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 This feature, while it still provides useful information, is no longer maintained.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 From Genuinely Interested Students 4.2.97: Top | Help
Although I believe that every human being has
choices in whatever they are doing, Hamlet was
not that lucky.He simply could not escape his fate and there
are different reasons for that.1)The ghost, his admired father demanded him
to kill the murderer Claudius. Hamlet had to
obey. He was still questioning the truth of
the ghost comments however and therefore
employed his play "The Mousetrap". After Claudius'
guilt was proven he had no reason to delay anymore.2)From a storytechnical point of view Hamlet had
to kill Claudius to work as the hand of Nemesis.
All evil had to be punished. Hamlet could not kill
him at prayer, because he was almost obsessed with
sending his evil uncle into real punishment and not
heaven.3)Hamlet's charactertraits make some sort of tragedy
become almost inevitable. He was brilliant, that's right,
but selfquestioning and wanted revenge although he was
not a typical revenge hero, he was not cruel enough.4)His madness, if it was not totally faked, would also
have made his acts become questionable. A mad person
does not have choices, that person acts based on
irrational instincts which often do not support the
desired way.5)Around him there was so much evil (villains like
Claudius but also Polonius and to a certain extent
his mother and everybody who got killed in the end)
that he had to become infected. Denmark was rotten
and "an unweeded garden" and the simulated happiness
in the castle was based on a crime. His gutts told
Hamlet so and when he finally heard from the ghost
his was in rage that this bastard could have poisoned
as graet a man as his father.Puh, I hope I could be of some help, I actually learned
something myself while typing this.Hey Hamlet, what is your opinion?
Posted by Claudia on April 18, 1997 at 13:32:34
In Reply to "Not necessarily" posted by Andrea on April 18, 1997 at 13:07:42
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 4.2.97: Top | Help