The Importance of Horatio
Horatio is a minor but important character in Hamlet. Horatio only appears in the play three times, yet he is the only person alive after the sword fight and poisoning that left everyone in the court dead. The reason Horatio lives is because he is the princes' confidant. He is the only person who believes that Hamlet has good intentions, and he survives so that he can remind us of Hamlet's virtues when he tells his story. The reader needs Horatio to tell Hamlet's story to remind one that he indeed was a hero in that he was bringing justice to the murder of his father. However, Hamlet was tainted by the deception of his Uncle Claudius and the conspiracies of the others around him, and he did cruel things, which makes it difficult to remember at the end of the play that his intentions were to bring about justice. Furthermore, Horatio is Hamlet's best friend who was with him before, during, and after the setting of the play, a friend to whom Hamlet tells his deep dark secrets, and as a result of this, he acts as a window into Hamlet's mind. In order for the reader to believe Horatio's side of the story about Hamlet's heroisms, they must be able to believe Horatio. Therefore, Horatio is introduced at the very beginning of the
In turn Fortenbras buries Hamlet as a soldier because he died fighting for justice. The watchmen did not go to Hamlet about the ghost first; rather they went to his friend. Finally, in Act 5 Scene 2 lines 339-349 the readers are led to fully understand Horatio's loyalty and friendship with Hamlet. He wants to be buried like a soldier, not is an open grave like the one with his jester. In this scene Hamlet is dying, and Horatio is contemplating suicide to show his loyalty to Hamlet. Therefore, Horatio's character is very crucial in this sense to understanding the Prince and his plans. After the play Hamlet discusses what he observed with Horatio. Hamlet- Horatio I am dead; thou livest report me and my cause alright To the unsatisfied. In Act 5 Hamlet is expressing to Horatio his disdainful feelings about finding the skull of his late jester in the open grave with all of the other skulls and bones. Horatio acts as Hamlets' only confidant after he has pushed others that are close to him away. Despite what he has in common with Hamlet, Horatio is a scholar, and he cannot fully understand Hamlet's need to act as a soldier to fight against the evil conspiring of his uncle. Hamlet asks Horatio to live and to tell the story of his fathers' murder and his attempts to seek justice for him. By having the players reenact his father death and watching Claudius' reaction it becomes apparent to Hamlet that he is guilty. Hamlet was a scholar, but he needed to break out of that role and become a soldier to fight his uncle and his conspirators to seek justice for his fathers' murder. In this scene the reader begins to recognize Horatio's noble presence and see him as a trustworthy character.
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