Hamlet's Actions In Response To Claudius Evil example essay topic

Understanding the importance of moral order is essential to the full comprehension behind Shakespeare's ideas in the play Hamlet. Moral order in plain definition can be understood as the presence of good and the absence of evil in the manner the world works. Claudius, the antagonist in the play, being the main source of evil, uses various characters in his plans and through his actions causes the characters as well as Hamlet to fall subject to this evil. Ultimately, disturbing moral order by all the deaths and suffering created. Therefore, it is evident that A.C. Bradley's is accurate in stating that moral order is the ultimate power in the play, and shows itself to be true through the inevitable demise of those characters which took part in disturbing it. According to A.C. Bradley, "In Shakespearean tragedy the main source of convulsion which produces suffering and death is never good...

The main source, on the contrary, is in every case evil; and what is more (though this seems to have been little noticed), it is in the almost every case evil in the fullest sense, mot mere imperfection but plain moral evil". This quotation becomes evident in the examination of the opening scenes when the characters realize that all is not well in Denmark and that there is definitely something disturbed seeing as how ghosts only wander the night to complete unfinished business. When Hamlet states, "My father's spirit in arms! all is not well; /I doubt some foul play: would the night were come! /Till then sit still, my soul.

Foul deeds will rise, / Through all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes". (Act 1, Scene 2: lines 253-256), he has a strong feeling that something is not correct with his father's death. Marcellus has also come to a conclusion when he states, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". (Act 1, Scene 4: line 90) This quotation is a definite realization that there is corruption because of some cause, both politically and morally. The only unknown fact at this point would be the reason of this disturbance. The last half of A.C. Bradley's quotation can be directly associated to Claudius in that he is plain moral evil.

He shows this through the manner in which he conceived the throne. Instead of fighting King Hamlet Sr. honourably, he kills his brother, in a cowardly manner, by pouring poison in his ear while he was sleeping. Claudius is evil in the fullest sense because he shows little remorse for his actions and refuses to give up his throne and queen. Rather, he uses other characters like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as ponds in an attempt to keep what he has gained thus far. A.C. Bradley furthermore provides a perfect description of Claudius' character when he states, "Evil exhibits itself everywhere as something negative, barren, weakening, destructive, a principle of death. It Isolates, disunites, and tends to annihilate not only its opposite but itself". The fact that evil is weakening, destructive, isolates, disunites, etc. is seen directly through the breakdown of the main source of evil, Claudius, and indirectly through his victims.

Claudius directly affected himself and Hamlet by means of his murderous and incestuous actions. His evil causes Hamlet to put on antic- disposition and appear evil. A.C. Bradley goes on to state, "That which keeps the evil man prosperous, makes him succeed, even permits him to exist, is the good in him (I do not mean only the obvious "moral" good). When the evil in him masters the good and has its way, it destroys other people through him, but also destroys him". Claudius' manipulative manner is the "good" in him that makes him prosperous and allows him to exist.

He shows this in many of his lines but primarily in Act 1, Scene 2, in his opening address. This is the first time the reader is introduced to Claudius and it can already be noticed that he is very manipulative in his speech. He makes himself out to be the "sacrificed" one that had to marry his sister- in-law and assume the throne just so that everything would appear alright in Denmark. Manipulation is also seen when the King is speaking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and states: I like him not, nor stands it safe with us To let his madness range. Therefore prepare you; I your commission will forthwith dispatch, And he to England shall along with you: The terms of our estate may not endure Hazard so dangerous as doth hourly grow Out of his lunacies. (Act 3, Scene 3: lines 1-7) In this quotation, Claudius manipulates Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to believe that the King (therefore the country) is in great danger and that they must get rid of Hamlet.

This is quite ironic given the fact that Claudius is the real danger in the play and that through his actions, he indirectly affected other characters. Hamlet's actions in response to Claudius' evil, become consequential for characters like: Ophelia, Gertrude, Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which only find their deaths by the end of the play. A.C. Bradley's final description of Claudius states, "At the close of the struggle he has vanished, and has left behind him nothing that can stand. What remains is... a country, exhausted, pale, and feeble, but alive through the principle of good which animates it; and within it, individuals who, if they have not the brilliance or greatness of the tragic character, still have won our respect and confidence". Finally, after all the chaos has occurred and moral order is restored through the deaths of those which disturbed it, Claudius leaves behind him nothing that is worth a great deal but what does shine through is the timely appearance of the only character that has achieved his goal honourably. Fortinbras is the savoir at the end of the play that will revive the frail city and bring Denmark back to its moral and principled customs that seized to exist once the murder of King Hamlet Sr. took place. Horatio can also be seen as a honourable character that stood by Hamlet's side throughout all the chaos and his phase of antic- disposition.

Hamlet is a tragic hero because he did contribute to his eventual downfall, but cannot be seen as evil through his actions. A.C. Bradley comments on this fact when he states, "Even when this plain moral evil is not the obvious prime source within the play, it lies behind it: the situation with which Hamlet has to deal has been formed by adultery and murder... ". Hamlet was not evil but brought into evil because he had to avenge his father's murder. Also, the fact that Hamlet states: ... God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together; And still your finger on your lips, I pray.

The time is out of joint; O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right! - Nay, come, let's go together". (Act 1, Scene 5: lines 188-192) shows that Hamlet was not keen on killing Claudius but it is his duty, evil or not, to avenge his father's death. As a final point, A.C. Bradley does not just blame the main source of evil but also the hero that in him too has faults. He states, "Again, if we confine our attention to the hero, and to those cases where the gross and palpable evil is not in him but elsewhere, we find that the comparatively innocent hero still shows some marked imperfection or defect... These defects or imperfections are certainly, in the wide sense of the word, evil, and they contribute decisively to the conflict and catastrophe".

This statement is true because it is Hamlet's faults which add to the conflict, disturbs moral order and eventually brings about his demise. It was Hamlet's incapability to perform tasks when they were due or irresolution that was his biggest fault. He had the prime opportunity to kill Claudius when he was praying but did not do it because he wanted Claudius to suffer the ultimate punishment of hell. Hamlet thinks about things too much and because of this he misses the chance to kill Claudius.

This in turn caused his impulsive reaction of killing Polonius, which he thought was Claudius. It was these factors that made Hamlet fall subject to evil but he himself was not evil. This evil in turn, caused him to disturb the moral order and was restored with him unfortunate death. This once more proves that moral order is the ultimate power. In retrospect, A.C. Bradley's commentary on moral order being the ultimate power and has proven itself through the annihilation of the antagonist, Claudius, which originally disrupted the order and the other characters like Hamlet, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which also through inevitable Circumstances came into relation with the source of evil and caused them also to disrupt the moral order. So in this play the disturbance of the moral order is shown through the opposite of the actual definition; the presence of evil and the absence of good. A.C. Bradley helps the reader to understand that moral order does not act randomly or without reason but rather because it has to be restored once disturbed.

Under no situation could the characters escape the restoration and therefore this fact reinforces that moral order is, in the true sense, the ultimate power..