You will choose one of the following questions and respond to it. You will also comment on one of your classmate's posts. You may also say bad things about Mr. Owens while you do it, or you can save all of your complaints and insults for lunchtime when they may reach their full potency in the slew of teacher bashing. (Two posts total).
P.S.-Thank you guys for working diligently on this discussion forum.
Why does this scene begin with two clowns trading jokes? Do their jokes make any sense in the context of the play?
Does Hamlet realize that he might not come out of this fight alive? See V.ii.225-238.
What is the outcome of the fight scene at the end? What thematic conclusions can you draw based on this conclusion?
When Gertrude drinks from the cup, Claudius asks her not to drink and she refuses. Has she ever disobeyed Claudius before?
Who is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
Why is Fortinbras's presence important?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
When Gertrude drinks from the cup, Claudius asks her not to drink and she refuses. Has she ever disobeyed Claudius before?
ReplyDeleteNo, up to this point in the play Gertrude has not at all disobeyed one of Claudius' demands. The fact that she did this time, though, is very significant because it's evident that she knew the cup was poisoned. Meaning that perhaps she refused to listen to Claudius and instead drank the cup, knowing that it was poisoned and that she would die, in order to reveal to everyone that the cup was poisoned by Claudius in an attempt to kill Hamlet after his victory. Which also indicates that Gertrude was willing to drink the poison in order to protect her son from being poisoned.
The ones that are alive at the end of the play are Horatio and Fortinbras. Hamlet is sliced with the poisoned sword, Laertes is stabbed with it, Gertrude drinks from the poisoned wine, and Hamlet forced Claudius to drink the wine after stabbing him. There is a slight sense of restoration at the end. It comes from the fact that now all the scheming and adultery and murdering ends with the death of all these people and now life can resume it regular course in Elsinore castle.
ReplyDeleteKatharina answering: Who is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
ReplyDeleteThe play evolves quickly after the fight between Hamlet and Laertes starts. Laertes has poisoned his sword and cuts Hamlet with it during the fight. Therefore, Hamlet will die; it is just a matter of time. In the following quarrel between Hamlet and Laertes, they switch their swords and Hamlet stabs Laertes. Laertes is now infected with the poison as well. As a result, he will also die. While they were fighting Hamlet’s mother Gertrude took a sip from the poisoned cup, killing her. Now, Gertrude and Laertes are dying, while telling Hamlet with their last breath that it was Claudius that killed everyone (directly or indirectly). Filled with rage, Hamlet stabbed Claudius to death. In conclusion, the main characters, Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, and Laertes are dead. Upon, Fortinbras arriving, everyone was dead and the country was left to him. The guilt, conspiracies, and murder fueled the play, but destroyed the country. Now that Fortinbras and Horatio are left, a new era begins that represents strength (Fortinbras) and intellect (Horatio).
Katharina commenting on Lylyana’s Post
I agree with Lylyana that Gertrude has never disobeyed Claudius. I think she makes an excellent point with the fact that Gertrude might have known about the poisoned cup and even if she did not exactly know that it would be poison, I am sure that she knew that Claudius wanted to kill Hamlet, to keep his throne.
When Gertrude drinks from the cup, Claudius asks her not to drink and she refuses. Has she ever disobeyed Claudius before?
ReplyDeleteI will have to say Lylyana is dead on with this question. Her answers was my thought before I even read her post. I just want to continue it though.... Seeing as Gertrude has yet to ever disobey Claudius this scene shows us that Gertrude may know what is going on around her and that although she is aware of it she choses to save her son in the end by drinking the poison. I think Gertrude is redeemed by this scene because she has shown us that she is willing to kill herself and save her son to save pretty much her kingdom & in going this Gertrude also is sort of saying "Hey bitches you can kill my husband, drive my son and other people of the court mad, but you can't kill my kingdom."
I agree with Brian at the end we are restored to a "new page" feeling because of the end of all the major bad guys in the drama.
ReplyDeleteFortinbras and Horatio are the only ones alive at the end of the play. Polonius gets stabbed by Hamlet. Ophelia kills herself after going crazy with grief from losing her father and Hamlet ditching her. Hamlet eventually ends up dying after being cut with the sword covered in poison. But before dying he stabs Laertes. Gertrude disobeys Claudius and drinks the wine, which Claudius has poisoned with the intention to kill Hamlet, and she dies. Before she dies she tell Hamlet that it was Claudius who put the poison in the cup and Laertes before he died agreed with her statement by saying it was Claudius who came up with the plan to kill him. Hamlet in rage he stabs Claudius and pours the wine into his mouth. Horatio is left to tell the story of how everyone died and Fortinbras shows up now in charge. The Kingdom will be restored with Fortinbras strength and Horatio’s intellect.
