Concerning Shakespeare's Hamlet, in
Act 5 Hamlet becomes ready to do whatever is necessary to accomplish his mission. The
readiness is all, as he says. Specifically, he does avenge his father and kill
Claudius. In that respect, he does get or achieve what the entire play points toward.
That which is rotten in the state of Denmark is
eliminated.
Of course, in general, however, he dies, his
mother dies, Ophelia is dead already, and his family loses the throne of Denmark to
Fortinbras. While Hamlet suspects he might die in the pursuit of revenge, and becomes
willing to do so, you could hardly say it is what he wants. He seems a bit afraid of
dying throughout the play, as one might expect, though the "peace" of death, if there is
any, is sometimes on his mind, since he suffers from melancholy or
depression.
He, perhaps, seems to accept death in a way
similar to how he accepts Fortinbras. Earlier in the play he admires Fortinbras and
sees Fortinbras as a would-be acceptable ruler for Denmark. A trace of inevitability is
present in his words. Throughout the play, he contemplates existence and death and, by
Act 5, seems resigned to it. This appears to seem inevitable to Hamlet, as
well.
Does he get what he wants out of life? He lost that
before the play even opens. He wants his father to rule and live happily with his
mother and, someday, die of natural causes. We see that throughout the play. Having
lost that, revenge and his own probable death are the options left for him to right the
wrong and correct the situation.
No comments:
Post a Comment