Hamlet And Infidelity In Hamlet

Infidelity Leads to Destruction The strength within a family is dependant on its loyalty towards one another. For when the loyalty is broken, the family is broken as well. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, immoral actions occur because of each character’s selfishness. In both movies, the respective characters of Hamlet are developed in different ways, ultimately creating a different message and tone in the story. Claudius, Fortinbras and Laertes act as foils to Hamlet that can be shown through contrasting or similar worldviews. The respective Horatios are also of great significance to Hamlet, however there is very little change in his character, creating almost no contrast between the two movies. The character of Claudius is responsible, …show more content…
In the old movie, Fortinbras is not even recognized by the author. Therefore, lines that Hamlet would have stated after meeting Fortinbras are omitted. In of his biggest soliloquy’s, Hamlet states, “How all occasions do inform against me, and spur my dull revenge... Looking before and after, gave us not that capability and godlike reason to fust in us unused.” Hamlet realizes that people are created in which they have the ability to make their own decisions. This is significant, as had he met Fortinbras, Hamlet’s mood would have changed into a more hopeful tone, bringing contrast into the story. Instead, the mood of darkness is kept throughout (specifically in Hamlet’s dark clothing) and is never changed during the course of the movie. With Hamlet’s character also never changing, the principle of existentialism, in terms of Hamlet realizing he can make his own decisions, is not at any time addressed, leaving there to be almost no message but rather a theme of tragedy. With Fortinbras being left out, the message of being well rounded is omitted since he is not present to illustrate it amongst the other …show more content…
In the old movie, Laertes is portrayed as a character who is uneducated by his foolish appearance. When Laertes meets with Claudius, he states, “My dread Lord, your leave and favor to return to France…” His view on the good life can be seen as pursuing his goals, since he is requesting to leave for France. He feels responsible to others but mainly to abide by his family obligations. Similar to Laertes, Hamlet also feels obligated to his family, in particular honoring his father’s memory. When Hamlet kills Polonius, Laertes comes back to Denmark to fight for his father’s death, except with no mob and he is not visibly angry. The conflict between Laertes and Hamlet is understandable, as Hamlet has affected one of Laertes’ worldviews, which he feels strongly about. Laertes’ purpose, in terms of acting as a foil to Hamlet, can be seen as providing Hamlet with no other alternative other than to fight and solve his problems, counteracting his indecisiveness. While they were fighting they were both wearing black indicating the mood of darkness. The room was also fairly dark, adding more emphasis on this particular tone. The message that can be depicted from Laertes’ actions is that if one is not reflective when making decisions they will suffer consequences. In this case, both Laertes and Hamlet perish as a result of Laertes