Theme essay:

By Juan Felipe Hoyos M.

Throughout the play “Hamlet”, Shakespeare develops the theme that intent can greatly impact the fate of
people. This theme is supported by the fact that each character in the play faces a completely different
outcome depending on the intention behind their behavior, reinforcing that Shakespeare established a
clear relationship between intent and fate in the context of the play. Specifically, “Hamlet” reflects on the
idea that people who act according to justice are usually considered noble, and, even if not directly
rewarded, they are able to achieve their goals and stop those who are evil or wicked at the end of the
day. Conversely, those who choose to act due to selfishness or due to an ignoble reason corrupt the
world around them, cause suffering, and in the end inevitably get punished for their actions.
This topic is thoroughly explored in the play with several characters that serve as examples to this thesis.
The essay will focus specifically on the following aspects:
-Hamlet's nobility and how this allows him to accomplish his goals.
-Hamlet struggle between nobility and ignobility and the consequences of this on the world around him.
-Claudius’ ignoble actions and their consequences in the kingdom and himself.
-The corruption of Laertes’ motives as he is influenced by ignobility.

In the play, Hamlet can be seen as the primary example of noble intent as the story progresses. On
multiple occasions he seems to be only one who actively acts against the evil that dwells within the
kingdom, and he frequently maintains his honor while doing so. As such, Hamlet seems to be meant to
evade his uncle's plans long enough to take down his tyranny over Denmark.
At the beginning of the play, the situation that Hamlet finds himself in appears to be very suspicious: His
father (the old king) has recently died, and the kingdom does not seem to care about it at all. Instead,
everyone celebrates the marriage between his recently widowed mother and his uncle Claudius, who is
now the new king. Because of his loyalty to his deceased father, Hamlet rejects the new marriage. “With
such dexterity to incestuous sheets!’/ It is not, nor it cannot come to good” (1. 2. 157-158). His outlook of
the situation of Denmark is what drives him to act against his uncle, and because of this, he is chosen to
seek revenge and justice for his father. This is evident when the ghost tells him the truth about his father's
murder and asks him to seek justice: “If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not:/ Let not the royal bed of
Denmark be/ A couch for luxury and damned incest." (1. 5. 82-84). Hamlet is shown to have the will to act
against his uncle due to his sense of righteousness and nobility. His Loyalty for his father drives him to
reject the new marriage and act against the current situation of Denmark. As such, through the revelation
of the ghost, he is given the tools to realize his goals of opposing the evil within the kingdom, which is
revealed to be Claudius’ murder of his father.
After this event, Hamlet continues to seek justice and begins to directly act against his uncle, taking the
matter into his own hands. He shows his nobility in his drive to punish his uncle when nobody else will,
even while knowing the consequences that he might face for killing the king. Because of his nobility,
Hamlet manages to kill Claudius at the end of the play, and even though he did in fact die after this, his
noble actions still drove him to accomplish his goals of ending with the corruption behind Denmark's
royalty, by killing his uncle. Hamlet shows his nobility when he says, “I do repent: but heaven hath
pleased it so, / To punish me with this, and this with me, / That I must be their scourge and minister” (3. 4.
175-177). Hamlet sees himself as the agent of heaven's punishment, and even though he knows that he
will eventually be punished for killing his uncle, he still knows that it is his duty to kill Claudius for his
unrighteous actions. Hamlet follows this path through the play, and consequently, he is able to break
through Claudius’ mischievous plans, killing him in the end.
Even though Hamlet frequently shows his noble intent during the play, it is also necessary to mention that
his actions and methods were not always noble. This ends up causing damage to him and to those who
surround him. In a scene of the play, Hamlet is in his mother's room, and after hearing a noise behind an
arras, he mistakenly thinks that it was Claudius’ hiding behind it, causing him to stab Polonius, who was
the one hiding behind the curtain. This is a direct consequence of Hamlet's impulsive reaction due to his
hatred towards his uncle. Hamlet's reaction to the situation gives insight into his motives: “[Queen]: O me,
what hast thou done? / [Hamlet]: Nay, I know not: is it the king?” (3. 4. 27-28). His action appears to have
been driven by his selfishness and anger towards Claudius rather than a noble desire to do what is right.
Consequently, Polonius’ death causes a chain of events that end up hurting other people later in the play,
which negatively affects his relationship with Ophelia and Laertes, who lose their father. Hamlet is shown
to be the main focus of noble intention during the play. His noble motives lead him to become the one
who ultimately stops Claudius, who is seen as the root of the evil within the kingdom. However, Hamlet's
character also contains some elements that reflect an ignoble side in him. The moments in which he falls
to an unrighteous course of action show to create real consequences that negatively affect himself and
the world around him

