Shakespeare's Hamlet
In one of William Shakespeare's most eminent tragic plays, Hamlet, honour is a central reoccurring theme that results in the development of three main revenge plots. Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras all face the major challenge of seeking vengeance against those individuals who are responsible for the death of their beloved fathers, out of loyalty. Hamlet plans on murdering Claudius for poisoning his father, Laertes wants revenge on Hamlet for slaying Polonius, and Fortinbras wants to avenge his father's death that is brought about by King Hamlet. In comparison to Hamlet and Laertes, Fortinbras avenges his father's death most honourably because he carries out a plan without constant contemplation based on emotion, he devises and implements a strategic revenge plot without the assistance of others, and he does not use deceitful methods to explain or hide the reasons for his actions. In contrast to Hamlet and Laertes, Fortinbras suppresses his emotions to prevent them from delaying his plans in seeking revenge, and thus is more honourable in his pursuit. Hamlet contemplates suicide: "To be or not to be, that is the question." (Act 3, i, 56) Hamlet's instable nature is accurately depicted as he contemplates whether he should
On the contrary, Fortinbras displays true leadership, an admirable quality, as he independently manages to gather an army of twenty thousand men willing to fight for a piece of land over a matter of honour: "To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,/Even for an eggshell. Similarly, Laertes allows his emotions to inhibit his physical ability to acquire retribution. " (Act 5, ii, 288) Prior to the fencing match, Claudius commends Laertes for his expertise in the usage of rapiers; however, his mastery skills in fencing are not accurately displayed because his guilty conscience inhibits his ability to successfully wound Hamlet. Although the three men share similar motives for seeking restitution, they carry out distinct methods to attain their revenge, and only Fortinbras is honourable in his pursuit. In addition, Hamlet waits until the people of Denmark realize that Claudius is corrupt and dishonest before he murders him, which shows that Hamlet only acts when he is not fearful of being punished. Near the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet avoids suicide because he is fearful of what happens after death, not because he wants to murder Claudius for his father's sake. Similarly, Laertes plans to use a poisoned rapier to fatally wound Hamlet. Naturally, numerous individuals would become easily agitated if they could not follow through with a formulated plan of action. Specifically, Hamlet greatly depends on the actors in order to reveal Claudius' guilty conscience by putting on the play The Murder of Gonzago. To honourably gain revenge against a father's murderer, one should proudly state the real reasons for their crimes instead of using deception to hide the motives for their actions. " (Act 4, vii, 137-138) Laertes should determine the means by which Hamlet deserves to be justly punished to honourably seek revenge. A man of honour would not consider giving up in the midst of obtaining revenge. Hamlet's plan to use deception to excuse his actions is a dishonourable one because he should be willing to face any detrimental consequences as long as he justly avenges his father's murder. On the other hand, Fortinbras exemplifies his ability to avoid emotional setbacks when his uncle informs him to halt his planned attack on Denmark.
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