Running Head: Character Assessment; Hamlet in Hamlet by Shakespeare

Character Assessment; Hamlet in Hamlet by Shakespeare

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Character Assessment; Hamlet in Hamlet by Shakespeare

Introduction

In the attempt to take revenge for any wrong done to someone, one may end up harming their own lives though they may succeed in it. The following discussion will focus upon the character, Prince Hamlet in the play by William Shakespeare Hamlet who apparently is out to seek revenge for the death of his father.

Discussion

The main theme in the play is revenge. Hamlet’s father who was a king before Claudius is said to have been poisoned. His assailant is said to be Hamlet’s uncle, King Claudius. The whole situation puts Prince Hamlet in a confused state since his father expects him to avenge for him by murdering his own uncle.

It can be concluded that the character Hamlet has not been a failure in executing his duty as required. He is the main reason why the play becomes interesting though it is full of suspense. This can be seen especially in the soliloquy of ‘to be or not to be’ where Hamlet is in a dilemma of what he is going to do. His father’s ghost that keeps appearing to him does not seem to convince him at first. Hamlet (5.2.78), says “in my heart there was a kind of fighting, that would not let me sleep.’ He had been through a hard moment trying to weigh the options of either executing his father’s demand or not doing it. He thinks he is dreaming but the more his father’s ghost appears with the same message of revenge, the more he gets prepared for the battle.

The last two Acts bring about the culmination of the whole matter and demonstrate that everything was not a loss. First of all it begins with Laertes seeking to avenge for his father Polonius who had been murdered by Hamlet in cold blood. This made him so angry with Hamlet, ‘Let come what comes; only I’ll be revenged most thoroughly for my father.’(4.5.76).

As Hamlet enters the Kings palace, he is determined to kill Claudius but he is met with Laertes wrath. The king had already offered to help Laertes to kill Hamlet by providing him with a weapon that had been poisoned. As they struggled fighting, Hamlet is scratched but he manages to take the spear and drive it through Laertes body.

The success of the play is achieved when Prince Hamlet fulfills his main aim of killing his uncle and subsequently avenging for his own father, ‘here then, incestuous, murderous…drink off this portion…follow my mother.’ (5.2.136). Using the same poisonous spear that King Claudius had made in order to kill him, Hamlet manages to drive it in his body bringing an end to his reign.

The only sad bit is that the whole thing brought death to many innocent people who did not deserve it. At the end of it all Hamlet also dies after being scratched, ‘it is here Hamlet; Hamlet thou art slain, no medicine in the world can do thee good.’ (5.2.125). He therefore dies, but his death was a heroic one after accomplishing the main task which makes the while play interesting to the audience.

Therefore, the character has not been a failure in the play since he has been able to bring out the theme of vengeance in a superb manner. Though he dies in the process, this is not a reason to see him as having failed since he left a legacy by exposing evil of the King Claudius. This meant that a new precedent had been set and no other king was expected to gain power through unfair means.

Conclusion

People will have to pay for their evil deeds at a specific time in their life. It may tarry but eventually it will come. In the execution of vengeance however, one should be careful lest he gets injured too.