Courage or Cowardice?
In any society, defending one’s honor is very important. This is especially relevant in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, where the prince discovers his Uncle killed his father and married his mother to claim the throne of Denmark for himself. Caught between rashly wanting to avenge his father’s murder and quietly staying back and analyzing the situation, Hamlet eventually has an internal crisis, displayed through a monologue in Act IV Scene IV. The text shows his conflicting feelings about cowardice and human nature, his awe and criticism of Fortinbras and his army, and his newly found resolve to be active and decisive. This realization and resolution marks a turning point in the novel where Hamlet begins to steel himself …show more content…
As Laertes also intends to violently and vehemently defend his honor, one may interpret Laertes plotting with the King to arrange the death of Hamlet, as well as Hamlet’s new mindset, as not a peculiarity but more of conformation to their societal standard. Had Laertes been resilient and actually thought through his actions and not attempted to kill Hamlet, he himself would still be alive. By using the symbolism that the sword Laertes used to kill Hamlet is the same sword which killed him, readers can see Shakespeare’s message describing the futileness of impetuous revenge. Mindless violence evoked by defending one’s perceived honor only damages …show more content…
Hamlet’s loss of his contemplative and introspective mindset after this scene is shown to be his downfall. However, as he is on the ground beside Horatio dying, he refuses to let Horatio kill himself. Hamlet recognizes his revenge as destructive and wants to stop the death of innocent people because of his actions. Had he not been bend on bloody revenge, Hamlet would not have played a part in the death of his mother, among other characters whose deaths were completely unnecessary. Recognizing this, he wishes Horatio to live on and tell his tragic story of an all-consuming revenge bringing about his untimely death. Like Horatio, all readers should learn to live free of revenge and to carry the story of Hamlet within them as a grave warning against society’s skewed view on defending one’s
In any society, defending one’s honor is very important. This is especially relevant in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, where the prince discovers his Uncle killed his father and married his mother to claim the throne of Denmark for himself. Caught between rashly wanting to avenge his father’s murder and quietly staying back and analyzing the situation, Hamlet eventually has an internal crisis, displayed through a monologue in Act IV Scene IV. The text shows his conflicting feelings about cowardice and human nature, his awe and criticism of Fortinbras and his army, and his newly found resolve to be active and decisive. This realization and resolution marks a turning point in the novel where Hamlet begins to steel himself …show more content…
As Laertes also intends to violently and vehemently defend his honor, one may interpret Laertes plotting with the King to arrange the death of Hamlet, as well as Hamlet’s new mindset, as not a peculiarity but more of conformation to their societal standard. Had Laertes been resilient and actually thought through his actions and not attempted to kill Hamlet, he himself would still be alive. By using the symbolism that the sword Laertes used to kill Hamlet is the same sword which killed him, readers can see Shakespeare’s message describing the futileness of impetuous revenge. Mindless violence evoked by defending one’s perceived honor only damages …show more content…
Hamlet’s loss of his contemplative and introspective mindset after this scene is shown to be his downfall. However, as he is on the ground beside Horatio dying, he refuses to let Horatio kill himself. Hamlet recognizes his revenge as destructive and wants to stop the death of innocent people because of his actions. Had he not been bend on bloody revenge, Hamlet would not have played a part in the death of his mother, among other characters whose deaths were completely unnecessary. Recognizing this, he wishes Horatio to live on and tell his tragic story of an all-consuming revenge bringing about his untimely death. Like Horatio, all readers should learn to live free of revenge and to carry the story of Hamlet within them as a grave warning against society’s skewed view on defending one’s