Hamlet's View on Fate versus Free Will
Hamlet explains how tragedians viewed the current struggle between free will and destiny. Shakespeare's fiction describes the universal conflict between people's innate ability to influence their future and their proclivity to embrace fate. As Shakespeare depicts it, fate has always played a critical role in the genre of tragedy, with powers of choice and destiny constantly fighting for possession of human survival. Depending on the current society and time, the playwright advocates for the struggle. Shakespeare is a Christian, and he claims that the right to choose between good and evil has long been a source of conflict among humans, and that the human will is unbreakable. He argues that though fate may always win, a person must fight to the death to remain the master of their choices (Shakespeare 290). The choices can determine how and if fate will defeat him. This paper will give Shakespeare's opinion of fate versus free will.
Hamlet's Choices and the Dominance of Fate
Hamlet is a perfect Christian tragic hero where fate is the dominant theme. However, free will has also been discussed by considering how human choices may affect and cancel the fate. Hamlet does not stop choosing the paths he will take. Hamlet is reluctant to succumb to his destiny, religious morality, and his intellectual abilities. He understands that his dead father's ghost expects him to commit murder, an act that is condemned in the Bible. Murder is not permitted even when it is being executed on an evil person. Fate within Hamlet desires him to go against God's commandments that one should not murder. King Hamlet Ghost appears to Hamlet and instructs him to punish Claudius who personifies fate (Berman 34). The king's Ghost reveals that Claudius act of killing his brother is a murder of highest foul. He, therefore, concludes that Claudius deserves to be killed too. Hamlet is torn between choosing to obey his fate or ignore it and face the consequences. He decides not to take up the choice and refuses to obey the Ghost. In the end, Hamlet is driven by self-determination and psychological conflict, and he finally takes vengeance on Claudius. The world is governed by forces that value an eye for an eye and the Biblical world that legislates that one should not kill, and Hamlet finds the two forces balancing each other. The King's Ghost ordered him to act against his free will and conscience, a command that paralyzes him. Hamlet views himself as an intellectual. He critically rationalizes his life and all the events he has to engage in. Hamlet cannot accept to do anything without critical analysis. He does not blame God or fate (Shakespeare 299). He believes that there is no unseen being that directs his life or death. Free will in his life determines the occurrences and outcomes of events in his life. It is evident that Hamlet represents the Christians' strong belief that a person's mind is the determinant of self.
Hamlet's Free Will Leading to his Death
Moreover, Hamlet choices that are governed by free will led to his death. While he was mourning his father's death, Hamlet chose to do it because he had a lot of time as argued by Claudius. He met with his father's ghost, and after a long period of conflict between his Christian morals and worldly perspective, he agrees to avenge his father's death. Before he comes to an agreement with himself, he questions the ghost's message, and after careful thinking, he agrees to kill Polonius, Ophelia, Claudius, and himself. To some extent, Hamlet did not know who he was killing, but he chose to follow his free will (Oakes 54). Hamlet is a real illustration of how free will can conflict with fate. For example, his choice to be a tool of vengeance or to follow his Christian morals is a real dilemma that Hamlet faces throughout the play. He does not think a lot of the choices he made. Hamlet is choosing not to be in his speech, and thus he would be escaping the external forces of history that have exposed him to unfortunate situations. On the contrary, if he chooses to be on his own, Hamlet would want to exercise his free will despite the forces that face him. Hamlet is torn between the external forces; avenging his father's death cannot be referred to as fate because the events are just out of his control. His father's ghost influences him to murder Claudius, an act that presents a whole dilemma in his life. However, Hamlet's exercise of free will is manifested in his manipulation of the key players and characters in the play, Hamlet. He uses free will in choosing to delay Claudius's killing and using a mousetrap to expose Claudius' sin in the court. Hamlet's free will directs him to resist killing Claudius while he is praying that the death would be better than his father's. Hamlet's manipulative method to bewilder other characters, especially Ophelia, shows that he is out to control events as well as other characters in the play (Sondheim 245).
The Parallels of Fate and Free Will in Hamlet
Besides, Hamlet is a strong believer in free will though he never chose some circumstances and events in his life. For example, he never wanted his father to be murdered nor for incest to arise in his family. Though the two happened by fate, his actions were purely under his control (Oakes 67). Therefore, one can argue that if his free will did not guide Hamlet's actions, then he can be considered as mad. He would have chosen not to obey his father's ghost and would not have acted more rashly to stab Polonius. It is evident that the events that occurred in Hamlet's life would be blamed on fate as in the case with every person who watches the play (Shakespeare 328). However, my argument would be that fate does not apply here. This is because Hamlet was under control of all the happenings in his life. It is always good and logical for one to accept their consequences and actions like real men. One should never blame fate for the lack of exercising their free will.
Conclusion
Hamlet, a tragedy play, illustrates Shakespeare's opinion on free will versus fate. Often people are faced with a dilemma to make their own choices or blame nature for the events and situations in their life. Considering the character in the play Hamlet, it is evident that he participates in actions that lead to dire consequences in his life. Many people, including Hamlet, would blame fate for the occurrences; however, he can be blamed for the lack of exercising his full free will. His actions were within his control, and thus fate should not be the feature. Fate and free will can be responsible for circumstances one faces in life; however, free will takes the higher weight because people always have the right to choose.
Works Cited
Berman, Emanuel. Essential Papers on Literature and Psychoanalysis. New York: NYU Press, 1993.
Oakes, Edward T. “Hamlet and the Reformation.” Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture (2010): 53-78.
Shakespeare, William. William Shakespeare: The Complete Works. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, 1989. 1269.
Sondheim, Moriz. “Shakespeare and the Astrology of His Time.” Journal of the Warburg Institute (1939): 243-259.