ReplyDeleteComment to Colton:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Colton, Lylyana was dead on the question but I have to agree more with the part where Colton is saying that Gertrude knows what is going on around her. I think she knew that her son was going to die after he got cut. She was trying to protect her son because she knew if she did not drink the wine that eventually Hamlet would have especially after Laertes was died. It shows that she is willing to do anything for her son and she wanted to make sure that he knew what Claudius did and was punished for it.
I agree with what both Brian and Katharina said about a new era beginning now that the kingdom which was corrupt and full of conspiracies died, along with everyone besides Fortinbras and Horatio. However, I don't think Horatio's intellect was what kept him living throughout the poisoning and betraying, but that instead he was kept alive because he was Hamlet's bff and Hamlet needed him to tell his story.
ReplyDeleteCAR MAR SAID
ReplyDeleteIn the end Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude and Lair ties die. This gives the conclusion that the whole play Hamlet is a small depiction of life and death because in the play the majority of the main characters die. Regardless whether or not they die of natural causes or someone killed them they all died. Another thematic conclusion that one can infer is that the play gives symbolism to the mixed emotions that people feel and also the means that they use to achieve their goal. Prime example would be Claudius and Hamlet because Hamlet wanted revenge but he also wanted to make sure that he did not go to heaven.
CARMAR
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Gertrude did not disobey Claudius before but once she saw her son in battle the rush to cheer him on must have overcome her and ironically lead to her death.
When Gertrude drinks from the cup, Claudius asks her not to drink and she refuses. Has she ever disobeyed Claudius before?
ReplyDeleteWhile Hamlet is having his battle with Laertes his mom Gertrude is very excitedly watching. She all of a sudden decides to take a drink from the cup that Claudius had planned to give Hamlet to end his life. The cup, of course, was filled with poison for him to drink. Just as she grabs the cup Claudius tells her not to drink from it, but Gertrude disobeys and takes a sip from it anyhow. Only Claudius and Laertes knew what the cup contained but both did not say anything, or so they thought. This could symbolize the strength in their conspiracy and relationship as accomplices. Another thing that could strengthen our belief that it in fact was Claudius who killed King Hamlet is the coincidence that the ghost said it was poison that had been poured into his ear and used to kill him and now Claudius was trying to kill Hamlet by giving him poison. Then we can further analyze the fact that Gertrude disobeyed Claudius for the first time, she hadn’t (from what we saw in the play) ever done that before. The only man she had disobeyed was Hamlet when he told her not to tell Claudius about what had happened and she still did. Shakespeare makes it seen throughout the play how women follow men’s orders and tend to be under their control, for example Ophelia with her father Polonius and her brother Laertes. For Gertrude to not obey Claudius was a big deal. In my opinion it was a big symbolism of how things were about to change because that was a big change. Also the fact that Gertrude disobeyed him shows how she knew about the poison in the cup and she drank from it to show Hamlet in a way that the cup contained poison. This way she saved him and in a way told him that Claudius was behind the death of his father. Sadly it took her life and right after that the fall of Laertes, Claudius and Hamlet followed.
Sarah Scott writes...
