Hamlet
Name
Institution
Question1: Hamlet and Fortinbras
One similarity between Hamlet and Fortinbras as sons is that they have both lost their fathers through murder. Hamlet is the prince of Denmark, while Fortinbras is the prince of Norway. The two had difficulty in ascending to the throne that they were the rightful heirs. Hamlet is a thoughtful and mercurial individual, whereas Fortinbras is an all action kind of man. Fortinbras fights for what he believes in whereas Hamlet does not. In act IV, scene IV, line 18, Fortinbras leads a pack of army to fight for a plot of land that they claim to own, Hamlet, on the other hand, is afraid avenging his father’s death.
Question2: Ophelia and her songs
There is a sense in Ophelia’s sudden madness. She is emotionally distraught by the event of things. In act IV, scene v, lines 23-26, Ophelia expresses her disappointment in her lovers action. She laments that it is difficult to know if one is truly in love. She explains how Hamlet took her virginity, and later left her. In line 29 of the same scene, she mourns the death of her father. She further proclaims that her father was innocent as evidenced in line 35 where she refers to him as a white shroud.
Question3: Hamlet’s attitude towards death
Hamlet’s mindset towards death changes after an encounter with the captain. In Act IV, scene IV, lines 25-28, he wonders why the army was risking their lives in a battle, for an unworthy cause. He refers to a piece of land as: “a straw that twenty thousand men could not discuss but risk dying.” According to him, death was “an affair that was inevitable at any cost.” He further supports this comment in line 62 of the same act and scene when he says that the army was going to their graves like beds, to fight for a plot.
Based on the foregoing, Hamlet says in line 66 of act IV, scene IV, that his thoughts henceforth will be bloody and nothing else. From his speech, he, therefore, strives to be violent in the remainder of the play. He hopes to revenge on Claudius, who murdered his father.
