|
Post by shaxper on May 29, 2002 8:38:11 GMT -5
Yet at the same time, while Hamlet fantasizes about revenge, he does not actively seek it. In the end, he is thrown into it by Laertes, his other mirror. Hamlet is compared to Laertes several times, they are both rivals for Ophelia's love in a sense (let's not forget the coffin scene), and Laertes is thrust into the same situation as Hamlet when his father is wrongfully killed. However, Laertes does actively seek revenge and does use his charisma and standing to rally the people against the perceived villain.
Throughout the play, Laertes is the foil with which Hamlet can not keep up. Laertes is the better swordsman, the better son, and certainly the one who is kinder to Ophelia. Yet in the end, being the ideal means taking the prescribed Revenger role which Hamlet, as an educated scholar, recognizes as dangerous. Is Laertes the better man for getting us to the end sooner, while Hamlet might have taken a year to get on with it, or is Hamlet ultimately wiser for having attempted to avert the final disaster entirely? I suppose Fortinbras would have come by the end either way, but maybe there would have been a chance for Denmark if the throne had been occupied when he arrived.
|
|
N.N.W
Money Lender
Posts: 35
|
Post by N.N.W on May 29, 2002 8:52:59 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300] Hamlets education seems to get in the way at every turn...
Laertes and Fortinbras are both 'Hamlets' - Laertes a 'pre-Wittenberg' Hamlet, without his nature tempered by scholars, Whilst Fortinbras has spent many years dealing with the 'murder' of his father. [/glow]
|
|
|
Post by shaxper on May 29, 2002 8:59:18 GMT -5
Perhaps it really just comes back to a pure and amorale act of Fate. Instead of one revenger, we have three, and it doesn't seem to be any one person's fault. Hamlet Sr. wronged Fortinbras' father, Claudius wronged Hamlet Sr., and Hamlet wronged Polonius while seeking revenge on Claudius, which set off Laertes. Maybe, just as Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers, this was a star-crossed court where no one person or thing could be held responsible for the tragedy that ensued.
|
|
N.N.W
Money Lender
Posts: 35
|
Post by N.N.W on May 29, 2002 9:13:36 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300] hmmm... Shakespeares usually tighter than that... Claudius wrongs King Hamlet, through his murder, and the seduction of Gertrude, and his attempt to assassinate Hamlet - Hamlets killing of Polonius is more through Gertrudes actions than Hamlets - And Old Fortinbras' death was in honourable combat - While Laertes and Fortinbras resent Hamlet and Old Hamlet respectively, neither seek murder as an option - Laertes is only convinced to use the poisoned blade through Claudius' Machinations. I'm certain that the divine right of kings is important... [/glow]
|
|