Essay/Term paper: Hamlet: fate

Essay, term paper, research paper:  College Essays

Hamlet: Fate


In our world today psychics try to predict what will happen in our
futures. What may happen in the future is controlled by a power far higher than
what can be seen by someone at the other end of a "1-900…" telephone number. The
play Hamlet, by Shakespeare, presents a view of the world in which man's
intellect is powerless to understand and predict the whims of Fate. Man is
governed by an uncaring and perhaps deranged power.
The characters of the play are in no way able to comprehend what may lie
in the future. Hamlet knows that there is something wrong with the marriage
between his mother (the queen) and Claudius (King Hamlet's brother). The
marriage takes place just months after the slaying of King Hamlet. "Something is
rotten in the state of Denmark." The characters of the play know that there are
powers at work in the kingdom.
A power that could be considered supernatural is in control of the
actions of the play. Hamlet is visited on several occasions by a ghost that
offers thought provoking information. Hamlet knows not whether to trust the
spirit or disregard what he has been told. "… the devil hath power T'assume a
pleasing shape" Hamlet thought that the spirit may be trying to mislead him in
the quest to find his father's killer. Characters of the play become unsure of
their intentions due to the odd twists of fortune that they are dealt.
Characters in the play that were so sure of their decisions became
uncertain. This uncertainty arises when the plans of characters are somehow
altered. The alterations change the fate of many characters. Polonius was killed
in the wake of Hamlet's plan to find his father's killer. Hamlet had no
intention to kill anyone that did not deserve it. It was by chance that Polonius
was in the chamber of the queen when Hamlet arrived. Polonius hid behind the
curtain and was killed with a thrust of a dagger. "Time is out of joint." The
characters of the play are unable see that their lives are controlled by the
whims of Fate.
The play Hamlet illustrates a world where the people are unable to
comprehend and control the vast powers of Fate that commands their lives.
The concept that man does not control his future applies to all of our
lives. We may try to see into our futures with psychics, cards, bones, and other
things, but what lies ahead for us is known only by Fate.