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Examples Of Justice In Hamlet

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William Shakespeare’s most recognized work, Hamlet, tells the story of a young man (Hamlet) who seeks to avenge his father’s death, by killing the man who murdered him (Claudius). Hamlet’s sense of justice is defined as noble retribution tasked to him by the ghost of his father. This justice is driven by loyalty to his father and the pursuit to prove Claudius’ guilt of the crime in order to kill him justly. However, his plan is flawed as he fails to take action due to his weak disposition and recklessness, delaying his revenge, causing the main tragedy at the end of the play in which other acts of justice are also avenged, costing the lives of the main group of characters, including himself. Hamlet’s sense of justice can be seen developed in the first Act where he is driven to get revenge against Claudius. In Act 1 scene 2, Hamlet states in a soliloquy how he laments his father's death and makes known his distaste for Claudius as the new ruler of Denmark. in his words he says, “Possess it merely / That it should come to this! / But two months dead – nay, not so / much, not two –/ So excellent a king, that was to this / Hyperion to a satyr” (1.2.11)- Here Hamlet makes a contrast between his father and Claudius by comparing one as an “excellent king” and the other as a “Hyperion to a satyr”, stating that his father made a better king than he did showing the deep …show more content…

But that I am forbid… Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (1.5.23) This dialogue between the two presents the concept of justice as a means for vengeance, in which Hamlet’s father asks him to seek revenge against his murderer who is revealed to be Claudius. Having already seen his father’s legacy being destroyed by Claudius and given this new found knowledge by his father, Hamlet is determined to kill Claudius as an act of redemption. Despite Hamlet pursuing justice through revenge, his plans gets delayed due to his

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Shakespeare questions the value of revenge as a means of finding closure and justice, suggesting that it often leads to more harm than good. To draw a conclusion, the tragedy of revenge in Hamlet is a prominent theme in the play, demonstrating the destructive nature of seeking vengeance. Hamlet’s relentless pursuit of revenge causes internal conflicts, brings about a cycle of violence, and ultimately leads to tragic consequences for himself and people around him. Shakespeare’s exploration of this theme raises profound questions about the nature of revenge and its deeper effects on both individuals and

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1777 Words | 8 Pages

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (Shakespeare pg. 23) The foreshadowing in the beginning of the book provides Hamlet’s future intent to get revenge on Claudius. This goes to show how Hamlet couldn’t refuse revenge because he ended up killing his fathers murder. It’s built inside all

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1924 Words | 8 Pages

This hunger for revenge encapsulates Hamlet in a casket of anger and hatred for Claudius who struck Hamlet’s father down in cold blood soon after Hamlet converses with the ghost of his father, the late King Hamlet. Through this dialogue, Hamlet learns that Claudius played a key role in the slaying of King Hamlet and had kept it from the view of the public. After this revelation occurs, Hamlet then commits to dispersing all life from the body of Claudius, quickly following the newly discovered, heinous actions of the suspected tyrant. However, Hamlet’s anger and fury clouded his judgement and heavily influenced the monumental decisions that he made during the poem to be, less than adequate as a whole. The story of Hamlet signifies the theme of revenge in a manner that defines how it can corrupt and destroy a person both, emotionally and physically.

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The story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a story of betrayal, revenge, and intrigue. Hamlet, the title character discovers that his uncle killed his father and married his mother effectively stealing the throne. Hamlet decides he must kill his uncle Claudius as revenge for what he had done. However, as the new king, Hamlet isn't sure how to get to him, so he decides to fake madness, but his plan backfires as Claudius doesn't trust him and makes sure he is always watched. In his fumbled plan for revenge, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, forces Polonius's son Laertes to seek revenge against him, and drives Ophelia crazy causing her to kill herself.

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The unjust death of a loved one leads to irrational thoughts and actions. In William Shakespeare's, Hamlet, Hamlet is driven insane by the morality of his thoughts and actions after discovering his father was mercilessly killed by his own brother, Claudius. Evidence of this is shown through Hamlet's soliloquy regarding the ghost, his confrontation with Ophelia, and his murder of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,

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The main character of William Shakespeare’s tragedy is actually a confused person that’s stuck between two choices. Some may argue that he feels guilty for his father’s death and so it’s his duty to avenge it. While others may disagree and conclude that he is just a maniac who is both violent and dangerous. Hamlet passes through the lane of hesitancy, where he hesitates to kill King Claudius. As a matter of fact, the main conflict of Hamlet is that he feels both the need to solve the crime and punish the responsible.

