... , thinking Claudius was eavesdropping on his conversation with his mother, took out his sword and stabbed the curtains. Polonius, the father of Ophelia and Laertes, was spying for Claudius and was behind the curtains. Polonius is accidentally killed. The ghost appears to Hamlet and he talks to it. Gertrude ... letters directing the king to see that Hamlet dies. Ophelia is distraught over her father's death and her loss of Hamlet's love. Her brother, Laertes arrives from Paris to revenge the death of his father, Polonius. He discovers that not only has his father been killed but that is s...

• Word Count: 1136
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... plot of the play centers around the supposed madness of its title character, Hamlet, but he is not the only character who displays irrational behavior. Hamlet, Laertes, and Ophelia are all loyal children who exhibit varying degrees of madness after their fathers" untimely deaths. Hamlet thought highly of his father, as a ... Ophelia drowns, and it is unclear whether it was an accident or suicide. This is the last straw that pushes her faithful brother Laertes to consider murder. Laertes comes back to Denmark when he hears of his father's death, and is prepared to see Polonius" murderer ...

• Word Count: 1204
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... are indirectly compared and contrasted throughout the play. Hence, all striking similarities and sharply contrasted differences are not a mere co-incidence. Hamlet and Laertes are compared to each other in terms of their different kind of love for the same person, Ophelia, who is the lover of the ... said "I lov'd Ophelia: forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum" (V, i, 277-279), where as Laertes' love for Ophelia was always there since the very beginning of the play when he was advising her against believing Hamlet's love, albeit in a domineer...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... Act 5, scene 2 and are all caused by poison. Claudius supplies the poison, but the weapon Claudius really uses is Laertes" desire for revenge against Hamlet. Hamlet's killing of Laertes" father and the resulting tragic death of his sister have caused Laertes to hate Hamlet. Laertes tells Claudius that he wants to destroy Hamlet, "I will be ruled, The rather if you could devise it so ... That I might be the organ." (IV.vii.67-69). Hamlet is not suspicious of a fencing match with Laertes. Laertes" sword has a poison tip, so when he strikes Hamlet with it Hamlet will surely die. However, C...

• Word Count: 911
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... then the ghost suddenly appears and then disappears without saying a word. Heratio acknowledged that the ghost figure did resemble the deceased King Hamlet. ACT 1 SCENE 2 Characters: King, Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Voltimana, Cornelius, Heratio, Bernardo, Marcellus, Lord, Attendant Setting: A public state room in the castle. Summary: The next morning, after Heratio and the guardsmen see the ghost, King Claudius announces ... king and stabs his sword through the curtain. Instead of stabbing the king, he ends up stabbing and killing Polonius. ACT 5 SCENE 1 Characters: First Clown, ...

• Word Count: 1180
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... however, tell Horatio to tell everyone that what he did was the right thing. Throughout the play, Hamlet constantly went after justice and honour, all while seeking his revenge. Finally, Laertes is used as a foil for Hamlet. Laertes' firm and enraged desire to avenge Polonius, stands in complete opposition to Hamlet's inactivity with respect to his own father's death ... . Laertes is the king's advisor's son, while Hamlet is next in line for the throne. They both act and feel differently towards the new king. Laertes obeys the new king, while Hamlet scorns and despises Claudius for what ...

• Word Count: 816
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... is King Hamlet who is supposed to be revenge by his son prince Hamlet. The second murder is Polonius who is supposed to be revenged by his son Laertes. Both Prince Hamlet and Laertes go to seek revenge for the death of fathers; however they will each use different methods to accomplish their deeds. Prince Hamlet has a meeting with the dead ghost ... the match. Hamlet returns to the vicinity of Elsinore just as Ophelia's funeral is taking place. Stricken with grief, he attacks Laertes and declares that he had in fact always loved Ophelia. The fencing match is arranged between Hamlet and ...

• Word Count: 602
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... process of making him more ruthless by causing him to begin lying to people and start to deceive people into thinking he is crazy. When he fights Laertes he is at last ready to take charge of the situation. First Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, they help start Hamlet on the path to revenge for his fathers ... he is finally confronting someone instead of just planning and scheming. This is a necessary step in order for him to be able to kill Claudius. Second, Laertes, at the point when he and Hamlet fight, Hamlet has finally gathered up the courage to act on what he feels. He has stopped hi...