ReplyDeleteWho is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
By the end of the play, the only character that isn't dead is Horatio, and Fortinbras finally shows up. In a way, this bookends with the beginning of the play, where Horatio and offscreen!Fortinbras are the main characters. Horatio is the voice of reason, an insider to the goings-on of the court, and explains that the threat of Fortinbras army attacking has whipped the country into a frenzy of war preparations. Fortinbras is a physical manifestation of chaos, conquering countries just for the heck of it. This gross disregard for meaning in battle disgusts Hamlet, in one of his lucid moments, in Act 4. The deaths of the characters in the play build off of each other, leading to that ultimate chaos. It begins with the death of the good!King Hamlet, whose "most unnatural murder" upset the proper balance of things, allowing the wicked!King Claudius to ascend the throne. His incestuous marriage to Queen Gertrude again throws things out of alignment, and angers Hamlet. ghost!King Hamlet is forced to wander the earth because of the circumstances, and when Hamlet finds out he goes/acts/no-real-narrative-difference-any-ways a little crazy and swears revenge on Claudius. In the course of this, he accidentally kills Polonius, who was not an evil man. This unjust death causes Ophelia, described by her brother as perfect, to go legitimately!crazy-face, and she kills herself accidentally; another unnatural death, and one that very nearly denies her proper burial. This makes Laertes go into rage mode, and conspire with Claudius, whom he had very little to do with prior to this. And thus the epic slaughter via improbable!poison occurs, and everyone involved in it dies. Horatio survives the whole mess because, despite being "inside" the court via Hamlet, he is still outside it. He came to the castle of his own free will, for the funeral/wedding, and to be with Hamlet. He sees the ghost, but does not conspire for revenge with Hamlet, or really deal with many of the other characters at all. He is just the voice of reason and as an outsider is spared from the descent into chaos and death. Unfortunately, this leaves him to deal with inharmonious!Fortinbras, who shows up to conquer Denmark and finds it already destroyed by it's own wickedness. In a way, Horatio's fate is the most tragic of all, being the lone survivor left to pick up the pieces of a mess not his own.
Question #5: Why is Fortinbras's presence important?
ReplyDeleteI think that fortinbra's presence is important because it represents a new beginning for the Danish government. When Fortinbras comes in after everyone is dead and the monarchy lays in ruin. Hamlet tells Horatio that when he arrives, horatio must tell the story of the troubled prince. I think this shows that Hamlet wants the country to move on from the trend that was riddled with murder and revenge. And the fact that Fortinbras has hamlet carried away like a soldier shows that he may be ready to honor the princes request.
I have a really odd idea about this, I don’t know if anyone else sees this the way I do. The fact that Gertrude disobeys Claudius at this one point in the play might be the way that Shakespeare portrayed just how dominant a man’s role was in those times. What I could see Shakespeare trying to get at is, since Gertrude disobeyed Claudius, that ultimately led to her death. If a woman betrayed what her husband wanted, she would die. That doesn’t mean that he would kill her or someone would go out to kill her, rather, it would mean that she wouldn’t have the financial stability, or someone to protect her and provide for her and the children. This is the kind of “death” that I think this scene was a metaphor for. That is basically what I can gather from that scene in the play. Every other time during their relationship, she was very submissive to Claudius and even betrayed her own son in order to stay on his good side, but as soon as she disobeys him, even for something as simple of taking a sip out of a cup, she ends up dying. This could be a huge metaphor to show how at that time, if a woman did not listen to a man, she would essentially dig her own grave. I could see this scene as being the metaphor for woman’s dependence on men.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Brian said. Once all the people die at the end of the play that were involved in all the corruption and death, there is a sense of peace and restoration. Now that all the evil is gone, the kingdom can move forward with a new family in charge and ultimately move towards becoming a better kingdom When all the main characters die at the end, there is a sense of closure and a new beginning will result.
ReplyDeleteSarah Scott responding to Colton Clifford...
ReplyDeleteI think that's a really interesting interpretation of the scene, Gertrude knowing that the cup was poisoned and drinking it anyways. But I also think that you're view that she does it to save her kingdom is kinda wonky. Can you cite more textual evidence for that? Because there are way better ways to tell someone "Yo! The cup is poisoned!" than by drinking from it yourself. And in the end, her death only hastens her kingdom's destruction, since there are no more heirs to the throne. An alternative interpretation could be that she realizes that Claudius is trying to kill her son, but loves him to much to outright betray him to save Hamlet, so she drinks from the cup and "let's the chips fall as the may", or something, so that she can only disobey Claudius in something minor, and not betray him, but still warn her son. As a move to save her kingdom, or even her son, she is remarkably ineffective.
What is the outcome of the fight scene at the end? What thematic conclusions can you draw based on this conclusion?
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the fight scene Hamlet, Laertes, Gertrude, and Claudius all die. Gertrude dies from drinking the poisoned cup on accident. Hamlet and Laertes die from being stabbed by poison tipped swords, and lastly Claudius dies from being stabbed by the poison tipped sword by Hamlet who then dies right after. The only main characters alive in the play are Fortinbras and Horatio. This leads to the thematic conclusion that life and death is like the chance of getting heads on a coin. You either die or not die, and whatever outcome it is, life goes on. As in the case of the play, after each characters beloved ones died, life either went on or they died from trying to get revenge.
