fathers. All three men seek revenge against those they believe have killed their fathers. However, the similarities between Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet only serve to highlight the differences between the three men. Each of them approaches death and revenge in a decidedly different manner. Fortinbras treats the actions against his father as acts of war and seeks the return of those lands taken from his father. Laertes reacts immediately to the murder of his father, seeking his revenge against Hamlet immediately and rashly. In contrast, Hamlet delays seeking revenge for his father. These three different approaches to the death of a father and a son's responsibility to avenge those deaths combine to form the unique tragedy that is Hamlet. The audience is first introduced to Fortinbras by Claudius, who indicates that Fortinbras is pressuring Denmark for the return of land taken by King Hamlet from Fortinbras' father. Fortinbras believes that Hamlet's father is responsible for the
Of course, there are two things that distinguish Hamlet from Fortinbras and Laertes. The first is Hamlet's complexity. Although compelled by the Ghost to avenge King Hamlet's death, there are times when Hamlet seems ambivalent, at best, about taking his uncle's life. The second is Hamlet's madness. According to McConnell, Hamlet is not morally obliged to take revenge, and his need for vengeance is considered corrosive and contagious, eventually spreading to Hamlet's own mind (McConnell). However, there is some dispute over whether Hamlet's madness is real or pretend, which contributes to Hamlet's complexity. In fact, according to Fidel Fajardo-Acosta, "in his desire for revenge and for the throne, Hamlet is not all that different from the villainous Claudius and is forced to descend to his own level: lying, scheming, and murdering in order to accomplish his ends." Such a characterization dismisses the possibility that Hamlet's madness is genuine. It also makes the point that Hamlet's complexity is both forced and unnecessary. Simply by having a conversation with Gertrude of a confrontation with Claudius, Hamlet could have prevented all of the secondary tragedy that occurs in the play. However, Hamlet is not so easily dismissed. He is "possibly the most discussed and contentious character in the whole of world drama and indeed in the whole of Western Literature. While conceding he is one of Shakespeare's greatest creations, critics are at loggerheads over the inner motivations and psyche of this character" (Wikipedia). Why Hamlet is motivated to seek revenge, and whether seeking revenge lead him to madness or to cunning are questionst that may never be resolved. Much clearer is the fact that in seeking revenge, Hamlet brings about not only his own death, but the deaths of almost everyone he loves. To give these mourning duties to your father. But you must know your
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Approximate Word count = 1279
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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