Hamlet and Fortinbras have opposing viewpoints. As previously shown, Hamlet is a thinker who must consider all aspects of a situation before acting. He also appears to need a lot more just before agreeing to do something. For example, Hamlet is unlikely to have reacted in the same way that Fortinbras did in the preceding example. All that is expected of Fortinbras is that an action is the ethically correct one to take.
Instead of immediately seeking to honor the man with whom he sympathizes, Hamlet is likely to have asked numerous questions about what had occurred before deciding to act at all. On the contrary, Fortinbras necessitates far fewer explanations. Additionally, He appears to be entirely content with choosing the most honorable option and is far less concerned with the details than Hamlet. The only thing that matters to Fortinbras is that an action is morally correct.
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Furthermore, based on the example used to illustrate Hamlet's points of view, Fortinbras would have acted differently than Hamlet. If Fortinbras had been in Hamlet's situation and discovered Claudius alone praying, he would almost certainly have killed him. Fortinbras would understand that simply killing Claudius and getting it over with would relieve him of his obligations, restore his mother's image, and most likely grant him the throne of Denmark. Given Fortinbras' dedication to honoring, it is unlikely that he would have wanted to send Claudius to hell, as Hamlet did because such a devious intention is far from honorable.
As has been demonstrated, Hamlet and Fortinbras hold opposing views on justification, and these opposing viewpoints have a significant impact on their behavior in a variety of ways. Now that the contrasts between the two men's perspectives have been explained and the significance of the contrasts outlined, it is useful to look at the example given in the play. Hamlet builds a window into them by contrasting Fortinbras' and his perspectives on the conflict of an issue to see both men's perspectives. This example appears in Act IV Scene IV and allows the reader to see the opposing viewpoints of both men on a specific issue.
The scene in Act IV where Hamlet sees Norway fighting Poland is a great example of Hamlet and Fortinbras disagreeing. In this scene, Hamlet notices men fighting over a plot of land and learns that Norway is fighting Poland, led by Fortinbras. When he asks the Norwegian captain in his company what kind of land is being fought over, he is told, 'We go to gain a little patch of ground That hath no profit in it but the name.' 4.18-19. This simply means that the land has almost no resources and is only valuable because it is Polish territory. I believe this might imply that the two factions are fighting over the land solely for the sake of national pride, and not for any actual practical benefit to their respective nations. It becomes clear that Hamlet cannot comprehend this, as he sees no real justification for the fighting and death.
He even goes so far as to say, 'Why then the Polack will never defend it.' 4. 4. 23 . Before being told strongly otherwise, Hamlet believes the Poles would not defend such a worthless land. This should reinforce Hamlet's beliefs about the need for justification for action, but he does not stop there. Hamlet goes on to say that nations at peace tend to invent worthless conflicts out of thin air, resulting in the unjustified deaths of many men. 4. 4. 7-29 (Shakespeare) With this, Hamlet reduces the internal conflict he is experiencing to the type of conflict just described, a bloody struggle for nothing. Hamlet builds a window into them by contrasting Fortinbras and his perspectives on the conflict. After seeing what Fortinbras did during the battle in Poland, Hamlet compares himself to him in the soliloquy. This is the only occasion in the play that Hamlet does this, but it reveals a lot about Fortinbras' viewpoints and the disparities between the two characters.
After finding out that the land being fought over is utterly meaningless, Hamlet attempts to understand why Fortinbras would rush headlong towards, as he puts it, 'the imminent death of twenty thousand men, That for a fantasy and trick of fame.' Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot where the numbers can't try the cause, where the tomb isn't big enough to hide the slain, and where the continent isn't big enough to hide the slain. The question is why Fortinbras would send 20,000 men to their deaths for a parcel of land that isn't big enough to bury the troops' bodies. In the same soliloquy, Hamlet answers this question.
When honor is at risk, he says, Fortinbras will find conflict in anything, even if it has no intrinsic value. According to Fortinbras, it's all about that one dominant theme once more. All Fortinbras needs to justify an action is for it to be the most honorable thing to do. This example may be the most compelling of this concept, as it is clearly stated that the land for which he is fighting is worthless, and so there is virtually no other possible justification for Fortinbras committing the actions that he does.
The significance of Fortinbras' perspective should be highlighted now that the two men's opinions have been properly outlined and contrasted. This is noteworthy because it demonstrates that Fortinbras is a complex and vital character in Hamlet. When looking for information about Fortinbras as a character, there is virtually little available, and what is there frequently dismisses him.
Fortinbras is a character in Hamlet who is supposed to symbolize the opposing viewpoints on the justification of Hamlet. Moreover, Fortinbras has well-developed views on the justification that drives his actions. Therefore, these viewpoints are on the polar opposite end of the spectrum from Hamlet's and thus serve as a useful counterbalance to the play's dominant viewpoint. These opposing viewpoints have been created and both of their values have been shown using many examples from the play.
To sum up, Fortinbras' importance to the play has also been highlighted, with his point of view serving as the central focus, leading to a significant ending. This conclusion is that, despite his widespread neglect in critical studies of Hamlet, Fortinbras is an immensely valuable character who deserves far more attention than he now receives in the academic world. It is the scholarly community's job to guarantee that every character in works as important as Hamlet is adequately investigated, yet despite his obvious worth, Fortinbras has been mostly ignored to this point.
Works Cited
- Hamlet: Entire Play, http:shakespeare.mit.eduhamletfull.html.
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