Commenting on Brian's post:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brian that a sense of restoration has been attained at the conclusion of the play. With only Horatio and Fortinabras left alive, a new story can begin. With all the corruption and murder in Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius gone, a new time of peace can begin.
I think that Hamlet does know that the duel could ultimatly lead to his death. I think that he fully knew that this was an attempt to kill him after he had killed polonius and an excuse for the king to finally get rid of him after his attempt with England failed. I also think that Hamlet used this as an oppertunity to kill claudius or at least show the kingdom that he was to blame for the murder of King Hamlet. Hamlet seems to be to easy about the whole duel, and jests around in the middle of it like he know how to make laertes mad thus making a mistake allowing Hamlet to prove everything.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat dissagree with Vanessa...
ReplyDeleteI think that in Hamlet those who try to break the mold and try to do their own thing ultimatly die, its not just Gertrude dissobaying her husband symbolizing that the man is always right, but that people who try to change the rules or do what they want without athourity don't ever make it anywhere or just wind up dead just like everyone in Hamlet. If you think about it the only one who doesnt die in the end is Horacio who is the only one who's loyalty never fades or suffers, he never once tries to go out of his way to do something that he feels he must do which would be looked down upon. He never breaks any sort of religious belife or rules set by the Kingdom of Denmark
I agree with Katharina that now that Claudius, Hamlet and Gertrude have died in this last act it will restore order in the kingdom. When they all died Claudius, Hamlet, Gertrude, Laertes and Ophelia all the conspiracies and anger that ran throughout the play and lead it to be what it was died off with the deaths of them. Once they died only Horatio was the one left and so was Fortinbras also. That symbolized how now there was something new coming. However we can’t assume that it will be something good just because Fortinbras will now take over the land. We have to remember that Fortinbras situation was similar to Hamlet with his father being killed by King Hamlet so he might hold some resentment through the people living in the land.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the outcome of the fight scene at the end? What thematic conclusions can you draw based on this conclusion?
ReplyDeleteThe outcome of these scene was that everyone ended up dying. Claudius dies after Laertes by Hamlet, he stabs him with the tipped poisoned sword and makes him junk the cup that had poisoned wine. Laertes and Hamlet die,because they both are poisoned by the sword. Gertrude dies by drinking from the wine cup. Even though Claudius had told her not to do drink from it, that was the first time she disobeyed her husband. I kind of saw it coming that eventually everyone would die. It was meant to happen. Hamlet looked for revenge for his fathers death and he got what he wanted. Claudius died doing something that was bad, which is what Hamlet wanted. Even though Hamlet faked to be crazy or was crazy, he still knew what he was doing. He may not have planned everything as good, but he killed his fathers murder.
Who is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the play only Horatio and Fortinbras are alive. Ophelia killed herself before the battle. Hamlet is cut by Laertes with a poison sword. Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup. Laertes is stabbed with his own poisoned sword by Hamlet. Claudius is stabbed with the poisoned sword and forced to drink the poisoned wine by Hamlet.
The death of all these characters restores tranquility because all of the corrupt and hypocritical characters have died. There is a new king and therefore new times.
Responding to Lyliana's post:
I agree with her answer. I believe Gertrude by this point has become more aware of the corruption in her surroundings. I think she may have considered the things that Hamlet said to her even if she thought he had lost his sanity. Gertrude no longer feels like she has to obey Claudius and maybe if she had not died and she would have left Claudius. Her death is in a way ironic because Hamlet wanted her to open her eyes to her surroundings and when she actually disobeys Claudius she ends up drinking from a poisoned cup and dying.
I agree with rosios response, because back then women did not have so much control over what she wanted. She always depended on the men and followed them. They had more control over their life then the women did. Gertrude had never disobeyed her husband until that moment when Claudius offered wine to Hamlet. She drank from it to show his son it was poisoned and show him that he was a bad person.
ReplyDeleteWho is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
ReplyDeleteHamlet ends in the tragic deaths of most major characters of the play. Hamlet dies after being scratched with the Laertes’ poisoned sword, which killed him too after Hamlet stabbed him. Ophelia couldn’t take all the horrible happenings around her and drowned herself. Claudius is stabbed by Hamlet with the poisoned sword and then forced to drink the poisoned wine. And Gertrude is forced to realize the truth about Claudius’ actions after she takes a sip from the poisoned sword.
