The Nature of Evil in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Society has been preoccupied by the persuasionl of cracking and black since the emergence of civilization and, h peerlessst as creation has evolved over time, so has the definition of atrocious. Evil was first used to see someone who placed themselves above separates and it wasnt until the Old and Middle English full guide that unrighteous became associated with wrong-doing. As time passed, the definition continued to become increasingly more specific until it reached its modern day definition extreme example wickedness. (www. etymonline. com/index. php? term= cruel) However, what one ultimately defines as evil depends on ones ain experiences, frame of reference, and culture. For instance, during World War II, the Americans believed that dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was an act of good as it ended conflict with the Japanese. On the other hand, the Japanese viewed it as an act of evil as the bombings resulted in the demises of thousands of people.This proves that good and evil can non always be seen as plainly black or white, only when also as shades of grey making it hard to label calibres in various literary works, especially those of William Shakespeare. The ambiguity of evil in William Shakespeares settlement forces spectators to interpret each characters thoughts, actions, and soulality in inn to place them properly on the gradient of evil. Regardless of ones personal idea of evil, Claudius can be seen as a villain from many standpoints.He eternally performs actions with malicious intent and expresses true love only for himself. The first and virtually important act that Claudius commits is the maul of his sustain brother, which he does to obtain the vest of Denmark, as draw by King small towns ghost Now, village, hear. Tis given fall out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me so the livelong ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abusd merely know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy fathers life Now wears his crown. (I. v. 34-40)The ghosts idiom shows the true nature of Claudius evil as he yields himself to pop up his own brother. However, this is not to say that Claudius does not understand the nature of his sins. Following The pip of Gonzago, a test of his conscience set up by Hamlet, Claudius feels overwhelmed with delinquency and self disgust he attempts to repent for his sins and expresses that he realizes the magnitude of what he has done O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven It hath the primal eldest curse upont A brothers murder. (III. iii. 37-39)This is the first and only time that the readers or spectators see Claudius acting as a normal human being and showing or recognizing his emotions. This is actually important as many people believe that repentance leads to mercy. However, Claudius finds himself otiose to properly do so as he comes to realize that he does not feel remorse for what he has done since he continues to get out the rewards of his deed Pray can I not, Though inclination be as sharp as will, My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent My rift is past but O, what form of prayerCan serve my turn? Forgive me my stinky murder? That cannot be, since I am still possessd Of those effects for which I did the murder My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go. (III. iii. 36-40, 51-55, 97-98) If Claudius had successfully repented for his sins, he would no longer be labeled as an evil character. He is, however, unable to do so. Despite Claudius callousness, the fact that he level(p) attempts to repent is honourable.However, by continuing to manipulate, destroy, and murder he voids any chance of forgiveness. He uses his son as a scapegoat by focusing all of the negative attention on him and so avoids negative attention himself, marries his brothers widow, turns Hamlets childhood friends against him, and ultimate ly causes the deaths of all the main characters in the play. He uses his charm and political power to unleash increasing amounts of cuckoos nest proving that, One may smile, and smile, and be a villain (I. v. 07) In the end, it is Claudius who is creditworthy for trapping otherwise innocent characters in a chain of deception, deceit, and conclusion which is escapable only by death. Hamlet is the primary victim of Claudius malevolent deeds, make a dramatic shift in his nature. He becomes a slave to misfortune and feels the need to right the wrongs in his life, specifically the murder of his father. Upon perceive the truth about the nature of his fathers death, Hamlet becomes a vital get in the cyclical pattern of evil as he vows to spend a penny revenge on his uncle, Claudius Haste me to knowt, that I with wings as swiftAs venture or the thoughts of love May sweep me to my revenge. (I. v. 29-31) Although Hamlet is a victim of Claudius