How does fate play a role in hamlet
He is fully aware of his vacillating nature and in every meditation, he makes up his mind to be active in the future, but when action is demanded he retreats. Hamlet is not able to come to terms with life or death at the beginning of the play.
That is why he regrets having been born to set the time right. He is reluctant to accept the role he is ordained to perform. He is torn between appearance and reality, between passion and reason, between what is expected of him and what his moral scruples revolt against. It is his mistake that he does not accept his position, but seeks to escape from it. But by the end he realizes that there exists a mysterious power in the universe. Thus, he speaks of the divinity that shapes all things and, observes: "The readiness is all.
To sum up, both tragedies of character or a tragedy of fate interact and produce the overall effect of tragic loss as well as the glory of man. Procrastination in Avenging the Murder of Father in Hamlet. Shakespearean Soliloquy in Hamlet. When Laertes has injured Hamlet with the rapier the point of which had been dipped in poison, , and Hamlet now wounds Laertes with the some fatal rapier with which he himself has already been wounded.
Bradley puts the case thus: Hamlet possesses some mysterious or vast power we apprehend some mysterious, vast power.. Not only docs the feeling of a supreme power or destiny become very strong in us as we read through this play, but it also has at times a peculiar tone which may be called religious. Of course, it is true that we do not imagine the supreme power as a divine being who avenges crime or as a providence which super- naturally interferes, but we do get the feeling that Shakespeare is here using current religious ideas.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Tragic Flaw in the Hero It is chiefly character that is responsible for the tragic fate of the hero, but a Shakespearean tragedy also arouses a feeling that there is a mysterious power in this universe, whom we may call Fate or Destiny or Providence, that operates in the universe and is responsible for the manner in which things take shape..
The Role of Accident The manifestations of fate are also seen in the accidents of life. Remarks Suggestive of a Supernatural Power Next, there are a couple of remarks that Hamlet makes in Act V, Scene ii, which also serve to confirm the same impression. The Working of Fate As Seen in Some of the Deaths Finally, the manner in which several characters including Hamlet are killed almost at the same time confirms the impression of fate.
He does not betray himself by trying to be a hero in epic dimensions and waits patiently for the moments where he will have to exhibit his convictions through his actions. There is nothing which Prince Hamlet could have changed in the consummation of tragedy. The difficulties that arise in his steadfast efforts to find out the truth regarding the murder are his close relationships with his mother and Ophelia. Though he does not manage very well in handling these delicate relationships, one could not accuse him of deliberately causing despair through his actions to these women.
Even if he had maintained the relationships, it would not have lessened the essential tragedy that awaited him. He is not someone similar to Claudius, who could assume power after killing the King who is his own brother, and marrying his wife. There were only a few choices left to Prince Hamlet, and he was aware that all of them led him to the end of all happiness and contentment. Hamlet is very aware of his own fate and the fate of all men: to die. He already knows of fatalism, but he cannot accept it.
The thought of death perplexes and frightens Hamlet. But death, to Hamlet, is not a choice to be made. It is as if he knows that following the course of revenge will lead him to his death and he cannot accept it. As a character who disdains thought, but nonetheless is always thinking, Hamlet is always at war with himself. His father gave him the heavy burden of vengeance and Hamlet feels inadequate and unready to meet this fate, at least for Acts I-IV, because he never acts, he only thinks and hesitates.
Part of what makes Hamlet think so much is his utter lack of belief in anything. To believe in something is to have confidence that it is the truth and Hamlet is not confident about anything, including himself. He never says that he believes in God or in good or evil because he always questions everything.
He questions the ghost, death, choice, nihilism but he never believes in anything until the final act.