I don’t think there is a complete sense of restored order in the kingdom at the end of the play. Even though all the characters that were seeking revenge and going against the laws or beliefs they had died, Fortinbras would go on to take his place as king but he went through the same events that Hamlet did when his father died. I think that even though he didn’t kill anyone, by trying to get back what he believed was his father’s land he is seeking revenge and the same story could always repeat itself with Horatio being spared once more. I think that the characters tried to seek redemption after they see that Claudius was the one driving all of them against Hamlet. Gertrude by telling Hamlet Claudius put poison in the wine and Laertes saying Claudius turned him against Hamlet, also he confesses to putting poison in his sword which only backfired on him since he was killed by it. They all tried to confess the truth about their actions except Claudius who still didn’t want to accept he was the one behind the plot to kill Hamlet.
I agree with Lyliana that there is a new era beginning but I dont think it neccesary means something good will come out of it. Like Rosio said, Fortinbras went through a similar story to Hamlet's, this means that he could always make some of the same mistakes Hamlet made. At the same time it makes me think that if he was able to achieve what he wanted all along without dying like the rest of the characters, he might be able to restore the order the kingdom needed since King Hamlet's death.
ReplyDeleteWho is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
ReplyDeleteHoratio for one stays alive throughout the whole play. The stayed alive was due to his naturally ability to stay away from the drama so to say. He was not part of the fight between Hamlet and Claudius; that kept him alive. Polonius died by the hands of Hamlet. Polonius went to talk to Gertrude when he heard Hamlet coming to see his mother. He decided to hide and see if Hamlet was indeed crazy, not knowing he would be killed by Hamlet. He did not died for revenge Polonius died for a simple misunderstanding; Hamlet thought it was Claudius behind the curtains, therefore being killed by Hamlet without a cause. Gertrude was also killed by a mistake. She drank the poisoned cup which Claudius poisoned himself to kill Hamlet out of fear. Claudius was scared because he thought Hamlet turned crazy. Ophelia died due to losing her father by the man she loved. By hearing the new she turned mad lost her capability to recognize pain or death. She drowned herself. As for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern they were killed by Hamlet; not the traditional way by killing them himself rather than making England kill them. Claudius was killed by Hamlet using the poison he tired to use to kill Hamlet. And Hamlet died due to the poison. By the end of the play I believe no one really found redemption because frankly ever one is died.
I agree what Rosio had said about Gertrude. She did not disobey Claudius until she saw her son in battle and saw that he was hurt. See her son win made her fell happy so she wanted to celebrate the victory with her son. But ultimately she died; by not listening to Claudius.
ReplyDeleteJake Simpson
ReplyDeleteWhat is the outcome of the fight scene at the end? What thematic conclusions can you draw based on this conclusion?
The outcome of the final scene in Hamlet is that all of the important characters die. Laertes cuts Hamlet with the poison blade, and Hamlet stabs both Laertes with the poison blade and makes the king drink the poison from the goblet. The importance of this ending to the play as a whole is that it is almost a moralistic ending to the story in which every character gets their just rewards. All the characters who had a plot to kill another person died in this scene, and the fact that they died shows the seriousness of their criminal thinking. In other words, I believe that Shakespeare made these characters die because they were all in the wrong.
Jake Simpson
ReplyDeleteIn response to Karen R's Post:
I agree that there is no redemption or any restored order in the kingdom after the last scene when all the main characters died. I believe even deeper that the main characters were typical of the setting and that their absence is even atypical of the strange Danish setting.
Priscila Cevallos' post:
ReplyDeleteWho is alive at the end of the play, and how do the others meet their ends? Is there a sense of redemption or restored order to the kingdom and the characters by the end of the play?
At the end of the play, it seems that every main character has reached his/her demise except for Horatio. The first one to die was Gertrude. She foolishly drank from a poisoned goblet even though Claudius had warned her not too. A few moments after, Hamlet’s skin is pierced by Laertes’ poisoned sword and in a scuffle Hamlet manages to thrust the same sword into Laertes, poisoning him as well. Before Hamlet passes away, he forces Claudius to drink from the goblet and stabs him with the sword. Ironically, it seems that the only characters who had sinned or who were corrupt in some way met their end. Gertrude had married her brother within two months of her husband’s death. Although some might not consider this an actual sin, Gertrude innately felt guilty about having committed this action. Hamlet had been plotting the murder of Claudius, and had already killed Polonious. Claudius had murdered his brother and married his wife in order to get the throne. Laertes was overcome by a deep desire to avenge his father’s death by killing Hamlet. It seems that the character’s motives are so inter-related that if they were all to come true, everybody would be dead. This is exactly what happens in the end. Each character was able to realize his/her own plan. It does seem that redemption and restored order was brought to the Kingdom with all their deaths. It is almost like a new leaf was turned over with the hope that sin would not corrupt this one as well.
