Knights In Hamlet

Prior to the scouring of the medieval period over Europe, knights represented low class warriors on horseback. As the cost of warfare equipment steadily increased, knighthood aligned with one’s virtue and societal position. Knights were obliged to follow a strict set of rules, exhibit qualities of resilience, while also ensuring the safety of their lord. The transition of character throughout Shakespeare’s Hamlet highlights the importance behind taking action and making spontaneous decisions. It is through Hamlet’s inactivity after his father’s death that he finds himself torn: should he use this as an opportunity to learn as his heirs to the throne, or should he rise and conquer after hearing news that Claudius killed his father? Hamlet’s
Hamlet’s madness becomes apparent when he says, “if he do blench, / I know my course. The spirit that I have seen, / May be the devil,” (II.ii.625-628). Hamlet is unsure of what course he should take because the ghost’s identity and purpose in telling him to kill Claudius is unclear, but could also be the revenge he’s been pondering. The denotation of the word “bench” is a sudden, flinching movement out of fear or pain. In the context of the play, the connotation of “blench” signifies the determining factor in whether or not Hamlet has an adequate reason to kill Claudius. On one hand, if Claudius appears uncomfortable and suddenly flinches while watching the reenactment of King Hamlet’s death, then Hamlet knows who killed his father. On the other hand, if Claudius does not flinch, then Hamlet knows that the ghost was not truly his father’s ghost. When Claudius does in fact flinch, Hamlet fails to immediately take action because he isn’t sure if Claudius is afraid that he has been caught or that he is simply offended by the play and its acquisitions. Furthermore, the denotation of the word “devil” represents the chief evil spirit; Satan. The connotation of “devil” in the play symbolizes the worry and suspicion Hamlet has of the ghost’s reliability. Hamlet’s transition and initiative to want to take revenge on Claudius become apparent when he says, “a villain kills my father, and for that, / I, his sole son, do this same villain…” (III.iii.81-82). The denotation of the word “sole” means no one else. In the context of the play, the connotation of the word “sole” displays an entirely different meaning. Inherently, now that Hamlet justified who killed his father, it should be granted in his soul to kill Claudius for his father simply out of obedient to his father’s wants. Hamlet’s fashioning into a knight is illuminated through