Hamlet Literary Analysis
Words, Words, Words…
Zoe Storch
Ms. Wilson
AP Literature and Composition
12 November 2013
AP Prompt:
In a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life "is a search for justice." Choose a character from a novel or play who responds in some significant way to justice or injustice. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the character's understanding of justice, the degree to which the character's search or justice is successful, and the significance of this search for the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
I have read and understand the sections in the Student Handbook regarding Mason High School's Honesty/Cheating Policy. By affixing this statement to the title page of my paper, I am certifying that I have not cheated or plagiarized in the process of completing this assignment. If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences of the act, which could include a "0" on the paper, as well as an "F" as a final grade in the course.
x__Zoe Storch__
Ms.Wilson Storch1
AP English Literature and Composition
12 November 2013
Hamlet Literary Analysis
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, a recurring theme of justice weaves itself through nearly every character’s storyline, serving not only as the catalyst for action, but as the final resolution to the play. William Styron writes in his novel that life "is a search for justice", a piece of wisdom which in itself compromises all of Hamlet’s decisions and soliloquies. The prince of Denmark fights for justice, debates life and death over it, and ultimately, perishes by it. Hamlet’s personal encounters with true justice parallel the larger theme of the work. Shakespeare himself toys with its meaning in his choice to kill off each character after they have committed a wrong. Side by side, the many exemplifications of justice in Hamlet showcase a more universal truth. They stress that true justice is only achievable through revenge, yet the fight for it is an endless cycle, one that almost always ends in tragedy.
From the bleak start of his journey, Hamlet is already faced with a decision that will shape his journey as a hero. The world seems to be crumbling around him as he struggles to come to terms with the death of his father, and the marriage of his mother to his Uncle isn’t much help. Shortly after Claudius is crowned, he is shocked by the apparition of his dead father. The arrival of the supernatural being triggers his quest for true justice, as he learns that his father has been murdered by his Uncle and he realizes he must choose a path of action. Yet, just like the many other characters in the play, his decision leads him to a fork in the road, one trail veering towards morality and the other, to revenge. His ghost father clearly directs him to "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." ( 1.4.25) , and initially, Hamlet obeys, convincing himself that it is "the thoughts of love" that will justify his actions (1.4.29). This pivotal choice defines Hamlet and his morality in respect to achieving justice, but in the bigger picture, serves as only the first half in his complete journey. Hamlet’s view when compared with other characters’ enforces the very loose definition given to true justice by Shakespeare. His initial stance on the matter, revenge for family bonds, represents justice’s personal nature. It hints at the fact that in reality, justice may too subjective to ever define, too strongly linked to personal beliefs to judge what is right and what is wrong.
Perhaps the most famous poetic soliloquy, Hamlet’s "to be or not to be" speech expands on Shakespeare’s understanding of justice even further, clearly illuminating the struggle between life and death, action and silence. Caught in a mental war involving his own suicide, Hamlet considers the harrows of being alive. His uncertainty to obtain revenge against Claudius has come to a head, and he theorizes that maybe living at all isn’t worth it, that "to sleep […] we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to…" (3.1.61). In an artful argument against himself, Hamlet asserts that the quest for justice is an internal struggle. And, "thus," he says, "conscience does make cowards of us all […] the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with the pale coast of thought…" (3.1.83) He states that the imprisonment and constant contemplation of one’s mind makes action or revenge nearly impossible, concluding that being alive means fighting against this conscience and deciding for oneself what true justice really is.
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Following the storylines of the play’s other characters, readers realize that Hamlet isn’t the only one who must choose what true justice is really worth. The final scene features the resolutions of all these storylines combined, and as a whole, asserts Shakespeare’s belief that although revenge is the only way to truly achieve justice, one’s search for it only enters them into a deadly cycle, beginning with the quest for compensation and ending with their own downfall. Claudius, very undeniably, is killed in response to his own murderous actions. As he dies, Hamlet states, "Here, thou incestuous, murd’rous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion." (5.2.289). The death of Claudius clearly reflects the play’s overall theme: revenge is the only way to achieve true justice. Following it are two more deaths, Laerte’s, similar to the King’s in the fact that he is dying after seeking an immoral revenge. The last death, however, illustrates the more paradoxical nature of justice when the archetypal hero of the play, Hamlet, also faces his own downfall after having finally achieved his own form of true justice by killing Claudius. In this demise we are confronted with the main dilemma and belief of Shakespeare’s: that although true justice is attained through revenge, revenge is an immoral action, one that ends in the demise of the immoral individual. With this in mind, the entire plotline of Hamlet is given new meaning. As a whole, the play illuminates a more universal truth involving the search for true justice. Seen in the lives of Shakespeare’s characters, it becomes apparent that true justice is subjective, and that in one’s quest to achieve it, we all become sinners.
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