He states how Claudius killed his father, started an incestuous relationship with his mother, stole the throne, and even attempted to kill him. Hamlet says that he would be doing the world a disservice if he allowed Claudius to continue living without paying for his actions. These lines indicate a change in Hamlet’s attitude towards Claudius and toward his own quest for vengeance. Beforehand, Hamlet questioned whether or not to kill Claudius or whether he should try to get revenge. Now, Hamlet is taking action in order to get payback for what was wrongly done to him.
All of these lines (lines 12-47 and lines 64-71) allowed Shakespeare to show the extent of Hamlet’s dramatic change in attitude. It is in these lines, that we can finally see Hamlet take action and try to get revenge. Just as Hamlet wants to get revenge for King Hamlet’s death, Laertes also felt the need to avenge Polonius’ death. In the tragedy Hamlet, William Shakespeare creates a bleak and gloomy mood as he describes how Polonius’ son Laertes encounters many conflicting thoughts and feelings, such as anger, doubt, and regret, while trying to get revenge for his father’s death.
Hamlet’s Feelings Towards Claudius
Hamlet’s feelings towards Claudius are mixed. On the one hand, he clearly feels betrayed by Claudius’s actions in killing his father and taking his mother as his wife. On the other hand, Hamlet also recognizes that Claudius is a skilled politician and an effective ruler. In the end, Hamlet’s feelings towards Claudius are complex and ambivalent.
Hamlet’s initial reaction to Claudius is one of shock and anger. He is horrified by Claudius’s actions in killing his father and marrying his mother. Hamlet is also disgusted by the way that Claudius has manipulated Queen Gertrude. Hamlet’s rage towards Claudius is further fueled by the fact that Claudius has usurped his rightful place as king.
As Hamlet begins to investigate his father’s death, he starts to see Claudius in a new light. He becomes increasingly convinced that Claudius is guilty of murder. Hamlet is also appalled by the way that Claudius has been using him as a pawn in his own political machinations.
How Does Hamlet’s Attitude Towards Death Change
Hamlet’s attitude towards death changes throughout the play. In the beginning, Hamlet is distraught and suicidal after his father’s death. However, he eventually comes to accept death as a natural part of life. Hamlet even contemplates killing himself at one point, but ultimately decides against it. Towards the end of the play, Hamlet is much more accepting of death, even welcoming it as a way to escape the pain and suffering of life. Hamlet’s changing attitude towards death reflects his growth and development as a character over the course of the play.
At the same time, Hamlet cannot help but admire Claudius’s political skills. He is forced to admit that Claudius is an effective ruler, despite his own personal misgivings about him. Hamlet also recognises that Claudius is a clever and manipulative politician.
After inding out that his father was killed, Laertes secretly returned from France, and demanded to know what happened to Polonius. People had been spreading rumors about what happened to him, but no one had any information on why it happened, who did it, etc. Claudius believed that Laertes, who was in need of a reason, would accuse him of the crime. It is in the speech in Lines 88-95 of Act IV, Scene 5 that Claudius realizes how his actions have negatively affected people. For example, he sees how terribly he acted concerning the burial of Polonius.
In Act IV, Scene 5, Lines 102-120, it is explained how Laertes and Hamlet are similar and different. The similarities are that both Laertes and Hamlet are upset and want revenge for their father’s deaths. Both are upset with Claudius due to him having some involvement with the deaths of Polonius and King Hamlet. Hamlet and Laertes differ due to Laertes being very courageous and headstrong, while Hamlet is cautious and indecisive. For this reason, Laertes is a foil of Hamlet.
When Laertes found out about his father’s murder, he burst through the castle doors with an army, obtained a group of followers, and many other things in order to get revenge. When Hamlet found out about his father, he wanted to question everything and did not know if he wanted to get revenge or not. This idea can be further explained with Lines 135-141 of Act IV, Scene 5. In these lines, Laertes is extremely upset because he finds out that his father is dead, but no one knows why or how it happened. He says that he is not to be played with concerning this issue.
He also wants people to know that he is declaring damnation on everyone and that everything he does from then on would be towards getting revenge for his father’s death. This differs from Hamlet due to Laertes immediately starting to work towards getting revenge. Unlike Hamlet, he did not have to think about it. Lines 216-219 and 224-226 of Act IV, Scene 5 foreshadow Claudius’ plan of getting revenge on Hamlet. In Lines 10-36 of Act IV, Scene 7, Claudius is asked about his decision to not immediately take action for Hamlet wrongly killing Polonius.
Claudius creates excuses. This first excuse was that Gertrude loved Hamlet and he (Claudius) could not bear to hurt her. The other reason was that Hamlet had a lot of followers and people hat loved him, and if Claudius tried to speak out against him, it would only end up hurting him (Claudius). It is also at this point, that Claudius says that he would not let a person get away with threatening him, and that he had a plan against Hamlet that he would talk more about later.
