I think a character who had a great deal to do with the final acts was Laertes. Laertes was a direct foil to Hamlet as he also lost his father and looks to avenge him as quickly as possible. Laertes does not really think about what killing Hamlet will do to everyone, or what means it will take to actually outsmart Hamlet. Laertes consults with the king which shows some of the kings faults in thinking and Laertes ends up acting hastily which then costs him his life. Even at the end he knows that he was wrong to try to kill Hamlet by poisoning him and says “I am justly killed with mine own treachery.”
Friday, March 25, 2011
DRJ #4 Hamlet Act 4&5
My initial reaction to the closing acts of Hamlet was that there was plotting by the characters and then a bunch of action happened at once, right at the end. One major story that these final acts reminded me of was "Romeo and Juliet." the poison and general treachery at the end made me think of the end of that story. The comparison is also because of the language of Shakespeare and the general feel of his tragedies. It's hard to compare the ending acts to anything that has happened in my life. It's also hard to believe that people can act that terribly to each other.
The theme of revenge/forgiveness is probably more prevalent here then in the rest of the play. Hamlet finally gets his revenge although it costs him everything. Laertes at first seeks revenge from Hamlet but after sees that Hamlet was mad with the taste for revenge as well. I think the story of Hamlet shows how revenge is a vicious cycle and many people are affected by it. The way that Laertes and Hamlet both seek forgiveness shows that honor is very important to the characters. Yet it also shows that forgiveness is very tough to get and even can result in death.
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I found that revenge and forgiveness were two major themes as well. Hamlet was finally acting on his revenge and many of the characters were seeking forgiveness from each other. I also agree that revenge does have an impact on several people, especially in this situation. We saw how one decision lead to such turmoil among every character, even though initially it only involved Hamlet and his family.
ReplyDeleteThis story is a lot like Romeo and Juliet as they are both a tragedy, and have the climax at almost the end of the story. I also agree that these scenes really played out his revenge and friendship within the story as Horatio stands by Hamlet continually and Laertes, first seeking revenge, ends-up mending his friendship with Hamlet at the end.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that this is filled with revenge and forgiveness and how they don't realize how their actions will affect their life as well as others. The characters are acting out of emotion and not logic trying to get revenge.
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