Priscila Cevallos commenting on Karen's post:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Karen that the new order established after everyone's demise might not necessarily be a good thing. People are sinners, and corruption tends to pervade even the most of situations.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePriscila, You said that only the characters that had sinned died.
ReplyDeleteBut what about Hamlet? he was blameless. all of his actions were justified, since he never harmed someone innocent. Claudius sin: kill his brother and marry his wife.
Polonius sin: sneak around and meddling on affairs he had no business.
Laertes sin: not forgiving Hamlet upon repentance and cheating on an otherwise honorable duel.
The,"duel," between Laertes and Hamlet ends with every major character, with the exception of the scholar, Horatio, dead. Claudius, the man which killed his own brother to become king and who had prepared both Laertes's poisoned blade, and the poisoned goblet, is forced to drink the remnants of the poison, which kills him. Laertes, who had agreed to wield the toxic blade, is stabbed with it, poisoning, and inevitably killing him. Gertrude, who did not mourn for her husband properly and whom some believe had a part in her husband's murder, drinks from the poisoned goblet, and thus dies. Finally, Hamlet, the final character relevant to this fight, who promised to avenge his father's death at the hands of Claudius and who murdered Polonius, is also killed by Laertes's poisoned blade. Although not relevant to the battle at the conclusion of the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have also been dealt with, as they had been asked to spy on Hamlet for the king, and ae killed by the English Government. Thus, nothing is rotton in the State of Denmark any longer, as everyone whose hands had been soiled by treachery and crime are now dead. The effect created by all of these deaths is facinating in the sense that it almost comments on the fruitless nature of revenge and treachery, as no one is shown to benefit from their shadowy actions.
ReplyDeleteNow, the thematic conclusions that can be drawn are similar to what Death in the Maiden commented on regarding humans and revenge. The vast majority of characters in Hamlet are driven by some thought of revenge, similar to Paulina's own quest for retribution. Hamlet wishes nothing more than to avenge the death of the previous king by killing Claudius. He kills Polonius as a result of this vow, and so Laertes wishes to avenge his own father by killing Hamlet. Young Fortinbras, while not mentioned often, wishes to reclaim the land lost when his father was killed by old Hamlet, and is thus on his own quest for revenge. Ophelia's suicide by drowning, the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in England because of Hamlet's deception, the death of Queen Gertrude, and the death of Polonius behind the tapestry are all consequences of the cycle of vengeance occuring throughout the play. Before his death, Hamlet asks Horatio to give Fortinbras control of Denmark. However, given Fortinbras's characterization throughout the play, it is quite likely that Hamlet would have been challeneged by Fortinbras upon his arival. The only reason this did not occur was because he had already been killed. Thus, the cycle of revenge only concluded when everyone was dead. This could possibly be a commentary on the fact that human nature is to constantly seek vengeance and retribution, a cycle which can only conclude when everyone is dead. However, because of the dialogue shared between Hamlet and Laertes as they ask forgiveness, and Hamlt's final words concerning Fortinbras, can also be taken as a commentary on the fact that, while human nature is to constantly follow this cycle of revenge, it can be broken by forgiveness, as long as both groups can come to understand one another.
I already talked to you about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to post until today, but I just wanted to remind you about my airport issues, and my resulting computer problems.
In response to Jake’s post, I agree that all of the characters received their just rewards in the concluding fight of the play. However, what about Ophelia? She wasn’t anywhere near as morally bankrupt as the other characters of the play, and yet, she commits suicide after she has gone insane from her father’s death. In fact, I would say she was one of the most virtuous characters of the play. I know the fight at the end concludes by killing all of the immoral characters, but I just wanted to point out that not all of the people killed by Shakespeare were entirely evil.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I already talked to you about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to post until today, but I just wanted to remind you about my airport issues, and my resulting computer problems.