Passion Drives Revenge and
Redemption
Hamlet Final Essay
Daniel White
EnglishIIIIA
Ms. Wilson
I have read and
understand the sections in the Student Handbook regarding Mason High School's
Honesty/Cheating Policy. By affixing this statement to the title page of my
paper, I am certifying that I have not cheated or plagiarized in the process of
completing this assignment. If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did
take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences
of the act, which could include a "0" on the paper, as well as an
"F" as a final grade in the course.
Daniel White
Passion
Drives Revenge and Redemption
Daniel White
Just as in Hamlet every story has an element of
redemption or revenge in it and most of the time these feelings are driven by
an innate passion for a person or an ideal. Whether this is to prove oneself to
friends or family, get revenge for a wrongdoing to oneself or family, or to
right a wrong that they feel they need to redeem themselves for. Stories like
Hercules come to mind when it comes to redeeming a wrong. Stories like The
Punisher and Death Sentence come to mind in the revenge category. Each of the
characters in Hamlet goes through a personal or public conflict or revelation
that makes them either realize something life changing.
For Hamlet the “To
be or not to be” speech was really a big turning point in the story for him he
was starting to realize that life may not be worth living if it is a life that
is always ruled by fear or insanity. This later shows up in his clearly insane
motives for his actions later on in Hamlet, the earlier events that strained
Hamlet, such as his mother’s lake of empathy in the kings passing. All of this
strain was what seemed to be a point of redemption that Hamlet wanted to prove
to the people of Denmark. Even though he was seen as a failure he made the
point of bettering himself to redeem what he perceived as shortcomings.
Ophelia also
applies to these concepts because of the internal and also somewhat public
conflict of her and Hamlets relationship. Polonius was obviously very against
it because he saw Hamlet as a passing fad that Ophelia would be infatuated with
for a week. Polonius conveyed this to her in act one scene 3 and she seemed to
get the point but the chance at a relationship with Hamlet always had her happy
and she would have not passed up the chance if it had presented it.
As for the King and Queen a lot can be said for what goes on
throughout the story. The blame for what happens to the country of Denmark can
be put on the shoulders of the queen her marriage of the Kings brother almost
instantaneously after the king passes has the biggest repercussions of the
whole book it. It showed he lack of remorse for her husband’s passing, a lack
of common courtesy to her husband’s memory, and ultimately the lack of love for
her husband while he was alive. The worst part about it wasn’t even the
repercussions it had on her; it was the repercussions it had on Hamlets mental
fortitude and the county of Denmark. It showed the lack of feelings or pride
she held in herself and in return, since she is the queen of the country, the
lack of pride she had in the country. As the queen she should have seen that
people would be looking to her the hard time of the kings and her husband’s
passing. By moving on immediately and not showing an ounce of grief it showed
she was thinking of herself before the nation she had sworn to lead above
almost anything else.
The thought that
there was decay, disease and death to Denmark was a clear and correct
observation of what was going on in Denmark at the time of Hamlets story. It
seemed that nothing could go right for anyone in the kingdom and that Denmark
was slowly degrading and breaking down to a broken down, failed city state was
very relevant in the text. In this context the redemption factor that has been
discussed come back into play because you get the feeling that Hamlet saw this
happening and almost felt a call of duty to his passed father to bring back
“his” nation to the past glory it had once enjoyed. It was almost as if Hamlet
saw that if he could restore Denmark to what it was all of his perceived
shortcomings would be redeemed.
In conclusion Hamlet is a literary tale that has as many
tales and symbolism of revenge and redemption as any feature movie of today’s
culture. Whether it’s the pursuit of a girl, the redemption of oneself or ones
country, or the revenge for a fallen loved one, there will always be a reason
for one to go a perceived vision quest or mission to redeem one selves
shortcomings. Hamlet was a tale of love, insanity, and passion. It is a tale
that will always thrive because it is something everyone can relate to; the
need to feel accomplished.
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