Essay On Hamlet Good Vs Evil

Good and Evil are difficult terms to define since they are such broad terms, they cannot be defined as something that is cut and dry. This is because both are needed to appreciate the other. But for appearance sake, ‘good’ can be defined as “a lack of self-centeredness…the ability to [feel empathy towards] other people…feel compassion for them and to put their needs before [their] own” (Taylor). While ‘evil’ can be defined as “people…who are unable [or unwilling] to empathize with others… [putting] their own needs and desires [before anyone else’s]” (Taylor). Even though, at times, it is easy to tell the difference between good and evil, there is no clearly defined line between good and evil since it is not always easily recognized because people can do good things with bad intentions and people can do bad things with good intentions, knowing bad things happen to good people and vice versa, and since good and evil cannot exist without the other if one is to know the difference between …show more content…
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet showcases this as he does bad things with semi good intentions in his quest to get revenge on his Uncle/Stepfather, Claudius. The line between good and evil in this work is not easy to recognize because even though it is clear that Claudius is on the evil (or bad) side since he killed King Hamlet to become king and inadvertently kills Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, when she drinks the poisoned wine meant for Hamlet that he poisoned; Hamlet blurs the line between good and evil because of the actions that he takes. His actions blur the line because while he does accidently kill Polonius, he feels remorse for it since he mistook him for the king. Hamlet also sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths when he switches out letters that called for his death with ones that called for theirs at England’s