Conflict Phenomenon in Hamlet - Research Paper Example

Module Module ID: Hamlet The present paper aims to eluci the theme of the play Hamlet by making an investigation into the conflict phenomenon existing in the plot in the light of analysis of the parallel characters including Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras. The paper will also explore the theme of the play by concentrating upon similarities and dissimilarities maintained by the characters above-mentioned. Since almost all humans observe innate universal traits in their character and personality, it is actually the circumstances that force them to act, react and behave differently for the accomplishment of their tasks on the one hand, and achieving their goals on the other; the same is equally applied to Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras. Hamlet serves as one of the greatest tragedies ever produced not only in the history of English Literature, but also in the history of all literary pieces of the world at large (Mack 44). Created by the illustrious dramatist of all ages William Shakespeare by 1602, the play concentrates upon the revenge to be taken by the protagonist Hamlet from the King Claudius for murdering his father while his sleeping in the orchard (Evans 197). Shakespeare has elaborated the theme of the play in a powerful manner through various characters involved into the developments associated with the revenge in one way or the other, which proves his command over depicting both goodness and evil (Daiches 562)-- the elements that exist in every personality as well as in all social establishments of the world without discrimination Macionis 130). Consequently, the playwright has skillfully portrayed the phenomena existing in the social, natural and physical environment of humans at large. By making a critical examination of the protagonist, it becomes crystal clear that on the one side, Hamlet appears to be the representative of goodness, who looks determined to punish the cruel and treacherous murderer of his father (Bloom 410-11); and on the other side, he is confused and reluctant to kill Claudius while he is praying and meditating in his chamber (III, iii, 73-96). It successfully demonstrates the external and internal conflicts Shakespeare aims to define in the play (Denton 2009) through his characters. The internal conflicts haunt Hamlet first due to the his mother’s second marriage to Claudius within few weeks of the death of her first husband. It is therefore, he laments that even a beast, wanting the discourse of wisdom (I, ii, 149-50) could wait more than her mother, who did not bother to delay her incestuous marriage for some appropriate period of time even (I, ii, 156-57). Hence, Hamlet mourns the death of his father in the same manner that had been in vogue in the Elizabethan era (Kirsch 21), where he has demonstrated his sheer feelings of love for his father by exclaiming that his inky cloak (I, ii, 77), reflects mere a small proportion of his grief. Similarly, he also experiences internal conflict on finding his uncle at the position of his father, though he is far inferior to his father in all regards, in the same manner that ordinary people are inferior to the mighty Hercules (I, ii, 153). Secondly, disclosure made by the ghost of his father regarding his foul and most unnatural murder (I. v. 25), also endorses his suspicion regarding Claudius’s hand in the murder of his father. Since Hamlet has learnt about the story of his father’s murder, he is urged by the ghost to take revenge from Claudius of such a cruel and unfair crime he has committed against King Hamlet. Hence, the ghost’s disclosure about the murder of King Hamlet turns Prince Hamlet aggressive, who prefers to stay in Denmark rather returning to Wittenberg to continue his education. Inner conflict Hamlet undergoes could be discovered while his dealings with Ophelia, the girl he has been in love with. He not only intends to marry her, but also obtains a powerful response from her side too (III.i.112–121). Nevertheless, his inner conflict does not allow him to make plans of marriage, particularly with the girl who is the daughter of Claudius’s confidant Lord Polonius. Consequently, he prefers to concentrate upon taking revenge of his father’s murder instead of completing his education or entering into marital-knot. It is therefore Hamlet has been viewed to be displaying cruelty through his feigned insanity by disrespecting his mother Queen Gertrude and beloved Ophelia (Johnson 148). In the same way, Hamlet has also been portrayed as such a sensitive and humane person that he would burst into tears on finding Ophelia’s funeral in the graveyard, though it is the same person stone-heartedness