Conversely, the character of Claudius serves as the primary representation of ignoble intent. He
embodies the unjustness that Hamlet wants to oppose, which is why he gets punished and killed by the
end of the play. From the beginning, it is shown that Claudius deceives and manipulates the people
around him to get what he wants, just like with the case of his deception to the kingdom after he kills old
Hamlet. The ghost of Old Hamlet alludes to this by saying, “The serpent that did sting thy father's life/ now
wears his crown” (1. 5. 39-40). Because of his ignoble motives and the way in which he acts, Claudius is
depicted as a “serpent”, reinforcing his link to the concept of deception, ignobility, and poison. Just like the
poison that he uses to kill old (and new) Hamlet, Claudius corrodes those around him. Ironically, it is also
through his own poison that he gets killed, suggesting that his own actions are what caused him to meet
his fate at the end. Similarly, because of his actions, Claudius shows to have no regard for other people's
well-being as long as he reaches his goals. In multiple occasions, he is even willing to kill his family for his
own purposes. This is evident even long after he kills the old king, when he says, “The present death of
Hamlet. Do it, England” (4. 3. 66). Claudius views other people as tools and does not hesitate to kill those
who are close to him to reach his goals. This is why Claudius decides to dispose of the current Hamlet,
since he perceives him as a threat and an obstacle to his plans, which further establishes his ignoble
nature. Thus, justice is served when at the end of the play Claudius gets punished by Hamlet, who seeks
justice as a result of Claudius’ actions, not only for trying to kill him, but also for killing his father.
Claudius’ ignobility often drives him to use tricks to deceive others, but ultimately, his own treachery is
what causes his demise. This can be seen in his plan to kill Hamlet by making him duel with Laertes;
Claudius’ scheme does not go in his favor, and results in Claudius’ punishment. Hamlet makes this
evident when he tells Claudius, “Dane, Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? / Follow my mother” (5. 2.
318-319). Hamlet's comment on Claudius’ situation reflects the fact that it is because of Claudius’ own
schemes that he gets punished in the end. With this quote, Hamlet asks his uncle for his “union”, which
used to be a word for a large pearl, referring to the one that he uses to poison the cup. Hamlet uses this
quote both to question Claudius’ about his treachery, and to mock him about the fact that he is going to
have to join his wife in death. This serves as a link between Claudius’ ignoble actions and the punishment
that he receives, represented by his own death and the loss of his wife. Therefore, it is possible to state
that Claudius is portrayed the main representation of ignoble intent, and as such, the play focuses on
showing how his actions cause suffering to those around him, which is why he must face punishment in
the end.

Laertes is another character who is shown to be influenced by both noble and ignoble intent during the
play. Even though his intents could be considered as “noble” in the beginning, as he gets corrupted by
ignobility, Laertes allows himself to stray from the path of righteousness. Because of this, he also causes
harm to other people, and faces the consequences of his actions. After the death of his father, Laertes’
situation strongly resembles that of Hamlet, since he discovers that his father has been murdered, and
wishes to avenge him. However, unlike Hamlet, Laertes does not seem to seek justice, but rather
vengeance and retribution due to his own desires, which drive him to turn on Hamlet and side with
Claudius. When Laertes gets asked what he is willing to do to kill Hamlet, he responds, "To cut his throat
i' the church” (4. 7. 127). This serves as a strong suggestion that Laertes decides to act purely out of rage
and is even willing to commit a grave sin if it means to get revenge for his father. It is this choice what
causes Laertes to follow Claudius in his quest to murder Hamlet, and by following this path he ends up
leading himself towards his eventual death.

Because of his ignoble intent, Laertes is blinded by rage and falls to Claudius’ deception, whose influence
causes him to resort to treachery. Just like Claudius, it is Laertes’ own actions what cause him to perish
by the end of the play. Laertes directly recognizes this when he says, “Why, as woodcock to mine own
springe, Osric:/ I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery” (5. 2. 299-300). Even though Laertes’ was
driven by an initially noble motive when he acts to avenge his father, his use of deception and ignoble
tactics taint him, causing him to become more like Claudius. Even though Laertes does achieve the death
of Hamlet, he later regrets this, and is punished with the knowledge that he failed to perceive who the true
enemy was, as he dies from the same poison that he used.

However, Laertes also shows a final act of nobility just before his death. As he regrets having been
previously driven by an ignoble intent, Laertes tries to correct himself by forgiving Hamlet and revealing
him the truth about Claudius’ scheme of killing him. This becomes evident when he says, “Unbated and
envenom'd: the foul practice/ Hath turn'd itself on me: lo, here I lie,/ Never to rise again: thy mother's
poison'd:/ I can no more: the king, the king's to blame” (5. 2. 310-313)

With his final breaths, Laertes recognizes the king as the true culprit of the tragedy that has struck the
kingdom and reconciles with Hamlet by telling him about the king's true plans. Even though both of them
die shortly after this, Laerte's noble action allows Hamlet to punish the king and exert justice, which
concludes with the end of Claudius’ tyranny over Denmark.

