Justice in Hamlet

Justice is a main theme in Hamlet. Wrongs have been done and justice is sought by several characters. King Hamlet is dead, an assumed accident until a ghost appears to Prince Hamlet and relates a tale of murder by King Hamlet's brother Claudius. Hamlet is charged by the self-proclaimed ghost of King Hamlet to avenge the King's death. This is the focus of the play and the central theme of justice is best seen as Hamlet seeks revenge for his father's death. But the other themes of death are seen in Laertes pursuit of justice for the death of his father by Hamlet's hand and as a consequence his sister Ophelia's death. And a more distant overture of justice is sought by Fortinbras the young prince of Norway who seeks revenge for the death of his father King Fortinbras who was killed by King Hamlet. The latter two examples are the foils for Hamlet reflecting Hamlet's own revenge.

Hamlet's quest for justice is first introduced by the ambiguous ghost of King Hamlet. The ghost appears to Hamlet and explains the means by which he was murdered. Hamlet is shocked by the news of his father's murder. The ghost tells Hamlet that His father was poisoned with hebenon juice by his uncle Claudius. Hamlet then avows to avenge his father in a soliloquy.

"O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else? And shall I couple hell...Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat In this distracted globe. Remember thee! Yea, from the table of my memory I'll wipe away all trivial fond records... O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables,-meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain; At least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark: So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word; It is 'Adieu, adieu! remember me:' I have sworn't (I.v.92-112)."

In his speech, Hamlet takes upon himself a new look on life. He decides above all else he will avenge his father. First Hamlet expresses his shock and anger that his father was murdered and avows to not forget the ghost and its words. Hamlet sets himself to forget all the fond childhood memories of his uncle and replaces them with an image of his uncle tainted with the murder of King Hamlet that enrages the prince. Hamlet also is angered by his mother who is now married to the murderer, the "villain" whom he has set himself to kill. Hamlet's intention to kill is seen in his final words, "It is 'Adieu, adieu! Remember me,' I have sworn't." Hamlet had resolved that revenge meant death, though that was never directly said.

But in claiming his revenge and achieving justice, Hamlet delays three times (Field). The first delay is when Hamlet must decide if Claudius is in fact guilty. He does this by staging a play that reenacts how Hamlet imagines his father was murdered. When the murder scene arrives, Claudius leaves the theater in a rush (Phillips). Hamlet assumes from this that Claudius is in fact guilty of murdering his father. The second delay is after the play. Hamlet finds Claudius praying a confession of his sin, so instead of killing him immediately, Hamlet holds back yet again because he believes if he kills Claudius while in prayer, Claudius' soul would go straight to heaven (Field). The third delay came when Hamlet mistakenly killed Polonius. This brought about other problems for Hamlet; Claudius sent Hamlet away and this further delayed Hamlets revenge. Now Hamlet was in danger from Laertes.

Hamlet's lead foil also plays a central role with his quest for justice. King Claudius persuades Laertes to believe that the deaths of Polonius and Ophelia are upon Hamlet's head. This is partially true because Hamlet does mistakenly kills Polonius, and as a result Ophelia dies by drowning caused by the madness brought on by her grief from her father's death. Laertes in turn swears to have his own justice for the loss of his father and sister.

"And so have I a noble father lost; A sister driven into desperate terms,- Whose worth, if praises may go back again, Stood challenger on mount of all the age For her perfections:-but my revenge will come (IV.vii.5-9)."

Laertes is not as concerned by his father's death as he is by his sister's. He hails her as a one to be praised for her worth and her perfections. Laertes avows then to have his revenge for mostly the loss of his sister whom he cared a great deal for.

The quest for justice comes to a climax when Claudius plans a fencing match between Laertes and Hamlet. Claudius creates a situation in which Hamlet must die. Laertes poisons the blade of the foil that he is using to fence. Claudius proposes a backup plan as well-if Hamlet doesn't die from the poison on the foil, he will die from the poison King Claudius will put in his drink. However, something goes wrong. Hamlet doesn't get stabbed immediately, and he doesn't drink the poison; Queen Gertrude does. Hamlet's mother dies very quickly after drinking from the goblet after she names the poisoned drink to be her killer. Hamlet then kills Claudius by the sword and by the poisoned cup. Laertes who has been stabbed by the poisoned blade also dies. Hamlet too was cut by the poisoned blade, and he dies after giving his final request to Horatio-to have his story told so that he may be justified for his actions. As Hamlet dies, Fortinbras and his army approach.

Another character who seeks justice is Fortibras of Norway. He is the young prince whose father was killed by King Hamlet. King Hamlet, however, killed King Fortinbras in a fair battle with honor. So Fortinbras was brought to Denmark on a task of vengeance and justice for his father making him Hamlet's lesser foil. Fortinbras arrives upon the bloody scene where what's left of the royal family all lays dead. When Fortinbras urges Horatio to "Let us haste to hear it", Horatio tells the story of what transpired as Hamlet had requested of him. Fortinbras has Hamlet carried off and buried in a manner befitting a fallen soldier.

Has justice been achieved? If justice hinges upon the death of Claudius and revenge for the King Hamlet, then yes, justice has been achieved. But seven others also died: Hamlet, Laertes, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. For so many people to die to achieve justice cannot be right. It is not soundly proved if Claudius did really kill King Hamlet, although it does appear so. But what if the ghost of Hamlet was not ghost, but really a demon that came to tempt Hamlet to evil and to his death? That would eliminate the quest of justice altogether and leave Hamlet with much blood on his head for the deaths of so many others. No justice has been won.

Furthermore, the country of Denmark has lost all its royals and is now under the control of Fortinbras from Norway. Can justice be achieved if the kingdom is lost to another country? No justice can be gained because it was the royal family's task to rule their country first and foremost, but they allowed it to be lost to Norway because of their thirst for revenge and justice. Horatio best described the scene that transpired in Denmark.

"You from the Polack wars, and you from England, Are here arriv'd, give order that these bodies High on a stage be placed to the view; And let me speak to the yet unknowing world How these things came about: so shall you hear Of carnal, bloody and unnatural acts; Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters; Of deaths put on by cunning and forc'd cause; And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Fall'n on the inventors' heads: all this can I Truly deliver (V. ii. 348-358)."

Horatio describes the scene as one of "carnal, bloody and unnatural acts; of accidental judgments, casual slaughters; of deaths put on by cunning and forc'd cause." This is the best description of what befell Denmark. No justice came for the King Hamlet's death. Bloodshed caused more bloodshed which led to the deaths of all involved.

Hamlet is a story of "plots and errors" where no justice can be found. Many lives were lost because of a quest for justice that escalated to madness for those involved. Death feasted upon so many killed at once as Fortinbras had exclaimed. Hamlet's desire to kill Claudius at all costs became his hamartia for it consumed him and led to his own death as well as the deaths of so many. Justice is often a hard thing to seek because many times as in the case of Hamlet many must die if justice is to be reached. And if so many die, is that truly justice?

Sources:

Phillips, Brian. SparkNote on Hamlet. 4 Dec. 2006. http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet.

Unknown. Field of Themes . 4 Dec. 2006. Field of Themes