Hamlet’s death and the appointment of Fortinbras as king are deeply unsatisfactory Essay Example

doth make cowards of us all".

In act five he begins to use the language of a revenger in a more decisive way as he readies himself for the killing of Claudius: "he hath kill'd my king and whor'd my mother... to kill him with this arm? " Through the act of revenge, Hamlet also achieves his own wish, his death.

This ends his bitter fight with his conscience over the morals of suicide as he contemplates whether he should fight his problems of suffer them stoically, as the church suggests "Whether tis' nobler in the mind to suffer, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against the sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? This is an argument that Horatio takes into consideration later in the play when pondering whether to take his life "I am more an antique Roman then a Dane"; he uses the Roman philosophy which regarded suicide as an honourable deed to excuse his proposed suicide this is a thought which Hamlet puts to an end when he reminds Horatio that greater good would be done if he were to live and to show Hamlet's mistakes as an example to all, so to prevent the same thing from occurring.Hamlet is almost doctrinal in the way it presents Christian orthodox moral issues like this to the audience. Issues such as suicide would interest the less blood-fixated members of the playhouse crowd, giving them something to debate about. When Hamlet does revenge, it results in a bloody massacre.

Many critics feel that this is unnecessary, and argue that many of the characters should not have died. It can be

argued that the bloody catharsis is necessary in ridding vice and restoring order in Denmark.It is certainly necessary to fulfil the audience's lust for the conventional tragedy of blood. It can be argued that Hamlet is not required to restore order, as the ghost asks him to "revenge this foul and most unnatural murder" and while he is doing this "taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught.

Leave her to heaven". However, in saying this, the ghost implicates the removal of the traitors from the throne and from the royal bed. Although he does argue with his mother, her death is not a direct result of him.The poisoned chalice that was meant for Hamlet was instead taken by Gertrude. Using Hamlets philosophy we could say that this is divine retribution, and therefore she has been left to heaven. However, in revenging his father's death Hamlet is also damned and, like the corrupt, must also perish to restore order to Denmark.

To fulfil the Jacobean revenge tragedy genre, it is an outsider that is brought in to restore order. This outsider is Fortinbras, the third and only successful revenger, who wishes to have retribution for the death of his father at the hands of old Hamlet.Shakespeare makes Fortinbras into a caricature, his name meaning 'strong in arms', members of the audience would pick realise this and it would emphasise his flaws. Fortinbras is a typical man of action; he has little compassion for human life commented on by Hamlet, allowing "the imminent death of twenty thousand men" for the sake of "a fantasy and trick of fame". Hamlet, however, admires

Fortinbras as he reminds him of his father.

Both were men of action and both were loved by their people, Fortinbras' men still fight for Fortinbras, even though they are aware that they "go to their graves like beds".Although this incident shows Fortinbras' lack of respect for human life, we can also see that he must have good leadership abilities for his men to be willing to die for him. Fortinbras' nobility and honour would be prized as an Elizabethan/Jacobean monarch, unlike the corrupt and weak characters of Hamlet and Claudius, which would never thrive. Fortinbras' leadership and the fact that he is much like his father perhaps points out that Fortinbras will make a good king, much like old Hamlet.Fortinbras is an echo of chivalrous values under old Hamlet; he however is a soldier, an equally flawed renaissance man, this is emphasised when he gives Hamlet a military funeral, a rather ironic gesture as the audience is aware that Hamlet is a man of words rather than a warrior. The fact that Fortinbras is a man of action rather than a man of words goes in his favour too.

Claudius is a man of words, like Hamlet and although he avoids a war with Norway, this is only for a short time, as at the end his words have been in vain as Fortinbras takes the throne.A patriotic audience would realise the implications of an invading power taking over, and would realise why Hamlet gave Fortinbras his "dying voice". In the Branagh version of Hamlet, Fortinbras has all the symbols of the previous regime destroyed, including a statue of king Hamlet, perhaps an ironic

gesture showing the ultimate failure of Hamlet in carrying out his father's wishes. Shakespeare's conclusion to Hamlet is entirely satisfactory in restoring order to Denmark.

Fortinbras seems to be a good leader of people, much like old Hamlet who was dearly loved by the Danish people.Hamlet's blessing on Fortinbras, "he has my dying voice", whether reluctant or not, will ease the way for Fortinbras' take over. It is likely that Fortinbras will encounter resistance, as he is a foreigner imposing power, an idea shown in the Branagh version of Hamlet. Denmark, previously described by Hamlet as "an unweeded garden that grows to seed things rank and gross in nature" has been cleansed by the destruction of those corrupt persons in the bloodshed of Act Five.

It can therefore be said that Hamlet has been successful in restoring social and moral order to Denmark and to the universe.