deeds, the reader is unable to sustain a ny feeling of heightened pathos once he seeks justice by exacting revenge. However, one must get into into assumeation the common thought processes of the time. It wasnt until recently that society began to view retaliatory justice as unacceptable and morally wrong. Therefore, Hamlet would have been confirm in his attempts to get revenge for his fathers murder.In addition, getting revenge gives Hamlet no personal gain except the redemption of his fathers name, while Claudius slaughters with power in mind. Furthermore, Claudius is responsible for the death of an innocent while Hamlet is only concerned with killing those who are guilty, particularly his uncle. Hamlet even takes precautions, such as arranging the performance of The Murder of Gonzago, to prove his suspicions and keep a blame conscience Ill have groundsMore relative than thisthe plays the thingWherein Ill catch the conscience of the King. II. ii. 603-605) By severe to figure out whether or not Claudius is guilty , Hamlet shows that he is seek to cause the least damage possible and does not want to kill those who do not deserve it. A truly evil person would not care whether or not their victim was innocent, as is the caseful with Claudius. Unfortunately, Hamlet becomes tangled up in his thoughts and emotions and causes more problems than he intends to primarly when Hamlet and his mother are talking and Hamlet glide slopes Polonius who is hiding behind an arras.The attack kills Polonius, who Hamlet initially thought was Claudius. While some may consider this to be evil, Hamlet recognizes the event as a tragic possibility A bloody deed. Almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king and marry with his brother Thou wretched, rash enter fool, farewell. I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune. (III. iv. 28-29, 31-32) By comparing the murder of Polonius to the murder of his father, Hamlet acknowledges that what he has done is wrong but unfortunately this does not allow him to escape the repe rcussions which follow.Killing Polonius is the biggest mistake that Hamlet makes in the play, turning Laertes against him and leading to the death of both himself and Ophelia. Although Hamlet can be seen as unnaturally evil many times throughout the play, he is not evil. Hamlet is simply trying to play the cards he has been dealt in life. Throughout Hamlet, Laertes is described as a very loyal and noble gentleman. Unfortunately for Laertes, he suffers the same fate as poor Hamlet. He loses his father and his sister, just as Hamlet loses his father and mother.Following his fathers death, Laertes feels the need to kill to uphold his familys name. At first Laertes believes the murderer to be Claudius but when Claudius convinces him otherwise, Laertes shifts his attention towards Hamlet. In coordinate to get Laertes to do this, Claudius manipulates him into guessing that Hamlet is the root of all evil and must be taken care of. Laertes agrees to do so and even contributes his own ide as I will dot. And for that purpose, Ill anoint my sword. I bought an unction of mountebank So mortal but dip a knife in it, Where it draws blood, no cataplasm so rare,Collected from all simples that have virtue under(a) the moon, can save the thing from death That is but scratchd withal. Ill touch my point With this contagion, that if I gall him slightly, It may be death. (IV. vii. 139-148) Similarly to Hamlet, it is not evil that gets the best of Laertes, but his emotions. His anger and sadness cause him to react drastically and he makes decisions at a time where he is unable to think straight. Laertes later comes to realize this as he reflects upon his plan to kill Hamlet And yet it is almost against my conscience. V. ii. 288) At this point in the play, it becomes evident that Laertes evil is not of his own creation but of Claudius. It is not only Laertes who realizes this but Hamlet as well, allowing the men to see the similarities in their situations and apologize to one anoth er He is just servd. It is a poison temperd by himself. convince forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my fathers death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me. (V. ii. 321-325) Unlike Claudius, the men are forgiven for their sins and are able to die as heroes rather than villains.This final act of nobility is what truly defines the characters of Hamlet and Laertes, not their mishaps. William Shakespeares Hamlet exemplifies how it is not what a character does but who a character is that determines whether they are truly evil or not. Nevertheless, that is not to say that the characters do not fall victim to temptation or evil. It is the way that they superintend themselves once they have done so that allows spectators an insight into their true nature. As Hamlet says, There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking it makes it so. (II. ii. 245-246)