• Word Count: 472
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... friend of Prince Hamlet in the final few lines of the play. He speaks these words after the deaths of Hamlet, Claudius, King of Denmark, Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, and Laertes, son of Polonius. Also dead are Hamlet, King of Denmark, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, former friends of Hamlet, Polonius, councilor to the King, and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius. Death is an ... Hamlet's madness and the death of her father. In the very last scene of the play, Prince Hamlet is killed. He is stabbed by Laertes with a poisoned sword during a duel. Both Claudius and Laertes want Hamlet dead. Laerte...

• Word Count: 944
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... rage and Ophelia's psychotic melancholy are perfect expressions of the two emotions Hamlet has somehow been feeling simultaneously since the beginning of the play. Claudius is able to appease Laertes by promising that he help him and Hamlet will be eliminated "Let the great axe fall." Scene 6 is very brief but it shows the heroic side of Hamlet. If Hamlet ... Claudius finds out that his plan to have Hamlet killed by the English king has failed, he plots a different way of eliminating Hamlet. He arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. In such a setting he believes that the ...

• Word Count: 697
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Hamlet. He rashly and recklessly murders Polonius. This was stupid because not only did he kill the wrong guy, but also managed make Laertes fumingly irate. The clever incident with the arranged killing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is the point in which Hamlet melts pure thought Hamlet and ... sword and in the next scuffle he manages to wound Hamlet. They continue fighting and Hamlet somehow exchanges swords with Laertes after which he wounds Laertes. Both have been poisoned. As Laertes is dying he tells Hamlet about the poison and blames Claudius. Hamlet is now aware of everything. ...

• Word Count: 942
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... her whereas Ophelia was deeply in love with him. This resulted in Ophelia's eventual madness and her death. "Too much water hast thou, poor Ophelia / And therefore I forbid my tears" (Laertes - IV, VII, 187-188). Ophelia had drowned, by accident or on purpose, but either was it was mostly Hamlet's fault. The downfall of a woman caused by love or not loving ... is a poison"d cup; it is too late." (V, II, 282). Then the Queen falls and dies and Claudius does not move, he is concentrating solely on the dual between Hamlet and Laertes. The fact that Claudius said that the cup was poisoned t...

• Word Count: 1154
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Hamlet's hate for Claudius is the main focus during the entire play. There are lots of other characters that hate each other in the play, like Laertes hate for Hamlet at the end and the hate shared between Claudius and Hamlet. The main cause that triggered all of this hate and the wanting of revenge ... Claudius hoping to kill him. The kings plan had backfired, and it got an innocent person killed because of hate and selfishness. When Laertes finds out about his fathers death it creates more feelings of hate and revenge, but this time towards Hamlet. Claudius and ... Laertes come up wi...

• Word Count: 857
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is trying to express love for his father by seizing revenge for him, but he is actually just causing chaos and corruption. Laertes also has a huge impact on corruption and revenge. After Ophelia killed herself, and Polonius was stabbed by Hamlet, Laertes had a great motive to get revenge on Hamlet. Hamlet's madness drove Ophelia and Polonius to an unnecessary early death and ... Laertes to anger. Laertes wants to kill Hamlet, Hamlet wants to kill Claudius, and Claudius wants to kill Hamlet as well. Taking on this responsibility ... emotions therefore able to fulfill his job of revenge....

• Word Count: 754
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... ., so that upon reaching Act 2 the audience's first thought of everyone will be "are they really who they say they are?" Act 2 opens with Polonius worrying about Laertes. He is requesting that Reynaldo visit Laertes and gain his confidence in order to find out what he is up to. This shows blatant duplicity and corruption. Polonius is consumed with appearance, always trying ... to appear as a caring person, a man who loves his son, Laertes. By sending a spy to entrap his son he shows a lack of trust for everyone, even his family, which contradicts his appearance as confident father who al...

• Word Count: 948
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... in the way that he has done, and to the conception of which there is not even the smallest approach, except in some of the old romantic ballads.1 Her brother, Laertes, is a character we do incon-sistency HAMLET. Hamlet is splenetic and rash Hamlet: Son of the late King Hamlet of Denmark and nephew to the present King. Famous for the ... whether King Hamlet's Ghost told him the truth about his father's death. At the end of the play, Hamlet kills both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (indirectly), Laertes and finally King Claudius before dying himself from a wound inflicted by Laertes. Horati...

