| The Unbelievable Yet Predictable Tragedy Hamlet by William Shakespeare
illustrates foreshadowing through its characters to keep the reader interested
throughout the play. Several examples of this foreshadowing are Hamlet’s depressed
state of mind which foreshadows his motivation to find out the truth about his
father’s death, when Hamlet’s father comes to him as a ghost and informs him about his murder, this causes rage
within Hamlet that foreshadows his revenge and when Hamlet asks the players to perform “The Mousetrap”which might prove Claudius’ involvement in King Hamlet’s murder andforeshadows Hamlet’s revenge. Another example is Hamlet’s sudden unusual
behavior towards Ophelia which foreshadows a fatal outcome for the lovers.
Finally, the concluding example is Laertes’ anger and pain towards his
father’s death which foreshadows his revenge towards Hamlet, his father’s
murderer.
In the beginning of Hamlet there is an immediate introduction to Hamlet’s grief and gloominess which foreshadows his need for revenge. Hamlet’s lovely personality and pleasantry were gone and he found himself dissatisfied with the world around him. His
world was falling apart in front of him. King Hamlet was an excellent king who
loved his wife, Queen Gertrude, deeply. But Hamlet couldn’t understand how
his mother who would “hang on [her husband] as if increase of appetite had
grown” could forget about him so quickly (1.2.147-148). It seemed to
Hamlet as if they both loved each other immensely. However, before
Gertrude’s “unrighteous tears/had left the flushing in her galled eyes/she
married” her husbands brother (1.2.159-161). It was only two months after
the funeral and she was married. This hurt Hamlet a lot because he felt his
mother didn’t seem to love her deceased husband as much as he loved her.
She proved this by marrying his brother which was considered improper to
Hamlet and others. Hamlet’s depression and madness were not only caused
by the death of his father but by his mother’s remarriage. His love for his dear
father motivated him to seek the truth. Hamlet does find out the truth when his
father’s ghost comes and tells him he was murdered. So Hamlet has a mission
to find his father’s murderer and get revenge. Another example of
foreshadowing Hamlet’s revenge occurs when he speaks to his father’s
ghost. Hamlet had heard from the soldiers who worked as night watchers that
they had seen an image resembling the king. The soldiers said the King’s
spirit would come exactly at twelve midnight. They explained he was dressed
in a full suit of armor and very pale. Hamlet stood guard with Horatio and
Marcellus on the platform awaiting his father’s spirit. Hamlet was in awe at
the sight of the ghost and he couldn’t help but be scared. He became relaxed
as he noticed the ghost, his father, was eager to speak with him. He
wondered why his father “revisits thus the glimpses of the moon” since his
death (1.4.58). King Hamlet came to inform his son he was “stung by a
serpent” and the “serpent that did sting [his] life/now wears his crown”
(1.5.43,46-47). He explained that his brother Claudius arranged to have him
poisoned in his sleep with the poision being poured into his ear.
Consequently, Claudius murdered his brother to gain his brother’s crown. He
told Hamlet if he loved him he would get revenge on his murderer. This
incident foreshadows Hamlet’s revenge. Hamlet plots a way to have Claudius
admit he killed King Hamlet. His plan was to have the players perform the
play “The Mousetrap” which was an allusion to the truth. Claudius gets angry
during the play which proves he was the murderer. For that reason Hamlet
eventually gets revenge and kills Claudius. Hamlet was obligated to his father
to seek revenge on his murderer which foreshadowed the death of Claudius.
He felt that the longer he waited to capture the truth and bring justice to his
father’s death he was dishonoring his name. Therefore, Hamlet plotted a plan
to make Claudius confess. He asked the players to performed “The
Mousetrap” which was really a way of solving the mystery of his father’s
death. The play was a story about the murder of a Duke in Vienna. The Duke
was murdered by a family member and soon after the Duke’s death the
family member gained his crown. Hamlet selected this play since it was an
allusion to his father’s murder. His intention was to make Claudius feel guilty
as he watched the play so he would breakdown and confess. Claudius
becomes very angry and leaves and does not continue to watch the play.
Claudius was setup and got caught in a trap which was laid for him. Hamlet’s
premonition that Claudius murdered his father was proven with Claudius
reaction while watching the play. This is another example that foreshadows
Hamlet getting revenge on Claudius. The death of Ophelia is foreshadowed
by Hamlet’s unusual behavior towards her. Hamlet showed Ophelia his
unconditional love through his acts of kindness. He showed her his affections
by sending her letters and pledging his undevoted love to her. She believed
his devotion of love and felt the same way because he “made many tenders/of
his affection to [her]” (1.3.108-109). His madness increased after his uncle
Claudius and his mother Gertrude married two months after his father’s
death. Ophelia described Hamlet’s appearance “as if he had been loosed out
of hell/to speak of horrors’” since he was so pale and dreadful looking
(2.1.93-94). After his father’s death and his mother’s marriage Hamlet’s
depressed state of mind caused him to neglect Ophelia. Therefore, she felt
very lonely especially since her father, Polonius, was murdered by her lover.
Her lover’s neglect, her brother’s absence and her father’s death caused her
to go mad. She just needed to be comforted. The lack of love she received
caused her madness which left her with no other choose but to take her own
life by drowning. Laertes’ rage towards his father, Polonius’ death
foreshadows his revenge towards Hamlet who killed Polonius. Hamlet was
sent to England by Claudius since he murdered Polonius. However, Hamlet
managed to return to Denmark to finally get revenge on Claudius. Yet when
he arrived there was a funeral in procession. Hamlet noticed that the funeral
was for Ophelia his lovely maiden. He declares he loved Ophelia more than
“forty thousand brothers” who “could not with all their quantity of love/make
upon [his] sum” (5.1.285-287). Laertes was full of grief as well and blamed
Hamlet for this so he seeked revenge. Laertes and Claudius plotted a plan to
murder Hamlet. Laertes challenged Hamlet to a fencing match and Hamlet
agrees. Laertes prepares a poisoned weapon to kill Hamlet in guidance from
Claudius. By the end of the match Hamlet dies, Laertis dies, as well as
Claudius and Gertrude. Horatio is the only one living to tell the story. So
Laertes gets revenge on Hamlet for killing Polonius and Hamlet finally gets
revenge on Claudius for killing King Hamlet. In conclusion, these five
examples of foreshadowing keep the reader interested in wanting to find out
the ending of this tragedy. Hamlet is forced to seek revenge not only for
himself but for his father as well. Laertes, Ophelia, and Polonius were
innocent victims of Hamlets’ procrastination to get revenge throughout the
play.
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