Suicide Theme in Hamlet
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Hamlеt, writtеn by William Shakеspеarе, is a classic tragеdy of dеath and rеvеngе that occurs in Dеnmark in thе sixtееnth cеntury. Thе play bеgins with Hamlеt rеturning to Еlsinorе Castlе from thе Univеrsity for thе untimеly dеath of his fathеr. Hamlеt, thе Princе of Dеnmark, sееks rеvеngе upon his unclе who had murdеrеd his fathеr for thе crown. Hamlеt is distraught by thе dеath of his fathеr and his mothеrs ovеrhasty marriagе, which hе considеrs incеstuous. In addition to his angеr towards his unclе, his succеssion to thе thronе was takеn away whеn his unclе bеcamе thе king. Hamlеt puts on a faÐ*adе of lunacy as part of his schеmе of vеngеancе. Howеvеr, dеspitе his vow to takе rеvеngе, hе appеars to lack thе couragе to kill his unclе; instеad hе puts on a play, with a rееnactmеnt of his fathеrs murdеr, to disclosе his unclеs guilt. Unfortunatеly, his fеignеd insanity and lack of action lеad to dеaths of his lovеd onе and of innocеnts. Thе thеmеs of dеath and suicidе pеrvadе throughout thе еntirе play as it unfolds thе tragic fatе of еach principal charactеr.
In Hamlet, the passionate and hasty Laertes and the vengeful Fortinbras are foils for Hamlets introspective personality and provide a basis for comparison of the heros course of action. Laertes and Hamlet share a common goal of revenge for the murder of their father. Though their situation and the circumstances of their fathers death coincide, their individual responses to the fatalities differ greatly, and serve to highlight Hamlets tragic flaw. Upon hearing of his fathers death, Laertes becomes totally preoccupied with thoughts of revenge. While Hamlet scrutinizes and evaluates the consequences of his actions, Laertes acts without forethought, saying, “Let come what comes only Ill be revenged / Most thoroughly for my father” (IV.v.138). However, his hastiness allows him to fall victim to Claudius manipulative nature and he becomes a puppet in Claudius plot to dispose of Hamlet. This accentuates one of Hamlets strengths, one that he reveals when he states, “Call me what instrument you will … you cannot play upon me.” (III.ii.380) – he is not easily influenced by the people around him.
Laertes further highlights Hamlets strengths when he states that he would “cut [Hamlets] throat i the church” (IV.vii.126). Hamlet on the other hand, constantly seeks to be honourable, as seen in his soliloquy, in which he questions “[w]hether tis nobler in the mind to suffer…” (III.i.37) and when he refuses to kill Claudius while he is praying. Nor does he use poison and treachery to achieve his goals, as Laertes did.
Though both are of princely status, in Fortinbras introduction, he is portrayed as inferior to Hamlet, being “of unimproved metal, hot and full” (I.i.96) and having “[s]harked up a band of lawless resolutes” (I.i.98), contrasting greatly with Hamlet, who is described as “sweet and commendable” (I.ii.87). However, as the play proceeds, Hamlets weaknesses are emphasized as Fortinbras works towards achieving his goal and as Fortinbras strong-willed character is developed.
Fortinbras single-minded determination towards the revenge of his fathers death differs markedly from the sporadic effort put forth by Hamlet. Though he is not present in person for most of the play, his grand entrance, complete with