• Word Count: 1060
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... theme of deception, and how its use by one or more characters leads to their downfall. In Act One; Scene Two, Polonius explicitly stated this theme when he said to Laertes; "By indirections find directions out". Each major character in Hamlet, in his or her own way, provided an example of this theme. By using deceit the characters in "Hamlet" employed ... he had created began to control him. This can be seen in Act 5: Scene Two when Hamlet speaks of himself to Laertes: " I here proclaim [my] madness If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, / And when he's not himself, does wrong Laertes, /...

• Word Count: 932
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• Grade Level: High School

... one hand he feels almost giddy about sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths. On the other hand we hear his feelings about his injustice against Laertes, "But I am very sorry, good Horatio, That to Laertes I forgot myself (5;2, L 85-86)." His sympathy seems sincere, but you could also see it as tainted because he says nothing about being sorry for the act ... , only that he's sorry it was commited against Laertes. You might say that for all he's done Hamlet is a corrupt bastard, plain and simple. I don't think it's that easy however. We've never been given any indication of ...

• Word Count: 866
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... said that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were to be executed, and therefore cheated death. Hamlet revenged his father's death by murdering Claudius. After Hamlet found out that the sword he and Laertes were struck with was poisoned he then stabbed Claudius with it; "The point envenom'd too? Then, venom, to thy work." (V, 2) From Hamlet's point of view, what he did to Ophelia ... he never showed any love for her, this was intelligent from Hamlet's or some males point of view. Hamlet was mad throughout the whole play. Hamlet murdered Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Claudius, Laertes, Polonius, a...

• Word Count: 650
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... throughout the play. Hamlet's urge for revenge is clouding his judgment and he doesn't realize trying to destroy Claudius is actually destroying himself at the same time, same thing for Laertes, wanting to avenge his father Polonius and sister Ophelia, he ends up dying or self-destructing himself, all for nothing too because Hamlet wasn't the real enemy, he should have ... developed hatred towards women. Although, hamlet shows near the end of the play that he really did love Ophelia. When he arrived at her funeral he got into a fight with Laertes, declaring his love for her. Hamlet says...

• Word Count: 833
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... assistant, has a preoccupation with appearance. He always wants to keep up the appearance of a loving and caring person. Polonius seems to be a man who loves and cares about his son, Laertes. Polonius gives his son advice that sounds sincere but in reality it's rehearsed, hollow and without feeling. Polonius gives his advice only to appear to be the loving caring father ... , And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!"(Act 1) Polonius gives his son Laertes his blessing to go away, he sends a spy to follow ...

• Word Count: 835
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... would have come of the murder to avenge his father. The next delay was the accidental killing of Polonius, which created a whole new problem (ERH). This left Hamlet somewhat distracted. Laertes then wanted Hamlet dead for the murder of Polonius. Thus, Hamlet was sent off and the murder of Claudius was yet again postponed. Hamlet returned from his trip to England ... to kill the King. In Act V, Scene II, Hamlet finally accomplishes this feat. He kills the King with poison. Yet in the act of murder, he kills also the Queen, Laertes, and himself (Act V, Scene II). Shakespeare's Hamlet is o...

• Word Count: 828
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... to do in that situation. Later, when Hamlet discovers that he has accidentally killed Polonius, he is sorry for what he has done. Hamlet even gives a formal apology to Laertes when Laertes returns from France. Hamlet feels very guilty for having killed Polonius, especially when it causes Ophelia to become mad and later commit suicide. If Hamlet is truly mad and not ... ...

• Word Count: 1191
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... differently once one is dead and buried. The final scene draws the greatest sympathy towards Hamlet even though he is not even in the scene. The forces of Claudius and Laertes have combined against Hamlet. Claudius states, "To an exploit now ripe in my device, Under the which he shall not choose but fall, And for his death no wind of ... it hurts Gertrude in any way. This scene depicts Hamlet as the victim, much like two bullies picking on a smaller child in school, since the king, with the aid of Laertes, is out to kill Hamlet, this time with a passion. Much like a political revolution...

• Word Count: 764
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Ophelia rapidly changes with the modifications of Hamlet's state of mind. Initially, Hamlet and Ophelia are assumed to be having a love affair; one that is not supported by her brother Laertes or her father Polonius. When Hamlet is told about the murder of his father, he decides to take revenge on Claudius, but in order to do so he must act ... revenge. In the final act of the play, Hamlet confronts both his mother and Claudius, first at Ophelia's burial and then in the hall of the castle for a dual between Laertes and Hamlet. Before they dual, Claudius says to Hamlet, "I do not fear it...

• Word Count: 922
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School