As it was possible to conclude, in the play “Hamlet”, William Shakespeare shows a strong connection
between the nature of a character's motives and actions, and the fate that they ultimately meet. In the
case of characters like Hamlet and Laertes, they show a duality between a noble, and ignoble side of their
actions. With Hamlet, his search for justice allows him to accomplish his goals in the end of the play,
since he manages to kill Claudius, punishing him for his actions. However, he also falls to the side of
ignobility in some situations, and this causes Hamlet to experience many losses throughout his journey.
Similarly, even though Laertes is initially driven by noble motives, his anger and selfishness corrupt his
actions, causing him to be filled with guilt and regret while he dies. On the other side, Claudius allows the
play to clearly show how those who are evil, and act with ignoble intent through deception and treachery,
always cause suffering to those around them, and inevitably get punished for their actions, which
communicates the message that evil actions have consequences and must get punished once justice is
exerted.

Cry Absent

Criteri R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

a*
Reading K Insufficient Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates
knowledge of limited adequate considerable thorough
and T the text understanding
Literature knowledge of knowledge of of the text and understanding
A the text and the text and ideas, themes, of the text and
Studies: ideas, themes, ideas, themes, concepts ideas, themes,
concepts concepts concepts 4+
Reading for
Meaning

Integrates
Provides Provides limited Provides some considerable Integrates
inadequate, supporting supporting and convincing substantial
inaccurate or evidence which supporting and
Demonstrates irrelevant
knowledge of is frequently evidence, but is evidence compelling
evidence from vague or occasionally supporting
literary text with text
an inappropriate vague or evidence
understanding inappropriate
of ideas, 4+/4
themes, and
concepts (1.3)

Insufficient
explanations or
mere plot Provides limited Shows
summary Provides considerable
explanation of explanation and Shows
Integrates analysis and thorough
ideas shows some
specific and synthesis of analysis and
analysis of
compelling ideas skillful
ideas
evidence from synthesis of
the text to ideas 4+
support critical
analysis (1.5)

Explains,
analyses, and
synthesizes
ideas, themes,
and concepts
(1.6)

Writing: T Thesis Formulates a Formulates a Formulates a Refines a thesis

inadequate limited thesis developing reasonable that
A and/or does not that refers to thesis that
Developing address the the prompt thesis that meaningfully addresses the
and prompt addresses the addresses the prompt with
Organizing prompt prompt
Content Insight 4+

Lacks a sense
of direction Occasional Organization is
and/or has lapse(s) in clear,
Formulates and Frequent loss of
insufficient focus and/or
refines a thesis focus and Organization
content logical focused, and
that addresses logical information
sequencing of logical
the prompt (1.2) sequencing of and
ideas
ideas
ideas with a
high degree of
Organizes coherence and
information and unity 4+
ideas with
clarity and focus
(1.4)

Writing: K Insufficient Limited Occasional Consistent Thorough

application of application of lapse(s) in application of command of
C essay form the essay form essay form the
Using and/or text to and/or text to and/or essay form and
Knowledge A the prompt, or the prompt application of text to the essay form,
of Form and misunderstandi results in an the text to the prompt results text, and
Style ng of the essay that is prompt results in an effective prompt results
prompt, results frequently in an essay that essay in a masterful
in an ineffective ineffective is at times essay 4+
essay ineffective

Transfers and
applies
knowledge of
Demonstrates
literary essay
lack of
form and text to
competence in
the prompt (2.1)
the use of
language and Language and
Language and style are
style and/or has Language and
style are
insufficient style are Language/
content occasionally
frequently ineffective; style are
ineffective and effective and sophisticated,
Uses language demonstrate demonstrate well-crafted,
demonstrate
and style limited sense of and engaging
some sense of
appropriate to audience and a considerable with a strong
audience and
purpose and purpose sense of sense of
purpose
audience audience and
(diction, voice, audience and purpose 4+
sentence purpose
structure,
devices)
(2.3/2.4)

Writing: K Numerous Errors Errors Errors do not Few errors do

major and minor frequently occasionally significantly not interfere
C errors interfere interfere with interfere with interfere with
Applying of seriously with expression of expression of expression of with
Knowledge A expression of ideas and/or ideas and/or ideas or expression of
and ideas and/or frequently weaken impact weaken impact ideas or
Conventions has insufficient weaken impact of the essay of the essay weaken impact
content of the essay of the essay

Uses correct
language
structures of
Standard
Canadian
 English and its
conventions of
grammar,
usage, spelling,
and punctuation
(3.1-3.4)

* wording for the criteria and descriptors comes from a paraphrasing of the specific expectations and the
achievement chart

Overall Reading Level: Overall Writing Level: Overall Essay Level: