Another external conflict in Hamlet is between Hamlet and Laertes. As soon as Laertes hears of his father's unfortunate death he storms the castle with some followers to get his revenge on whoever he finds has killed his father. At first Laertes is quick to blame king Claudius for his father's murder but Claudius calms him enough to let him know that he was not guilty of the act. Instead, Claudius tells him that Hamlet is the one who killed Polonius, arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. While Hamlet and Laertes are fighting, the king put poison in a cup and Laertes put poison on his sworn, to be able to kill Hamlet in a way that will seem like an accident to the audience.…
Hamlet originally planned the murder against Claudius, but impulsively executed Polonius first. However, when he realized he had killed Polonius, Hamlet felt no sorrow for his death (despite committing murder in the presence of his mother). “Thou wretched rash, intruding fool. Farewell, I took thee for thy better” acknowledges Hamlet after stabbing Polonius unknowingly behind the curtain. Instead of an ordinary hero seeking justice, Hamlet wanted Claudius suffering for his sins and felt no guilt for Polonius’ death, insulting and blaming him for his death due to his intrusion on Gertrude.…
While Hamlet is willing to hurt and push away his loved ones in order to perfect his insane act, Claudius is willing to go to much more dangerous and morbid lengths to preserve his great image and create a flawless façade. To make sure Hamlet will not expose the real him, Claudius is prepared to plan Hamlets own murder. After Claudius confirms that Hamlet knows of the murder and is a threat to his “good guy act”, he tells Hamlet he is set for England, and later reveals his letter to the King of England which says that he must help him with ‘”the present death of Hamlet, for like the hectic in [Claudius’] blood, he rages” (4.3.65-66). Claudius is willing to do whatever it may take to tie up his loose ends and perfect his image, all to hide his true self. There is no limit to what Claudius’ will do to remain hidden and prefect his façade, not even the murder of his step son/nephew.…
Reputation is something that is lacking in Polonius ever since the death of King Hamlet. At one point, Polonius was very close to the deceased King, getting as close as he could towards royalty. Since he wasn’t born into a life of aristocracy, the closest he could get to wearing the crown was to remain close, often being too involved with the proceedings at the royal grounds. His hypocritical attitude throughout the novel conveys his loss of integrity that ultimately ends with death and wasted respect. Polonius would rather put everything at stake to maintain his position, rather than serving an actual purpose.…
These lines demonstrate how Hamlet was trying to act insane in front of Polonius. This evidence affects the plot because if people believe that Hamlet is crazy, no one will take him seriously when he accuses Claudius of murdering the king. People would also pity him and mistreat him because they think he is insane. This is why I sympathize with Hamlet.…
Hamlet's intent, in this case, was to revenge his father's death by killing Claudius it is only that he got the wrong victim which means he committed murder. Therefore hamlet is guilty of killing Polonius. If it were not for his need to revenge, he would not have seen the need to draw the sword and stub anyone who was behind the curtains meaning this was something he had been thinking about for a while (Felperin 56). Hamlet choosing to draw his sword and kill “Claudius” shows the deliberation to kill. According to the United States homicide law premeditation, deliberation and the will to kill are vital factors in differentiating between first and second-degree murder.…
This act causes multiple other instances in which Claudius has used his manipulative ways to murder others. He constantly plans on getting hamlet murdered directly or by indirect means. He uses the death of Polonius as a plan to kill hamlet in a duel by manipulating his son Laertes. This duel leads to the death of Laertes, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius to their deaths. He has consistently been the antagonist throughout the story by killing king Hamlet and trying to kill Hamlet.…
Although Hamlet believes he has killed Claudius through the curtains he feels no regret when he discovers that it was in fact Polonius. After this discovery Hamlet bellows: “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune. Thou find’st to be too busy is some danger” (3.4.32-34).…
King Claudius calls a meeting to announce the death of Polonius to Rosencratz and Guildenstern, and attempt to expose where Hamlet has put his body. After Rosencratz and Guildenstern receive the news, the guards “bring in the lord”, whom knows where Polonius’s body lies (IV, iii, 17). When Claudius attempts to acquire the information out of Hamlet, he replies with snide comments. The dark humor of Hamlet initiates when King Claudius asks him where Polonius is and he responds by saying, “at supper” (IV, iii, 20). The King continues to investigate and questions the locaton of where Polonius is eating supper.…
Claudius constantly covers his wicked motives behind a curtain of trickery. He pretends to care for Hamlet and even pretends to Gertrude that he wants the best for Hamlet. Claudius pretends that the reason for sending Hamlet to England was that it would be best for Hamlet, but Claudius’ was concealing his egocentric tendencies. He intended for Hamlet to be killed in England so that his worries could go away. Another example of Claudius looking out for himself and only himself is during Polonius’ murder, instead of being concerned with Gertrude’s health and safety which Hamlet almost took away, he was solely concerned about his stability of power in Denmark.…
Hamlet in act 3, scene 3, kills Polonius that was eavesdropping and hiding behind the curtains. Hamlet felt that it was Claudius behind the curtains but, when it was not he was still happy to kill the eavesdropper. This was very unjust to Polonius because Hamlet did not truly know that Polonius was all that bad as Claudius…
I think for hamlet, it's mostly madness that has consumed him. He seems to be on the edge of both sanity and madness sometimes, making good and bad choices. But the way he killed Polonius instead of the king by “accident” indicates something of madness. And the fact that he didn't really care that he killed Polonius, as if life doesn't matter, makes it seem more sensible to believe he's not sensible.…
For any son, the death of one’s father will definitely have a huge impact on their life however it appears that for Hamlet rather than simple grief or remorse, Hamlet instead turns to madness. Hamlet’s psychological development can be analyzed during his soliloquy of Act 2, Scene ii where he decides to plot against Claudius to revenge his father as well as Act 3 Scene IV. After King Hamlet’s death and putting Hamlet in a situation of where he must pretend to be insane, Hamlet’s true sanity can be questioned through his decision making and through the analysis of his pleasure seeking id, his realistic ego, and his over-thinking superego from a psychoanalytical reading of the text. By taking a look through the psychoanalytical lens, it is apparent through Hamlet’s long soliloquy that the death of his father is very much taking a toll on his mind. Upon analyzing the mental state of the struggling prince, one can…
In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” there are many themes and motifs that are used such as suicide, murder, poison, betrayal, revenge, and spying. The motif of spying is utilized by William Shakespeare to display the uncertainty amongst characters and within the kingdom. SPying also leads to distrust amongst characters andalso reveals how characters such as Polonius turn to spying as a solution freguqently. When spying is seen in Hamlet typically the character who is using spying to their advantage is usually uncertain, scared, or trying to protect themselves. Spying appears very early in the play and starts to happen less and less as the play progresses.…
Remember me. ' I have sworn 't.” Claudius is also the cause of the deaths of the characters. Hamlet is the one who physically slayed Polonius, but Hamlet only did that because he that Claudius was there, before he pulls the curtain he asks, “Nay, I know not. Is it the king?” Which he indirectly admits his wish that he had slain Claudius right there.…