a word from our sponsors
See the new shakespeare.com. This feature, while it still provides useful information, is no longer maintained.
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries & Replies From Everyone Else 4.2.97: Top | Help
By using the word vigilanteism, I merely point to an irony
in the way we sometimes react to Hamlet's hesitation today.He is clearly supposed to kill Claudius. It's what a good
son - like Laertes - would do. And if he were to act like
the son of his father, he would do it.Part of the problem is that he hears that his father is
suffering torments in purgatory which are too horrible
for the human ear, so he also sees that acting like Dad
is no gaurantee of a good afterlife. So he is profoundly
unsure about the ultimate ethical consequences of the kinds
of worldly actions which men undertake in Denmark for honor
and justice.In this sense, I do think he is at some level questioning
the justice
of his own revenge.
Posted by Cloten on April 12, 1997 at 14:55:19
In Reply to "He's Reasoned/Rational" posted by Steven on April 11, 1997 at 09:01:36
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries & Replies From Everyone Else 4.2.97: Top | Help