Shakespeare's Hamlet and Laertes - Essay Example

Both are then in the same position- their fathers have been murdered by people in high positions and it becomes their duty to avenge their death. This parallel is however valid only up to a limited extent. The motives behind the two murders differ, as do the means adopted for taking revenge by these two characters. Though the idea of avenging his father's death continues to reside at the back of Hamlet's mind throughout the play, yet his path is beset with obstacles. In this context, Shakespeare's emphasis seems to be more on the intellectual obstacles then the merely physical ones.

First and foremost he had to ascertain whether the Ghost that met him in the beginning of the play is what it claims to be, or a dissembling spirit from hell, which had come to work his damnation. This dilemma of Hamlet is best expressed in his soliloquy at the end of Act II: Besides it takes Hamlet a considerable amount of time to adjust the notion of private revenge with his already accepted view that a benevolent God rules the world and reserves the punishment to Himself. On the contrary, when Laertes comes to know of his father's death, he immediately resolves to avenge Polonius' death and exhibits no scruples or qualms about his impetuous decision, taken in haste.

The world of Laertes is not of deliberation and contemplation, but is a world beset with action and anger. Unlike Hamlet, he is not prone to pangs of conscience, nor is he hesitant about committing grave mistakes by succumbing to his passions. Such an impulsive mindset of Laertes is deftly expressed in his speech in Act IV, Scene v: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 worlds I give to negligence,Let come what comes; only I'll be reveng'dMost thoroughly for my father.

Hamlet's very act of chiding Laertes during the burial of Ophelia is indicative of his personal growth and maturity, in contrast to Laertes' impetuosity. This attribute of Hamlet gets manifold magnified after his unambiguous confession of the intensity of his feelings for Ophelia.I love'd Ophelia; forty thousand brothersCould not, with all their quantity of love,Make up my sum.Laertes acts as a foil for Hamlet, which highlights the fact that Hamlet had succeeded in developing a deep sense of control and restraint over his passions and had successfully nurtured an ability to bear gracefully with his personal grief, a quality pathetically lacked by Laertes.

The same sense of poise and restraint is exhibited by Hamlet, when he is provoked by Laertes' scathing words and actions. This utmost restraint of Hamlet in the face of Laertes' provocation becomes clear when he says:Thou pray'st not well.I prithee take thy fingers from my throat;For, though I am not splenitive and