and indifference of which towards his beloved has forced Ophelia to commit suicide ultimately. Though the protagonist of the play appears to be fascinating the readers, by dint of his ambitious disposition, unflinching commitment and sharp intelligence, yet he maintains several flaws in his character, which could particularly be explored by going through his soliloquies that unveil various aspects of his thoughtfulness and personality alike. One of the most significant drawbacks in Hamlet’s personality includes his absolute reliance upon the statement made by the ghost regarding the murder of his father. It not only portrays him as a credulous person, but also reveals him as a haughty and willful young man, who could be turned against anyone in the wake of listening the stories from the mouth of ghosts even. In addition, use of harsh words towards Gertrude, Claudius, Polonius and Ophelia reveals his arrogance and aggression (Mack 49) that was expected from the heroes of Shakespearean times. Consequently, he rebukes his mother by comparing her to beasts, and hence puts aside all respect for the queen. On the contrary, Laertes has learnt to analyze the situation before developing trust in others. Since his father Polonius has advised him to give his ears to many, but tongue to few only, he acts upon the same piece of advice, and hence does not rely upon others without sound proofs and sufficient evidences. Moreover, both Laertes and Fortinbras witness patience before making a decision and reaching the conclusion. It is therefore, Fortinbras pays due heed to the request made by Claudius in respect of observing peace and developing friendly relationships between Norway and Denmark. However, the critics also refute the possibility of Hamlet’s reliance upon ghost, due to the very reality that he later arranges a play in order to catch the conscience of the king (II, ii, 567) through the performances made by the player king and queen. Hence, even being influenced by the words delivered from the mouth of ghost, Hamlet does not maintain unconditional belief in the allegations of murder put by the ghost on Claudius. Somehow, his feigned madness is actually the outcome of his reaction to his father’s ghost, where he develops feelings of hatred for the king for killing his father inviting internal and external in the wake of it. Hamlet observes madness after his encounters with the ghost, though his feigned madness has been a matter of vital interest for the researchers and critics alike, where some of them view the insanity as the outcome of the sudden shock he has received in the wake of the disclosure of the conspiracy against his father. Another important aspect of his posed madness is his attempt for escaping all the allegations of crimes that could put him under trial. For instance, he suggests nunnery to Ophelia, and instead of accepting her wish to marry her, he demonstrates his complete indifference towards her. In addition, he also kills Ophelia’s father Polonius in cold blood, though he never submits to the fact that he has committed the same deliberately. It is therefore Eliot (1921) observes that for Shakespeare it is less than madness and more than feigned; all these developments are actually the outcome of conflict raised in the wake of the assassination of his father. The similar personality traits and conflict state of affairs could also be traced out in Hamlet’s rival and ultimate murderer i.e. Laertes. Laertes, the son of most influential courtier Lord Polonius, is regarded to be the most ambitious and determined character of the play Hamlet. Being a youth like Hamlet and Fortinbras, he is the exact challenger of Hamlet, and is equally firm and resolute to take revenge of the murder of Polonius as Hamlet appears to be in respect of killing Claudius (Fletcher 288). The character of Laertes is powerful and central one, which helps the readers comprehend with the internal and external conflicts flowing along with the flow of the play. On the one side, Laertes personally dislikes Hamlet, and attempts to keep his sister Ophelia away from the protagonist; and on the other side, he looks partly aware of the feigned madness sustained by Hamlet. Contrarily, Ophelia’s madness is genuine in nature, who also looks a victim to an inner conflict; as on the one side, her sheer feelings of love do not allow her to ignore or censure Hamlet in the same manner as he has been witnessing while entering into interaction with her, and on the other side she takes her life out of deep feelings of love for Hamlet. Since Laertes is well aware of the deliberate crime Hamlet has committed by murdering their father, he would attempt to forbid Ophelia from keeping any relationship with