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How is revenge used in hamlet
How is revenge used in hamlet
How is revenge used in hamlet
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More handpicked essays just for you.
How is revenge used in hamlet
How is revenge used in hamlet
How is revenge used in hamlet
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
3. From one angle the play is about the relationship between fathers and sons. Compare the relationships of Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes. Use textual support. All three characters react differently when their fathers are murdered.
Fortinbras is manipulated by his uncle when he makes a promise to him in Act 2, scene 2. He “Makes vow before his uncle never more To give th’assy of arms against your Majesty.”, making it impossible to attack Denmark in order to regain his father’s land. Hamlet on the other hand who acts alone is in total control of his situation. He has moments when he acts insane, but he is always aware of what is happening around him, causing him to analyze and over think every little detail of killing his uncle, Claudius. Hamlet realizes the reason he can’t just kill Claudius and get it over with.
Through distinct archetypal parallels between Hamlet and Fortinbras and their aspirations for revenge, Shakespeare composes an alternative conclusion of his tragedy Hamlet through Prince Fortinbras, indicating Hamlet’s corruptible nature and hierarchy for revenge ultimately led to his ruin and instructing against the condensation of desire through depravity and disregard for consequences. In Act 1 of Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces the conflict between Denmark and Norway through the former king of Denmark’s ghost. From the perspective of Prince Hamlet’s acquaintance Horatio, Shakespeare establishes the background of his story. Horatio informs the audience that “Our last king . . .
Hamlet, the prince of Denmark is contrasted by Fortinbras and Laertes. The prince of Denmark can be characterized as very intelligent. When Hamlet learns of that Claudius is the murderer of his father, he devises a plan to he first makes sure that he is proven guilty “ I’ll have grounds More relative than this. The play’s the thing Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king”(II.ii.601-603) This displays Hamlet’s intelligence by formulating a calculated plan to eliminate his foe.
Its is clear that he is strategic as he asks for permission beforehand to go through Denmark to get to the land that he wants to win back. He is aware of the disorder in Denmark so he plans for it to be that time when he will cross Denmark as everyone will be too distracted to pay much attention to him and his plans. Fortinbras has an achievable, and meaningful goal which is one of his largest strengths that will lead to his success in this play. Fortinbras’ goal is not just to avenge his father’s death but to reclaim his father’s honor by winning back the land he had lost. Unlike Laertes he does not jump right into the first way to get revenge, instead he is strategic and makes sure his plan is fool proof.
On the contrary, because the end that Fortinbras south was not personal, but rather honor-based, he was not constrained by the same obligations. Thus, he took action and channeled his frustrations through his efforts to regain the Norwegian land won by Old King Hamlet. In fact, it was this intense desire Fortinbras had that was the catalyst that Hamlet admittedly needed to catapult himself out of
This shows Fortinbras ambition and courage, and with this he was able to win those lands back, and become king of Denmark as Hamlet nominates him moments before he died. This relates to a young individual’s life because, there is always people who will work hard for what they want, and will end up successful. Horatio plays the role of Hamlets best friend in the play, and is very relatable to adolescents as they all have that one friend who deeply cares and loves them, and is always there to support them through the hardest of times. When Hamlet follows the ghost so he can find out what his business is, Horatio is that one friend that tells him, “What if tempt you toward the flood, my lord,/ Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff/That beetles o’er his base into the sea,”(1.4.69-71). Horatio warns Hamlet of how dangerous this can be and tries to dissuade him from speaking with the ghost, since he can get fooled into his death.
William Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, has well stood the test of time as the play is, to this day, still relevant in our modern world. Perhaps it is because of the erratic twists and turns of the plot, or maybe it is because we can all see at least a little bit of ourselves in the dynamic, imperfect characters. More interestingly, the characters themselves seem to have quite a lot in common, to a certain degree. Hamlet has many puzzles, parallels, and paradoxes by which audience can reasonably infer that Shakespeare did not support the idea of revenge (Boyce 136). The tragedy genre is synonymous with death and despair.
Within the classic Shakespeare play of Hamlet, many overarching themes can be found. However, when one looks more closely, they can see that the idea of revenge has huge impacts on the plot. When watching the movie adaptations, one directed by Franco Zeffirelli in 1990 and the other by Kenneth Branagh in 1996, some discrepancies can be seen throughout the story. The way the directors depicted certains scenes has changed the way the views see the ideal of revenge. By analyzing the depictions of Hamlet’s personality throughout all three versions of Hamlet, the audience realizes the importances of revenge in the plot.
Denmark ended up winning this war, and the spoils that came along with it included killing Fortinbras Sr. and some land that originally belonged to Norway. At the beginning of the play, we find out that Fortinbras is angry about this, and wants to get his revenge on Denmark for taking everything away from him and restore Norway’s honor. However, Fortinbras Sr. agreed to the conditions of the war before it even began. This is shown on page 8 where it reads, “...who by a seal’d compact...Did forfeit, with his life, all those lands.” Fortinbras is not justified in getting revenge on Denmark at all.
Another foil created by Shakespeare to shed light on Hamlet’s character flaw of indecisiveness is Prince Fortinbras of Norway. Much like Prince Hamlet, Prince Fortinbras’ father has recently been murdered and Fortinbras is enraged. He decided with little thought to lead his own army into a battle in an attempt to reclaim the land that his father had lost, to honour his father. In Act 4 Scene 4 Hamlet comes across Fortinbras and comments on his courage and honour
Years later, triggered by the death of King Hamlet and a thirst for revenge and power, Prince Fortinbras has assembled a militia of angry Norwegians. Their goal is to reclaim the lands lost by Fortinbras ' father, for Norway. As king of Denmark, Claudius is directly forced to deal with Fortinbras. However, the revolt of Fortinbras remains
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare’s most notorious play, depicts the story of a young man who lives in Denmark and sets out to avenge his father, killing his uncle who is now king, which was told to him by his father’s ghost: “The serpent that did sting thy father 's life/ Now wears his crown” (1.5). The play is set up to make a cast of characters, through foils, give the character of Hamlet more life and thus enhance the play. Fortinbras and Laertes are the predominant foils to Hamlet; they will be analyzed and compared in the following essay, weighing out the importance of this foil effect to the plot & the effect of the play. Prince Fortinbras of Norway and Laertes depict the exact opposite of Hamlet’s character. All of these characters seek revenge for the death of their fathers by taking the matter into their own hands: Fortinbras seeks war against Denmark (former King Hamlet killed Fortinbras’ father), while Laertes returns from Paris to Eslionor to fight for his dead father 's honor.
While Fortinbras is preparing to lead an army against Denmark, Hamlet is paralyzed by an unending cycle of thought, analysis, and uncertainty. This leads the reader to see Fortinbras as a being of action and Hamlet as a being of thought. Even Hamlet himself is affected by Fortinbras’ proactive actions. Just after meeting with a captain in in Fortinbras’ passing army, he both praises Fortinbras’ willingness to actually do something and laments his inability to do the same. This contrast, enhanced by hamlet himself, reenforces the reader’s image of Hamlet as a being of thought as opposed to a being of direct
Hamlet could have succeeded in both avenging his father and staying alive to tell the story, like Fortinbras, but failed. Even though Hamlet ended up successful in killing Claudius, he dies by the same sword, therefore, making him unsuccessful overall. Fortinbras’s goal was to avenge his father and gain back the land he had lost. He gains the territory, avenges his father, and now is in line for Denmark’s throne as well as Norway’s, an overall success. By adding this comparison, the audience empathizes with Hamlet, even more, adding to the simple classical