Hamlet Closing Scene Analysis Sample

In the final scene of Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, the reader witnesses a bloody ending. After such a long delay of violence, there is a rapid accumulation of deaths as one after another, characters are poisoned, stabbed, and killed. Among these characters are Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet himself. Although Hamlet ends up losing his life at the end of the play, he does come to a moral reconciliation with himself before he dies. Hamlet accomplishes this by not only exchanging forgiveness with Laertes but also accomplishing his ultimate goal of murdering Claudius in the end. Furthermore, Hamlet achieves moral reconciliation with himself by ending his life on a note of content realization by providing hope for both Horatio and the entire kingdom of Denmark.

By exchanging forgiveness with Laertes at the end of the play, Hamlet releases the guilt within his heart and changes his despicable personality. Moments before the bloody duel in the last scene is when Hamlet asks Laertes to forgive him, stating, “Give me your pardon, sir. I have done you wrong, but pardon, as you are a gentleman” (lines 226-227). Hamlet’s desire to attain Laertes’ forgiveness here represents an important shift in his mental state and marks his first step towards his moral reconciliation. Here, Hamlet is finally able to think sympathetically about others instead of being completely obsessed with himself. In addition, the fact that Laertes is Hamlet’s foil further emphasizes the importance of this interaction. Whereas Laertes is a hasty and passionate person, Hamlet, on the contrary, is a slow and manipulative person. Therefore, by reconciling with his foil Laertes, Hamlet is also releasing the cunning personality that he has adopted since his father’s death. This exchange of forgiveness with someone so different allows Hamlet to reconcile with Laertes and no longer feel guilty for killing Laertes’ father, Polonius. Once the bloody duel begins, this exchange of forgiveness even proves to enhance the relationship between Hamlet and Laertes. As Laertes and Gertrude are about to die midway through the duel, Laertes states: “Lo, here I lie, never to rise again. Thy mother’s poisoned. I can no more. The King, the king’s to blame” (lines 320-322). This marks an important moment in which Laertes shares a common thought with Hamlet. By telling Hamlet that Claudius is the one to blame, Laertes shows Hamlet that their thoughts are on the same page and provides Hamlet with further motivation to murder Claudius so that he can avenge his father’s death. This amended relationship is the first step in Hamlet’s moral reconciliation before his death.

After Laertes blames Claudius for inciting the disasters throughout the play, Hamlet quickly grabs a poisoned sword and stabs Claudius to death. Just in case this did not kill Claudius, Hamlet also forces Claudius to drink the rest of the poisoned wine to ensure his death. This moment is especially key towards Hamlet’s moral reconciliation with himself because this is where Hamlet finally accomplishes his ultimate goal of avenging King Hamlet’s death. The task of avenging King Hamlet was given to Hamlet back in act one, where the ghost told Hamlet “Avenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” After this, Hamlet narrows his focus towards avenging his father’s death. He does this by first having Claudius watch a reenactment of the murder of King Hamlet to determine whether Claudius killed King Hamlet or not based on his reaction to the reenactment. Because Claudius becomes upset in the middle of the play and prevents the play from continuing, Hamlet becomes certain that Claudius is the murderer. From that point on, Hamlet carefully plans a murder of Claudius so that he can avenge his father’s death. Although there are multiple instances in the play where the murder could have been carried out, Hamlet never actually executed his plan. For instance, there is a pivotal opportunity for Hamlet to kill Claudius at the end of act 3 when Claudius is praying with his back turned towards Hamlet. However, Hamlet holds back here because he does not want Claudius to have the luxury of going to heaven while his father, unjustly murdered, suffers in hell. Furthermore, sending Claudius to heaven by killing him does not fully avenge Hamlet’s father’s death. This is why Hamlet’s murder of Claudius in the final scene is so crucial to his moral reconciliation with himself. After being unable to avenge his father’s death for such a long time and becoming mentally insane as a result, Hamlet is finally able to murder Claudius in the final moments before his death. This successful murder of Claudius allows Hamlet to finally resolve his internal struggles of deep contemplation. By finally accomplishing the task that was given to him ever since the start of the play, Hamlet can become morally reconciled with himself knowing that he completed the task that was given to him by his father’s ghost.

When Hamlet finds himself facing death not long after killing Claudius, he opposes Horatio’s initial reaction to committing suicide but instead encourages him to have the strength to live on and tell Hamlet’s story. This is the final element of Hamlet’s moral reconciliation with himself moments before his death. In this response, Hamlet shows that he has moved on from his motives of selfish revenge towards a deeper understanding of the truly important events. Although Hamlet does not have any way to save his own life after being stabbed by Laertes in the duel, he performs the next best option by saving another person’s life. Instead of merely focusing on himself, Hamlet finally realizes the importance of caring for others. This is why Hamlet maximizes his life’s potential in the waning moments before his death. Not only does Hamlet save Horatio’s life so that he could live on to tell the legacy of Hamlet, but he also declares Fortinbras as the next king of Denmark. This ensures that there is both a smooth transition of power in Denmark after Hamlet’s death along with a friend to remind the world of Hamlet’s legacy. By finally breaking the barrier of living selfishly through altruistic decision-making at the end of his life, Hamlet morally reconciles with himself at his death and portrays the “happy ending” that Weldon describes.

In conclusion, the ending of Hamlet vividly demonstrates the moral reconciliation that Weldon describes. Hamlet achieves this moral reconciliation towards the end by seeking forgiveness for his mistakes, avenging his father’s death by killing Claudius, and urging Horatio to not commit suicide. By asking Laertes to forgive him, Hamlet relinquishes his guilt of killing Polonius. By killing Claudius, Hamlet leaves the Earth knowing that he accomplished the ultimate task that he was given. By urging Horatio to spare his life, Hamlet provides hope for the future of Denmark. These culminating actions at the end of the play result in Hamlet’s moral reconciliation of finally being able to resolve his internal struggles of guilt and indecisiveness, which allows him to end his life being satisfied and at peace with himself.