Hamlet: Act V-Scene 2 - The Climax
In Act V-Scene 2, as the play begins with Hamlet fill in the detail of what
happened to him since he left Denmark, Hamlet concedes that there was a kind of
fighting in his heart. But clearly his inner struggle has been manifested from
the time of his first appearance in this play. Now it is to hear no more
expression of self-approach or doubts that he will act positively against
Claudius. What is impressive is his decisiveness. He is able to formulate a
plan and to execute it without delay. He has found man's wisdom, or reason, to
have its limitation: fortune, accident, chance - call it that what it will and
can determine the course of events, as his own experience aboard the ship proves.
He was able to find in the dark the commission for his own death; by chance, he
had in his possession his father's signet for sealing the forged document. No
less by chance, the pirates proved kind and, for sufficient compensation, they
returned him to Denmark.
Throughout the play, after we have itemized Claudius' major crimes, the
Prince does not receive an answer to his question, one which is basic to his
status as a moral symbol in the play:
- is't not perfect conscience,
To quit him with this arm? And is't not to be damn'd,
To let this canker of out nature come
In further evil?
It has been seen here a Hamlet who is still in doubt, still troubled by his
conscience; and his view should not be ignored, if only because it illustrates
once more the difficulties of interpretation. One may argue that there is no
need for Horatio to answer Hamlet's question since he has already expressed deep
shock at the latest evidence of Claudius' villainy. So the Hamlet in this scene
has resolved all doubts; there is no longer a kinda of fighting in his heart.
As the scene progress, Horatio reminds Hamlet that Claudius is sure to
learn soon what has happened to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,... [continues]
In Act V-Scene 2, as the play begins with Hamlet fill in the detail of what
happened to him since he left Denmark, Hamlet concedes that there was a kind of
fighting in his heart. But clearly his inner struggle has been manifested from
the time of his first appearance in this play. Now it is to hear no more
expression of self-approach or doubts that he will act positively against
Claudius. What is impressive is his decisiveness. He is able to formulate a
plan and to execute it without delay. He has found man's wisdom, or reason, to
have its limitation: fortune, accident, chance - call it that what it will and
can determine the course of events, as his own experience aboard the ship proves.
He was able to find in the dark the commission for his own death; by chance, he
had in his possession his father's signet for sealing the forged document. No
less by chance, the pirates proved kind and, for sufficient compensation, they
returned him to Denmark.
Throughout the play, after we have itemized Claudius' major crimes, the
Prince does not receive an answer to his question, one which is basic to his
status as a moral symbol in the play:
- is't not perfect conscience,
To quit him with this arm? And is't not to be damn'd,
To let this canker of out nature come
In further evil?
It has been seen here a Hamlet who is still in doubt, still troubled by his
conscience; and his view should not be ignored, if only because it illustrates
once more the difficulties of interpretation. One may argue that there is no
need for Horatio to answer Hamlet's question since he has already expressed deep
shock at the latest evidence of Claudius' villainy. So the Hamlet in this scene
has resolved all doubts; there is no longer a kinda of fighting in his heart.
As the scene progress, Horatio reminds Hamlet that Claudius is sure to
learn soon what has happened to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,... [continues]
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