Hamlet Forsaken Essay, Research Paper

Hamlet

In the play Hamlet, Hamlet did not procrastinate needlessly because of him not knowing of his fathers death, the beliefs of society, as well as his uncle Claudius’s scheme’s to save his own life. Through this play there are many occasions when Hamlet did not procrastinate in killing his uncle because of questions that he didn’t know the answers to, and he has to wait and see if what he is has heard and saw is true.

Hamlet did not procrastinate needlessly because of not knowing of his fathers death. Hamlet didn’t know who had killed his father, and when the ghost said, “That serpent that did thy father’s life now wears the crown ( I, v. 38-39).” Hamlet, ” O my soul prophesied that (I, v. 40).” In his thoughts before the ghost had told him this he felt in his soul that his uncle could have committed this murder. Hamlet still in his mind doesn’t all the way believe in what is being said because he thinks that the ghost might be the devil from purgatory sent to Hamlet to kill his uncle so he will damned to hell. He doesn’t want to kill anybody that is not guilty of committing a crime or treason. Later in the play though he soon finds out that what the ghost has told him is true and through the play “The Mousetrap” he finds out that it was the king who killed his father, and he must avenge his fathers death. When this does happen he is going to kill the king, but he is praying and he doesn’t want the king to go to heaven for killing his father. Just before the Hamlet is about to kill the king he says, “No. Up, sword, and know a more horrid hent (III, iii. 88).” He is going to wait and pick a more horrible place to kill his uncle. It’s because of the beliefs that makes Hamlet hold back from running the king through.

In the play Hamlet, Hamlet did not procrastinate needlessly because of the beliefs of society around him. Some of societies beliefs on ghost appearances where they were sent from purgatory to do a bad deed, to avenge someone’s death and there are many others that have to do with societies beliefs. When Hamlet is about to kill the king because of beliefs that if a person was praying, that if you killed him he would go to heaven. Even if his uncle had killed his father. I think he didn’t procrastinate, society’s beliefs made him stop and not avenge his fathers death. It is not true but by doing that it caused a lot of people to get killed.

In the play Hamlet, Hamlet did not procrastinate needlessly because of not knowing of his uncle’s scheme to save his own life. Hamlet was trying to kill the king but the king tried to make it so that Hamlet would go to England and be executed for his madness. Luckily though he changed the letter that his uncle had sent with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to have him executed and changed it so that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern would be executed instead. When Laertes heard of his fathers death he came back to avenge his father. When the king had heard of his arrival he made Hamlet look bad and this made Laertes even more angry at Hamlet. So he gets some poison and puts some on his sword and says, “So mortal that, but dip a knife in it, Where it draws blood, no cataplasm so rare, Collected from all simples that have virtue under a moon, can save the thing from death (IV, vii. 141- 144).” During the sword fight Hamlet is winning and Laertes can’t get a hit on Hamlet. Well when Hamlet is down holding his mother because she has been poisoned from drinking out of a glass of wine that the king had poisoned to try and kill Hamlet. If Hamlet got the first hit then he would get to drink the wine. Anyway Laertes gets frustrated and scratches Hamlet and basically poisoned him. So Hamlet get revenge and pokes Laertes and he ends up getting poisoned as well. As Laertes is dying the says that the king should be blame for all this and Hamlet ends up finally killing the king after all these people have died from the king. Even though Hamlet was killed he finally avenged his fathers death.

Throughout the course of the play Hamlet had many choice opportunities to kill his uncle and avenge his fathers death. He did not procrastinate needlessly in the killing of his uncle. Finally though he killed the king, but because of some beliefs that he had been brought up with hindered him in killing the king earlier. A lot of people died and where hurt because of what the king did and how he tried to avoid and try and cover the mess he had made. One of the most famous tragedies of Shakespeare s time was his very own Hamlet. The definition of a tragedy, given by James Thomas in Script Analysis for Actors, Directors, and Designers, Second Edition, is any deeply serious play with a profoundly unhappy or disastrous ending brought about by the leading character who is compelled by fate, moral weakness, or more recently by psychological maladjustment or social pressures. Thomas also says that in tragedies the plots are usually complex in the technical sense, containing a psychological realization on the part of the leading character, together with a major reversal of fortune from good to bad. Hamlet fits these descriptions perfectly. The character of Hamlet is one just like ourselves, whom we can identify with. Even though he truly begins the play as a hero, and also ends as one, he and the people he comes into contact with during the entire play experience tragic losses and deaths.

The play begins outside, on a very cold, foggy, dark night. The guards are watching the castle for fear that it may be attacked. This is to set the perfect mood for the tragedy that is about to unfold later in the story. Also, with lines like Who s there? and I am sick at heart , the audience is already, in the first scene, given an indication that something is wrong. The balance in Hamlet occurs when Hamlet shows grievance for his father s death and Claudius and Gertrude talk to him about it and about their marriage. Hamlet cannot believe that less than two months after his father s death, his mother is already has plans to marry his uncle. It is here that Hamlet realizes what his mother is doing and is in disbelief of what is happening. When Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost he has seen that he thinks is Hamlet s father, Hamlet decides to see for himself. The ghost appears before Hamlet and tells him that it was Claudius who killed him and he then wooed Gertrude into a marriage vow. He also tells Hamlet that it is he who must kill Claudius. This would be considered the inciting incident of Hamlet. The protagonist in Hamlet, is most definitely Hamlet himself. He undergoes the most change throughout the play. He suffers, deliberates, and makes some major social choices throughout the entire play. On the contrary, Claudius is the antagonist. Some of Claudius s plans become an obstacle for Hamlet. Hamlet s main plan during the play is to kill Claudius, as his father s ghost told him to do. Claudius has plans to keep things in order and keep the truth about his brother s death a secret.There are numerous obstacles that slow down Hamlet s progress to kill Claudius. One is his own doubt. At one point Hamlet doubts that the ghost he saw was really the ghost of his father. Although this doubt doesn t last long, it still slows him down. His friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also pose as obstacles. Pretending to be Hamlet s true friends, they are actually spying on him for his mother and step-father. The last obstacle that approaches him near the end is Laertes, whom he must fight with daggers. Even with all of this, Hamlet really doesn t let much stand in his way.

The main sub-story that lies within Hamlet is the young Fortinbras s plan to win back the lands that his late father once lost. This sub-plot is mentioned numerous times throughout the entire story. It affects the main story because it poses as a threat to Denmark, especially to Claudius. The crisis in Hamlet is when Hamlet himself jumps into Ophelia s recently dug grave and starts to fight with Laertes. He is at the height of his character and the scene is at a height of emotion for all characters. This scene becomes the turning point where Claudius and Laertes have good reason to plan Hamlet s murder. There are climaxes in any scene, but the climax of the entire play would be in the last scene. There is a ton of intense emotion going on with everyone from Gertrude to Horatio. When Hamlet and Laertes are fighting, everything and everyone is very tense. The climax leads into the resolution. After Gertrude has collapsed, Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius have all been wounded, a sense of relief has shadowed the scene. Hamlet tells Horatio to stay alive so he can tell his story to everyone and let Fortinbras know that he has given him permission to become king. Although this final scene is incredibly intense and tragic, it resolves the story.