This creates a bleak mood due to Laertes saying that he would be extremely happy to look Hamlet in the eyes and tell him that he was the person who committed the crime. In Lines 110-129 of Act IV, Scene 7, Claudius baits Laertes into his plan by appealing to Laertes’ emotions and sense of honor. Claudius asks Laertes what he would be willing to do in order to prove that he loved his father. This shows that Claudius would do anything for his own personal gain, such as using evil tricks. Claudius’ actual plan is revealed in Lines 130-142 of Act IV, Scene 7.
The idea is that Claudius would have Laertes keep to himself, while having everyone else talk to Hamlet about Laertes’ good sword skills. Claudius wants Hamlet to agree to a duel, and would achieve this by having people place bets on the winner. Claudius says that Hamlet is so careless that he would not notice the swords efore the duel, so Laertes would easily be able to choose a sharpened one. Laertes responds by saying that he would do it, but that he would also put some poison on the end of his sword. This shows that Laertes is very courageous and ruthless.
Laertes’ emotional state has worsened as a result of everything that has happened to him. This is seen in Lines 241-258 of Act V, Scene 1. These lines show that Laertes is very depressed and upset since he jumps into the grave with Ophelia and tells people to bury them both. In the play, Hamlet knows that he was wrong to murder Polonius, and attempts to apologize to Laertes. Hamlet states that he is mentally ill, and that it was not him, but the mental illness that murdered Polonius. He also says that he (himself) is a victim of the illness.
It was plausible enough for Laertes, however, in reality it is not sufficient due to Hamlet still being the person that committed the crime. Although Hamlet apologized, Laertes still felt that it was necessary to go through with the plan to get revenge. This is seen in Line 264 of Act V, Scene 2. In this line, Laertes did not have the right sword (with the poison), and wanted to find the correct one in order to switch it out. Shakespeare includes the line due to it showing how Laertes’ plan was in action.
Hamlet’s Attitude Towards Claudius
How does Hamlet feel about Claudius? This is a difficult question to answer, as Hamlet’s attitude towards Claudius seems to change throughout the play. At first, it seems like Hamlet hates Claudius, as he is always talking about how much he wishes he could kill him. However, there are also moments when Hamlet seems to pity Claudius, such as when he says “Now I am alone” after killing Polonius. It is clear that Hamlet is conflicted in his feelings towards Claudius, and this makes it hard to pin down exactly how he feels.
One possible explanation for this is that Hamlet is simply trying to figure out his own feelings towards Claudius. This is understandable, as Claudius killed Hamlet’s father and married his mother, which are both very significant things. It would take anyone time to process all of that and figure out how they feel about the person who did those things.
Another explanation is that Hamlet’s changing attitude towards Claudius could be a result of him trying to figure out whether or not he should kill him. If Hamlet kills Claudius while he is feeling hatred towards him, it would be an act of revenge. However, if Hamlet kills Claudius while he is feeling pity towards him, it would be more of a mercy killing. This internal conflict could be why Hamlet’s attitude towards Claudius seems to change throughout the play.
In the end, it is up to the reader to decide how Hamlet feels about Claudius. There is no clear answer, but it is obvious that Hamlet is conflicted in his emotions. This makes sense, as Claudius is a complex character who has done both good and bad things. It is understandable that Hamlet would have trouble figuring out exactly how he feels about him.
During the duel, the character traits of Hamlet and Laertes switched. Hamlet had become the man of action since he wanted to continue fighting. Laertes was then the person questioning everything (whether or not to go through with the plan). At the end of the duel, there was a change in Laertes. At first, Laertes was all for getting revenge. Now, after everything had taken place, he regretted it because he still ended up dying after trying to do evil tricks on others. The end of “Hamlet” shows how Shakespeare creates a bleak nd gloomy mood.
Lines 321-338 of Act V, Scene 2 show poetic justice, or the fact of experiencing a fitting or deserved retribution for one’s action. These lines show poetic justice due to everyone getting what was to come to them. Everyone had set up plans to only kill Hamlet, but in the end, their plans backfired and killed them as well. Shakespeare conveys that revenge and violence is pointless and will lead to desolation. He does this through his melancholy and tragic play. In the tragedy Hamlet, Hamlet’s final decision to kill Claudius creates a chain reaction of events.
This includes: the murder of Polonius, Ophelia’s death, Laertes seeking revenge, the duel between Hamlet and Laertes, and ultimately, the death of everyone in the play. This shows that when a tragedy happens (the death of Hamlet’s father), a person has every right to be upset. However, they should attempt to grieve in a healthy way, rather than acting on the angry feelings (Hamlet saying “My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth! “). This is due to anger leading to the need for revenge and violence, which paves the way for destruction (everyone in the play dying).