Hamlet. It is therefore he would not let Hamlet to take part in the funeral and burial services of Ophelia after her committing suicide because of the absolute apathy demonstrated by Hamlet towards her (V, i, 243-262). Laertes appears to be a rational youth, an obedient son and a dedicated brother. He listens to his father carefully before his travel abroad, and arranges demonstration as a protest against the murder of his father at the hands of Hamlet. Here the author has presented the level and nature of conflict between him and Hamlet, both of whom are the victim of conspiracy hatched by Claudius has been trapped by the representative of evil i.e. the king, aiming at inter-weaving the plot schemes for killing Hamlet at the hands of Laertes, in order to remove the real heir to the throne of Denmark from his way forever (V, i, 297-302). Hence, the conflict between Hamlet and Laertes defines the tug of war between the evil plans schemed by Claudius in order to keep his condemnable crime of killing the former king i.e. Hamlet’s father in cold blood completely secret. It was the same conflict that paves the way towards arrangement of a duel between Hamlet and Laertes, which not only takes the life of both of the young men, but also results in the queen’s death as well as murder of Claudius eventually. Hence, Hamlet’s inner conflict and lack of decision power delay the revenge to such a great extent that he himself has to lose his life along with the lives of Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes and Gertrude (Nigel 19). Similarly, the playwright also depicts the character of Fortinbras in order to demonstrate that it is the law of Nature that the evil does not sustain for long, and the good ultimately replaces it sooner or later. Actually there was a political conflict between Denmark and Norway, where deceased King Hamlet had annexed some areas of Norway by defeating the father of Prince Fortinbras. Like Prince Hamlet, Fortinbras also looks ambitious to take revenge of the defeat and death of his father from the King of Denmark; somehow, it is the diplomatic developments made by Claudius, who has requested Fortinbras in respect of altering his decision of invading Denmark. It is therefore, the Norwegian crown-prince just arrives in Denmark in a friendly tour along with the ambassador of England after the death of all major characters in order to inform the Danish king regarding his decision of not entering into war campaign against him. However, it is quite surprising for him to notice that the Danish throne and crown are in his wait (V, ii, 368-72). Thus, Fortinbras demonstrates more endurance and rationality towards his opponents in comparison to Hamlet and Laertes. To conclude, it becomes evident that all the above-mentioned characters including Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras, draw out the internal and external conflict situation existing in the plot and theme of the play Hamlet. Though all these characters maintain similarities and differences from one another in personality traits, patience, endurance and wisdom, and appear to be divergent ones from one another in nature and scope, yet all of these three young characters display determination, aggression, valor and courage in order to achieve their destination. Similarly, their dialogues, sentiments and actions point out towards the existence of severe internal and external conflicts, which take the life of Hamlet and Laertes, while offer crown to Fortinbras eventually. Hence, the plot of the play under examination skillfully exhibits the command of the author over human psychology, where conflict has always been a matter of vital interest for the psychologists. Works Cited  Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998. Print. Daiches, David. A Critical History of English Literature. Ronald Press Co., University of California. 2007. Print. Denton, Jaques Snider. The System of Shakespeare's dramas. St. Louis: G. T. Jones and Company, 1877. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2009. Web. . Eliot, T.S. Hamlet and his Problems The Sacred Wood, Bartleby 1921. Web. Evans, Ifor. A Short History of English Literature. Macgibbon & Kee, University of California 2007. Print. Fletcher, Robert Huntington A History of English Literature R. G. Badger, New York: Public Library 2006. Print. Kirsch, Arthur Hamlet’s Grief ELH, Vol. 48, No. 1 New York: The Johns Hopkins University Press Spring, 1981 17-36 Web. . Accessed April 3 2011 Mack, Maynard. The World of Hamlet Macionis, John J. Sociology: a Global Introduction. New York: Prentice-Hall. 2008. Print. Nigel, Alexander. Poison, Play, and Duel: A Study in Hamlet. London: Taylor & Francis, 1971. Print. Read More