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Love is one of the most powerful themes in Hamlet, but a superior force REVENGE, drives Hamlets love. Revenge of his fathers murder. Hamlet is confused and melancholic over the fact that his mother married his own uncle and so quickly after his fathers death. Even though he does not immediately suspect foul play in his fathers untimely death, he is in a state of shock.
As Kenneth Muir states, He (Hamlet) is profoundly shocked by Gertrude's marriage to his uncle in less than two months after her first husbands death, although he has no conscious suspicion that his father has been murdered or that his mother had committed adultery. The ghost scene seems to fuel Hamlets revenges of his fathers murder, but also, as we will discuss later this scene confuses Hamlet. Hamlets revenge of his fathers murder is successful, but very costly. Hamlet pays the ultimate price of his mothers, his sweetheart Ophelias, his friends and his own life to accomplish this revenge. Hamlets revenge for his fathers murder begins just after the ghost scene, were Hamlet meets his fathers ghost and is told of the murder.
Hamlets father tell him to revenge his murder Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder (I, v, 25). Hamlets response is to swear that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge. (I, v, 29 - 31). Hamlet is now determined, even inspired to a rapid revenge. Hamlet is confused with his fathers death and is suspicious of foul play, but even after the ghost scene Hamlets seems to be vacillating between actuality (Was his father murder by his uncle? ) and manic depression.
Hamlet even goes as far as considering suicide. To be or not to be that is the question (III, i, 56). Hamlet does not act swiftly as he pledged he would. Paul Cantor states that Hamlet continually hesitates to act because he will not allow himself to be swept away by his passions. His intellect is constantly leading him to deny meaning to the very acts he feels impelled to perform.
To clear any uncertainty as to whether or not Claudius murdered his father, Hamlet decides to set him up. Hamlet plans a mouse trap for Claudius in which he sets up a play, for the King and Queen, to be a murder tragedy. Hamlet hopes to see Claudius reaction towards the murder scene in hope of establishing his guilt. The Plays the thing Wherein Ill catch the conscience of the king. (II, ii, 589 - 591) The play works but Hamlet does not sweep to his revenge.
Why not, is he worried about Ophelia being caught up on his attempted murder? William Hazlitt states, When Hamlet is most bound to act, he remains puzzled, undecided, and sceptical, dallies with his purpose, till the occasion is lost, and finds out some pretence to relapse into indolence and thoughtfulness again. This is most likely the reason why Hamlet does not take advantage of the opportunity to kill the king when he is at his prayers. Hamlet can not have his revenge perfect as he wishes, so he declines it altogether. He kneels and prays, And now Ill dot and so he goes to heaven, And so am I revenge: that would be stand. He killed my father, and for that, I his sole son, send him to heaven.
Why this is reward, not revenge. Up sword and know thou a more horrid time, When he is drunk, asleep, or in a rage. (III, iii, 73 - 89) Even Hamlet himself question why he delays his revenge, I do not know Why yet I live to say, This things to do, Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means To dot. (IV, IV, 43 - 46) Hamlets love for Ophelia is somewhat disseminated. We are torn between two possible translations of Hamlets love for Ophelia. Some writers, following Goethe, see in Ophelia many traits of resemblance to the Queen, perhaps just as striking are the traits contrasting with those of the Queen. This suggests that Hamlets love for Ophelia is only reflections of his true love for his mother the Queen. Ernest Jones has a more likely opinion that; Hamlet appears to have with more or less success weaned himself from the Queen and to have fallen in love with Ophelia.
Hamlet declares his true love for Ophelia at the funeral scene, I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers Could not with all their quantity of love Make up my sum. (V, i, 58 - 60) Unfortunately Hamlet feels that he must remove himself from Ophelia in order to take swift action to revenge his fathers murder. The nunnery scene is the most important aspect of Hamlets declaration of love. Hamlet transfer his love and anger for his mother into a rage of anger towards Ophelia. Perhaps Hamlet is hoping that Ophelia will realize that he is only pretending for the sake of the spies. As John Dover Wilson notes, Hamlets accidental discovery of the intention to spy upon him has a bearing much wider than his attitude towards Ophelia. But Wilson also notes that, Moreover, it is clears that in the tirades of the nunnery scene he is thinking almost as much of his mother as of Ophelia.
Hamlet feels that he must separate himself from all personal ties in order to achieve his swift revenge for his fathers murder. This is backed by Eleanor Prosser who states, Hamlet has said he would cut himself off from all normal ties, and Ophelia reports that he has, in effect, said good-bye to her, an implication that is confirmed by Hamlets detached control at the opening of the Nunnery Scene. Love supports revenge as the main theme because Hamlet sacrifices his love for Ophelia and his mother in order to pursue his revenge, primarily because of his love for his father. Hamlet is willing to pay the ultimate price of his own life as well as others in order to achieve his final revenge.
Hamlets revenge has led him to wanton and meaningless slaughter. He may have ultimately won the battle within himself, but he dies with the blood of eight men on his hands, five of them innocent victims, helpless bystanders who were pointlessly struck down because they came between two mighty opposites. Hamlets revenge has led to the destruction of two entire families and to the abandonment of the State to a foreign adventurer BIBLIOGRAPHY Hoy, C. HAMLET William Shakespeare, New York, 1963 Prosser, E. HAMLET &# 038; REVENGE, Stanford, 1971 Wilson, J. What happens in HAMLET, New York, 1964 Muir, K.
SHAKESPREARE Hamlet, London, 1983 Cantor, P. Landmarks of World Literature SHAKESPEARE Hamlet, New York, 1989 Farnham, W. HAMLET PRINCE OF DENMARK, New York, 1985 Mercer, P. HAMLET and the Acting of Revenge, London, 1987
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