How Does Shakespeare Create A Ripple Effect In Hamlet

While all great works of literature often include a main character who encounters a conflict requiring action, Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” portrays the ultimate story of a quest to resolve conflict while struggling to execute action. Crippled by his tendency to overthink, Hamlet learns the truth about his father’s murder through his father’s ghost, which interrupts interrupting his grieving process and gives him a new task to complete: kill his uncle who now wears the crown. Although other Shakespeare characters such as Othello or Macbeth might complete this revenge immediately and ask no questions, Hamlet’s complex character requires many scenes of unwillinging to act on his quest for revenge until Act V where he finally discovers the understanding

In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s action and inaction to create a ripple effect depicting how both approaches lead to death in Act V. In the midst of mourning the loss of his father, Hamlet receives a visit from his ghost, who presents Hamlet with the stone that begins the ripple in his pond. Telling Hamlet to kill the “smiling, damned villain” who murdered his father, King Hamlet hopes to grow his detest of the new king, Claudius, while posing new moral questions for the prince (30). Because Hamlet often overanalyzes situations, he desires proof before killing his uncle. Upon creating his plan to expose Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet contemplates “to be or not to be,” ultimately allowing him to understand one’s fear of death when in actuality, everyone must eventually endure it(57). Though he contemplates suicide in Act I, the discovery of humanity’s fear of

Fixated on the “divinity that shapes our ends,” Hamlet apologizes to Horatio for his outburst at Ophelia’s funeral (115). Followed by his apology however, Osric enters with news that Laertes wants to duel Hamlet, to which Hamlet accepts the offer. Surprised by his acceptance, Horatio warns Hamlet that he will “lose this wager” due to the state of his mind (119). However, with his recent understanding of death, Hamlet reveals to Horatio how God controls fate and therefore the only thing humans have control of is “the readiness,” stressing the importance of a “let be” attitude rather than trying to control fate (120). Not only does this revelation free Hamlet of the demons in his mind, it answers his question of “to be or not to be” by letting life take its course and accepting that death remains inevitable. With this new found acceptance of fate, Hamlet goes into the duel aware of the ripple he creates, realizing he cannot fix the past. Additionally, his epiphany distracts him from plotting Claudius’s murder, letting fate take course of action while Claudius continues to take action against Hamlet. At the duel, Hamlet apologizes to Laertes for his “madness” as they prepare to fight while Claudius prepares the poison cup to cause Hamlet’s death (120). As the fight progresses, both Hamlet and Laertes strike the other with the poisoned dagger,