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Trevor Johnson

Mrs. Cole
English I
4 May 2016
Hamlet: His Actions Might Lead Everyone into Tragedy
Father dead, crown stolen, and mother degraded. This is the situation Hamlet,
the protagonist of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, finds himself in. He is called upon
by the ghost of his father to avenge him by killing his uncle and chastising his mother.
To accomplish this, however, Hamlet has to commit acts almost as despicable as the
one he is punishing. It is through Hamlet's actions that Shakespeare explores morality,
and the consequences of one's actions.
One of the most despicable crimes Hamlet did over the entirety of the play was
estranging Ophelia. The tipping point of their relationship was when they met while
being spied on by Claudius and Polonius, and Hamlet, enraged, yelled, "Get thee to a
nunnery!"(III.i.65). After the encounter, Ophelia is clearly distraught and upset, and this
marks the beginning of her undoing. Afterwards, she is less emotionally stable, and
more discontent with her life. After Polonius dies, she might have been able to handle
the shock, but she was already off balance from Hamlet's rejection. So instead, she
goes mad and kills herself, setting off a huge chain of events that lead into the deaths of
many others. Because what Hamlet did was necessary to achieve good in the world, but
was also morally wrong, it helped set up his plot, while also laying the foundation for his
doom. Shakespeare makes it even more plain that what Hamlet is doing is wrong by
making Ophelia the symbol of innocence within the play. At her funeral, a large deal is

made about her "virgin crants," and she is called "sweet." So what Shakespeare is
saying is that she was innocent, and that she didn't deserve all of what happened to her.
But at the same time, Hamlet had to act like that to her to maintain his insane facade, so
it was necessary to avenge his father. It is this interesting dynamic that subtly powers
the theme of morality throughout the play.
Another heinous act of Hamlet's was the murders he committed. He killed
Polonius, Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz, and while he had reason for all three, the
reasons certainly did not warrant that he murder them. And, perhaps worst of all, he felt
no remorse, not for killing his childhood friends, and certainly not for killing Polonius,
who he wasn't even trying to kill. After he killed Polonius, instead of trying to cover it up
or apologize, he simply replied to his mother, "A bloody deed! almost as bad, good
mother, As kill a king, and marry with his brother."(III.iv.86). Even though he admits his
deed is just as bad, he immediately starts turns the focus back to Gertrude, and never
asks for forgiveness or realizes how evil and hypocritical what he did just was. This
ends up killing him, because it enrages Laertes and sets off the duel between them,
where Hamlet eventually dies. And Polonius didn't particularly deserve to die, either,
since he was just taking orders from his king. He might have been had odds with
Hamlet, but he always had noble values at heart, such as protecting his daughter, and
serving his country and king. But because Hamlet disagreed with him, he had no
qualms murdering him. As for his friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, they were also
fairly innocent. It can be assumed that they were unaware of the letter they were
carrying that said to kill Hamlet, because once he escaped they kept going to England.
If they knew they were going just to kill Hamlet, they would have turned around once

they knew he had escaped. They even admitted to Hamlet that the king had sent them,
so they did not deserve to be put to death. And while it doesn't seem like he is affected
by their murders, it does lead to a moment of irony and the end, when the English
ambassador shows up and says, "To tell him his commandment is fulfill'd, That
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead: Where should we have our thanks?"(V.ii141).
Hamlet might have killed them, but at the same time his life and kingdom were taken
from him. It's almost as if Shakespeare is saying that Hamlet's spite towards
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern did nothing except spread the death and suffering, and
also he is saying it was done for the wrong reason, unlike most of Hamlet's other
decisions.
In conclusion, Hamlet's own actions are a foil to his righteousness. He condemns
Claudius while committing murder and harming innocents, leaving the literary role of his
character in a contradicting state. It is through Hamlet that Shakespeare explores the
ideas of whether the ends justify the means.

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