Essay on Death: Great Hamlet

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Death is inevitable, it's everywhere and takes the deceiving form to surprise everyone when they least expect it; in the play Hamlet death and revenge are just as surprising and symbolic as the sum of the tragedies and cataclysm. The man of inaction speaks no more, he turns his valued pen in to the weapon of fate, the spade that would bring the kingdom of Denmark to a screeching halt in its wake. Hamlet makes note of his inability to take action through various points in the play, for instance his clean kill shot on Claudius while he is praying would seem like the opportune time, however the unwillingness of the rightful heir to the throne refuses. Hamlet is not the only character in the play that seeks blood, Claudius, Laertes and even the great Fortinbras of Norway wants in on the appeal; the point is (no pun intended) blood is fresh on the minds of the noblest of the noble. Death makes its first move with the passing of King Hamlet - however what or who was to be punished; the precursor opens the flood gates to the great Shakespearean tragedy known as Hamlet. "The King is dead, the King is dead!"; the yet known orchestrator had passed away in the privacy of his own garden breathing in the sweet Danish air when death came knocking on his doorstep. The rising action of the play led the Shakespearean English audience filled with questions as to how could one start a play following the passing of a King? Were it the natural causes? The kiss of Old Man winter? or the traitorous act of treason? In the aging progression of act 1, the answer has made an appearance - specifically the appearance of King Hamlet to his son, bearing the cause of his passing. "The serpent that did sting they father's life now wears his crown" (I, iv, 44-45) All of a sudden, plot twist, the audience is in awe as Hamlet hears the news for the first time; but how could Hamlet trust this apparition of his father? Could it be that he was just imagining it all along? Where was the proof that the newly crowned King Claudius was the man held responsible? After a rant to his good friend Horatio and a couple of days of insanity Hamlet instantly proves to the entire kingdom of Denmark that he has gone mad, crazy in modern english. Claudius makes not of the fact of Hamlet's madness and goes quickly to work to find the root of the cause - "It shall be so. Madness in great ones must not unwatched go" (III, i, 200-201) Hamlet now has Claudius right where he wants him, distracted and unaware of what is to follow; Hamlet calls in a group of actors to put on a performance of the play The Murder of

Gonzago. In this play, the nephew of the king assassinates him by pouring posing in his ear while he rests to assume his 'rightful place'; Hamlet is hoping that the play which is to be performed in front of the king will arouse his guilty conscience. "Give him heedful not, for I mine eyes will rivet to his face, and after we will both our judgements join in censure of his seeming." (III, ii, 85-88) Death has its significance, the act of revenge will be the argument in which Death will plead to the jury of the unlawful and uncanny. When seeking revenge, there are a few steps that must be followed but better yet there is on rule that must be followed at all times, keep you friends close and your enemies closer. Case 1- the loving relationship between Hamlet and his uncle Claudius (clearly joking); Hamlet is face with the reality that the death of his father comes at the hand of his uncle. Hamlet is suddenly posed with a problem, how can he take action against this man when the best weapons he has is his sword of dictation and shield of vocabulary? After his father's apparition appears to him, Hamlet swears revenge on his father's Death with his heart but his mind says your "your mother is the one who should be held accountable for her whorish deeds". Hamlet is then taken on a journey of character vs. self; he battles constantly with himself tempting to kill Claudius in the most
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