Running head: JUSTICE AND ITS EXECUTION 1

Justice and its Execution in Hamlet

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Justice and its Execution in Hamlet

The theme of justice and its execution in the play ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare plays

a key role is the unfolding of events and defining them. Justice or specifically the pursuit of it

defines the whole storyline of the play. However, various scholars have expressed different

views and questions on this subject. One of them is whether the use of a wrong means to achieve

a required end is by itself right. However, for one to understand this theme well there needs to be

a historical context of the play, an evaluation of the motives of the people claiming to seek

justice, and finally their actions and the repercussions of their actions.

The play Hamlet is set during a period when balance or justice was restored through

punishing a wrongdoer with a punishment that would incur the exact level of pain or loss to the

wrongdoer (Rowe, 2008). Therefore, in this system, death could only be paid by death and this

was standard practice. Therefore, Hamlet’s intention to avenge his father’s demise by taking the

life of Claudius or Laertes attempt to avenge his father by going after Hamlet was not extreme

actions at the time.

To examine the actions of various characters in their pursuit of revenge, we consider a

different factor besides the desired end. The next critical aspect of justice in Hamlet is the

approach taken by various characters. In Hamlet’s case, the moment of contemplation that he

undergoes after being informed by his father’s ghost about the crimes committed by Claudius is

critical (Shakespeare, 2002). This is because they portray him as a thoughtful man who is

concerned about his actions and their repercussions. In addition, the investigation conducted by

Hamlet to prove Claudius’s guilt is fundamental since it shows that Hamlet was not content in

seeking to end the life of another individual based on the knowledge provided by the ghost alone
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(Vasquez, 2018). This step shows his pursuit of truth before finally embarking on taking action.

This is contrary to the approach of Laertes whose actions are based on the information provided

by a single unreliable person (Claudius) before commencing to conspire against Hamlet. To

Laertes, the circumstances behind his father’s death are not relevant since he is determined to

Hold Hamlet responsible for his father’s death irrespective of his guilt or innocence. Therefore,

the actions of Laertes cannot be defined as a legitimate pursuit for justice but rather simply an act

of revenge.

The actions were taken in the pursuit of justice and their repercussions are also a

fundamental factor. Hamlet’s action while he seeks justice for his father’s murder directly lead to

the death of Polonius, Laertes, Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz. However, Hamlet’s actions

symbolize another theme which is the cleansing of a corrupt system. Assuming, Hamlet pursued

justice through the set channels, there is a high likelihood that no good would have resulted from

it since the system was already corrupted and rigged against him. Therefore, the prevailing

conditions of Denmark’s political system needed a rebel, a role that Hamlet plays well. The

deaths of Guildenstern and Rosencrantz may particularly strike readers as wrongful and

unnecessary. However, it is critical for one to remember that these two individuals had aligned

themselves with the existing corrupt system (Vasquez, 2018). A system that needed to be totally

dismantled since it was established in its corrupt ways that bred more corruption and deceit.

Another vital question that needs to be answered with regard to justice is whether at the

end of the play it had been achieved. Justice can be said to have been achieved since, at the end

of the play, Denmark’s political system has been dismantled and thus creating room for a new

system to be created. The death of Hamlet is especially critical since it shows that everyone who

had participated in it had faced consequences for their actions. This is the case even for Hamlet
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who had been the main stimuli behind the change but had also engaged in unjust deeds in the

course of his pursuit (Chin-Yi, 2014).

References

Vasquez, J. (2018). Laertes and Hamlet’s Struggle for Justice. Retrieved from.

www.bu.edu/.../journal/.../vol21-vasquez-laertes%20and%20hamlet's%20struggle%20...

Chin-Yi, C. (2014). Hamlet As Instrument of Divine Justice. International Journal of Research

(IJR), Vol. 1(5). Retrieved from.

citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid...?doi=10.1.1.681.7138...

Rowe, S. (2008). Early Modern Revenge Tragedy. Retrieved from.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/da85/8eb2c5385dc5731a1b99d6b2203d2b544d67.pdf

Shakespeare, W. (2002). Hamlet: William Shakespeare. New York: Spark Pub.