Hamlet: Moral Order :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Hamlet: Moral Order In Shakespeare's Hamlet, a very clear moral order is established as the protagonist, Hamlet, completes his journey through the phases which define a Shakespearean tragedy. The play begins with Hamlet encountering his father's ghost, at which point he learns his father had in fact been murdered by his own brother, Claudius. It is Hamlet's wish to avenge his father that causes all other moral dilemmas in the play, and this is what defines the play's particular moral order: As the play progresses, the gravity and seriousness of Claudius sins lessen, and Hamlet's grow, although never reaching the moral plateau on which Claudius rests. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet is morally "in the right", always taking precautions to ensure this remains so. Claudius, on the other hand, not only murders Hamlet's father, but then plots to do away with Hamlet as soon as he feels threatened. As the play progresses, Hamlet continues attempting to right the original wrong, but only succeeds at the finish, with Claudius' death. Hamlet's words in Act III, Scene IV -- "thus bad begins, and worse remains behind" illustrate the moral order well; the actions against him were wrong, but, to a lesser extent, so was his revenge. Near the start of the play, The Ghost tells Hamlet of the crime committed by Claudius. When Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by his own brother, who then stole his wife and crown, he immediately commits himself to avenging the murder; "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift/As meditation or the thoughts of love/May sweep to my revenge." At this point, Hamlet is completely justified in his feelings, and most would agree that his revenge is morally right. Although the act of murder itself is wrong, an "eye for an eye" almost wholly justifies it. The gravity of Claudius' crime grows when one considers that all the deaths throughout the play would not have come if it were not the murder. The crime itself is, in a sense, worse because of the circumstances; not a simple murder, but the murder of one's brother wholly for personal gain, his crown and queen. It is this which balances out any morally wrong actions Hamlet may take. Hamlet, on the other hand, begins the play as a very rational and intelligent man. Although it is shown he can be impulsive and rash, his rationality wins out - at least in the beginning of the play. When seeing his father's ghost, he unquestionably accepts all he hears as truth, but doesn't act on it until he can verify it in some way.