Does Shakespeare really think action is better than thought?
The characters of Fortinbras and Hamlet show these two opposing ideas. Even though Fortinbras is mostly only just mentioned, he's seen to be the type of man to get things done of the utmost need, and doesn't hesitate. On the other hand, Hamlet is much more of an emotional thinker character. He hesitates and has long speeches to himself. His hesitation probably most prominently known was when he didn't kill Claudius in the middle of his prayers. He thought too much about how he would go to heaven because of the prayer he was saying. What about me first talking about how Claudius mentions Fortinbras first? "The he has written to him, rashly demanding the surrender of the lands King Hamlet won from Fortinbras’ father, and dispatches Cornelius and Voltimand with a message for the King of Norway, Fortinbras’ elderly uncle." This shows Fortinbras' motives and way of getting things done. He next gets mentioned by Hamlet on his way back from being sent to England. He is mad that he couldn't kill Claudius like the ghost instructed him to, he then sees the Norwegian army and Fortinbras "willing to go to their death" for their cause. Finally we see Fortinbras come into the castle after many people have died including Hamlet, he takes over and actually does what he has to do, along with being noble and giving Hamlet a proper burial ceremony.
Should i write about how Fortinbras says Hamlet would of been a good king? Because it's contradicting to what his whole motif is.
Sonja,
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not sure what you mean by that mention of a 'motif' there in the last line, I nonetheless think that you've already come up with a very good approach to this assignment (and I appreciate that you clearly sense the need to go back through the text and locate those specific scenes and passages that speak to this issue of action versus thought). You can certainly finesse Fortinbras' praise of Hamlet in the end by giving it some broader context (perhaps Fortinbras, who has essentially 'won', can afford to be a gracious winner). Try and have some fun with this! I look forward to reading your first draft.