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Hamlet: Moral Order - College Essay

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 ...

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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, ...

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Hamlet: Moral Order. (2006, May 18). Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet-Moral-Order/46086

"Hamlet: Moral Order." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 18 May. 2006. Web. 6 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hamlet-Moral-Order/46086>

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 5/18/2006 06:25:06 AM
Category: Arts
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1117
Pages: 5

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