Term Paper on "Revenge in the Characters of Hamlet"

Term Paper 5 pages (1663 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

revenge in the characters of Hamlet and Laertes in the light of the revenge code and the related concept of honor.

In the play Hamlet, the focus and the action of the play revolve around Hamlet's obsession with the murder of his father, and his desire and need for revenge. Claudius has not only killed Hamlet's father, the King, but has also usurped his throne and married Hamlet's Mother. Laertes on the other hand also wants to revenge himself on Hamlet for the murder of his father Polonius. Hamlet mistakes Polonius for Claudius and inadvertently kills him. Furthermore, Laertes blames Hamlet for the madness of his sister, Ophelia, and for her subsequent suicide.

However, as in many of Shakespeare's plays, the two characters and the two revenge motives present a counterpoint and are at times both similar and different. This difference between Laertes and Hamlet also relates to some of the central aspects of the play and expands on and exposes the deeper meanings of the themes. This paper will discuss the differences and similarities these two characters in terms of the revenge motif and the way that is it possibly related to the code of honor and the concept of revenge during Elizabethan times.

In the play there is an obvious comparison between the main plot and the subplot. The mainplot refers to the murder of Hamlet's father, while the subplot relates to the murder of Polonius and the subsequent theme of revenge by Polonius's son, Laertes. Both are similar in that there is a vow of revenge by both characters.

We see Hamlet's vow mirrored in that of Laertes and his actions mirrored in those of Ophelia. The mirror is cracked. Hamlet's reflection is splintered. We see one part of him, his revenge motive, in Laertes' action, and we see his pretended madness in Ophelia's piteous condition.

Littauer J.S.)

However, many critics point out that the most obvious and essential difference in the revenge motif in Hamlet and Laertes is that, while Hamlet procrastinates and delays in taking revenge on Claudius, Laertes on the other hand is very quick to come to the conclusion to take revenge. "Hamlet speaks of revenge, but procrastinates; Laertes instantly raises an army and attacks the kingdom, but he must be satisfied over his father's murder. " (ibid)

There is therefore a difference between the two characters in that Hamlet debates, thinks and agonizes about his revenge, even thought the ghost of his father has given him clear and unequivocal instructions to revenge his death. Despite this fact Hamlet seeks to make sure on a personal and individual level that the words of the ghost are correct and that there can be no mistake as to the guilt of Claudius. Hamlet looks for confirmation and this is the main reason why he acts as it he is mad in order to ascertain the true motives of those around him. This however is to result in the madness and death of Ophelia and the subsequent actions of Laertes.

Laertes in the other hand does not question or procrastinate in his desire for revenge.

How came he dead? I'll not be juggled with. To hell allegiance, vows to the blackest devil, Conscience and grace to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation. To this point I stand, That both the words I give to negligence, Let come what comes, only I'll be revenged Most thoroughly for my father."(Hibbard, G.R. (Hamlet:Lines 127-133) pg.75)

As the critic A.C. Bradley, states of Laertes. "... there is a broad contrast between Hamlet and Laertes, who rushes headlong to his revenge, and is determined to have it though allegiance, conscience, grace and damnation stand in his way." (Bradley 142)

This difference between Laertes and Hamlet raises the question as to why Hamlet takes so long and undergoes such as arduous process of self-examination to take his revenge. This delay on the part of hamlet has been the cause of much critical debate and also goes to the heart of the complexity of the play.

One view or explanation of this difference is that Hamlet is not sure about the validity of the ghost and whether it is truly his father. The possibility exists that the ghost is a false demon or even a representation of the devil. In terms of this theory, Hamlet then sets out to prove to himself that the ghost's statement is the truth before he takes his revenge on the King. "The play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King. (Act II, scene II Lines 591/2)

However, a much more satisfactory explanation for this difference between the actions of Laertes and Hamlet can be gleaned from an examination of the revenge motif and the code of honor in Shakespearean times. This view states that the system or code of honor and revenge was changing during the Renaissance from an unquestioning acceptance of the honor code as a social set of rules to a more individual and moral view of honor.

The concept of honor was therefore undergoing an " evolution" or change in that the concept of personal honor and individual conscience was beginning to play a greater role in the determination of acts of revenge based on honor. Previously the honor code was chivalric in nature and more publicly determined. In effect this meant that it was a code or set of rules that was to be followed and in which individual conscience and moral preferences played little part. The critic Reta Terry explains this change in the honor code during Shakespeare's time.

The Renaissance was a period in which the honor code underwent a significant metamorphosis. The medieval, chivalric code of honor, with its emphasis on lineage, allegiance to one's lord and violence, evolved into an honor code that was both more moral and political in that it began to emphasize the individual conscience and allegiance to the state. (Terry 1070)

This theory sheds an important light on the difference between Hamlet's and Laertes' view of revenge.

Analysis of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and in particular its characters' use of promise, provides new and revealing insights into the evolving Renaissance codes of honor, for Shakespeare creates characters in Hamlet that represent various stages in the evolution of a changing honor system.

In terms of an understanding of the changing sense of honor and revenge, one can therefore understand Hamlet's as being more "modern" in the sense that he does not just accept the honor code but questions it and is concerned with the personal and individual aspects of conscience and morality. Laertes on the other hand is more "traditional" in his application of the honor code and is less concerned with issues of personal conscience than is Hamlet. Laertes, in his view of revenge, seems to be aligned to the older chivalric code of honor which was more easily defined and more public - rather than private and individual. "Laertes' father, like Hamlet's, has been murdered, and Laertes' instant and violent reaction bespeaks the old chivalric code of honor." (ibid) Another critic, Normal Council, also concurs with this view of Laertes and describes his "single-minded commitment to honorable revenge." (Council N. pg 93)

This difference between the two characters is reflected in the difference that critics see in the changing view of the Renaissance honor code.

The Renaissance was a period of transition in the evolution of the code of honor. One of the most complex changes in the code of honor was a move from an external code to an internalized concept of what it is to be an honorable man honor was becoming, by the seventeenth century, a matter of conscience; honorable men needed to seek, in every situation, to behave in such a way as to please both their… READ MORE

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