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As Claudius repents, Hamlet feels as though it's the best time to kill him until he says: And so ’a goes to Heaven; And so am I revenged. That would be scanned. A villain kills my father; and for that, I, his son, do this same villain send To heaven (3.3.73-78) Essentially, Hamlet wanted to murder Claudius because he was the Old King’s murderer.

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Claudius makes a somewhat ironic statement, “by our late dear brother's death our state to be disjoint and out of frame” (1.2.19-20). His brother was no dearer to him then a rabbit is to a fox and the “disjoint” came from Claudius ignoring his kingly duties and uprooting the kingdom. Despite his drinking and partying Claudius does sense danger, but not from Denmark. Instead Claudius sees the danger in his nephew and is worried that Hamlet will learn the truth and raise a army to retake his rightful throne.

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Firstly, Hamlet is a play of a man by the name of Hamlet, whose father was murdered by Claudius, his uncle. Claudius murdered the king by pouring poison in his ear to claim the throne for himself. Hamlet is then told by a ghost to murder Claudius for revenge, and he struggles within himself for the length of play whether to do it or not. When Hamlet begins to hesitate it does more damage than good and causes a chain reaction of tragic events, and makes the readers question whether Hamlet is truly sane or not. Claudius’s corruptness begins to show when he uses his authority to order those around him to rid of Hamlet.

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First off, Hamlet was set during the Elizabethan era. That time the punishment was severe torture. Heads and limbs were cut off, people were whipped, it was so different from today. Even the Catholic Church at that time used torture to make people confess. Given that the play’s characters were Christian believers and monarchs was believed to be appointed by God Himself by Elizabethans, there is no other way to serve justice for what Claudius did except to kill him.

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Revenge is the desire to inflict harm on one who has wronged someone else. In many cases, revenge is motivated by a desire to make a person receive payback for their wrongdoings. A person can either forget and carry on with their life or allow sin to fill themselves with anger and a thirst for revenge. In the tragedy, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet has a strong suspicion that his father’s death was a murder by his uncle, Claudius because a ghost had told him so. Hamlet’s depression transitions into an intense desire to avenge his great father, Hamlet becomes consumed with the past as everyone around him moves on into the future.

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764 Words | 4 Pages

Revenge is a major part of life, even with minor things people like to get major revenge, and the same can be said for major things also. While revenge is a huge thing it can lead to bad results. Revenge is a major theme in William Shakespeare 's Hamlet, revenge is seen through Hamlet’s revenge for his father, Laertes’ revenge for his father, and Fortinbras’ revenge on Denmark for Norway. Hamlet’s revenge is the main part of the play, after his uncle killed his father and married Hamlet’s mom Hamlet wanted to get revenge. However due to Hamlet not being able to do it fast, his revenge tends to drag on leading to many other people getting affected by it, namely Polonius.

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1305 Words | 6 Pages

By the end of the play, Shakespeare shows how all of the characters attempt to get their revenge and how revenge does not always work out for the best. Hamlet is the main character of the play and it seems as if everything he does is based off his wanting to revenge Claudius for killing

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The story of a young man by the name of Hamlet has been told since it was first written in the early 1600s. The timeless classic tells the tale of Prince Hamlet, who discovers that his mother had wed his uncle, two months prior to his father’s passing. He visits the throne in Denmark because he is disgusted at the act of incest, where the ghost of his deceased father confronts him, insisting that he was murdered by Claudius, the new king. Hamlet is enraged, and he becomes obsessed with the idea of proving the crime so that he can obtain revenge against Claudius (Crowther). Despite the myriad of themes that circulate throughout the Shakespearean play, many do not realize one hidden yet extensive theme: actions and their consequences.

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1510 Words | 7 Pages

In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the title character Hamlet’s mind is violently pulled in divergent directions about the morals of murder. He feels an obligation to avenge his father’s death and thinks that it may be excused, since it is a case of “an eye of an eye.” But he is conflicted because the Bible has also taught him that murder is a sin and revenge should be left to God. Hamlet’s struggle to interpret this moral dilemma and his indecision, together are the ultimate cause of all the tragedy in the play; this internal conflict illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole: that murder, greed, and revenge are sins, no matter the reason, and procrastination is very detrimental.

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