Hamlet is private with his grief for Old Hamlet, but the audience is made aware of his suffering, with which we sympathise "But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue". Hamlet fears his own fate, knowing he will go to hell and ironically Claudius will go to heaven "Then trip him that his heels may kick at heaven". Hamlet defers action until his own procrastination disgusts him into acting "And spur my dull revenge! / A beast, no more." However, Laertes actions prove not much better, as they are rash, based on extreme anger and Claudius easily draws him into corruption "My Lord I will be ruled." Contrasted with this, Fortinbras is seen as a man of reason; he sticks fast to his plan and is assertive in his ambition for vengeance "vow before his uncle never more to give th' assay of arms against your majesty". Unlike Fortinbras, Hamlet fails to stick to his plan, and doesn’t kill Claudius when he had the chance in Act 3, Scene 3. The contradiction between the three men causes the audience to contemplate Hamlet's kingship qualities, as he demonstrates an act of indignity. Hamlet uses his act of madness to cover up his own treachery "Hamlet denies it. Who does it then? His madness". Hamlet's procrastination and lack of direction in his revenge caused unnecessary deaths, which diminish his kingship.
Fortinbras and Hamlet are the main characters to be compared on their Kingship. Although Fortinbras is not excessively seen in the play, his kingship qualities are admired by Hamlet "lead by a delicate and tender prince". Hamlet compares himself to Fortinbras "How stand I then?" and reproaches himself for procrastinating, whilst favouring the action- orientated intelligence of Fortinbras.
It can be seen by the way Fortinbras quickly gathers his army in the intent to attack Poland, that he is an energetic leader with clear ambitions "witness this army of such mass and charge". Warlike imagery is used in the presence of, or while other characters are talking about Fortinbras, to highlight his kingship "powers/ command/ march/ duty/ warlike noise" (taken from Act 4 and 5.) Hamlet is referred to as a soldier by Fortinbras, but we do not see these qualities of Hamlet, as he proves to be a scholar more than a soldier. Laertes and Hamlet are admired for their swordsmanship, but both prove they cannot control it by the death of Polonius and Laertes himself "I am justly killed with mine own treachery." Fortinbras's calmness through the last scene complements his kingship qualities "I embrace my fortune", but the reader still questions what Hamlet would have been like as King of Denmark "Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage".
Shakespeare shows that too little action can prove as dangerous, as too much. With Laertes as the extreme avenger, he results in his own treachery and loses respect from the audience. Where as Hamlet's honour for his father remains true throughout. Laertes stoops to a most dishonourable practice to vindicate his honour. Also, Fortinbras is willing to risk thousands of troops in an attack on a place of no worth, which shows that his rowdy expression of honour is no more than an attempt of prestige "we go to gain a little patch of ground that hath in it no profit but the name." Thus, even though we become increasingly frustrated with Hamlet's false words of action, he is more favourable with our sympathy.
Both Laertes and Hamlet have love for Ophelia and show they are both jealous for her affection "I loved her more than 40,000 brothers". Parallel phrasing is used in Hamlets speech to Gertrude and Claudius, asking how he can prove his love for Ophelia, which emphasises his distress. Laertes lectures Ophelia on Hamlet's favour, which caused Hamlets act of madness, proving the brotherly and romantic love they had for her. After Ophelia's death he jumps in her grave, showing that he can be spontaneous. This indicates that Hamlet's impulsive actions (also the murder of Polonius) could be more true to his character than we thought, leaving the audience to question whether he may be spontaneous with Claudius's death.
Shakespeare illustrates Laertes to be deceitful, as he attempts to kill Hamlet in cold blood, which ironically results in his own death. The play is sometimes interpreted in different ways, thus Hamlet could have knowingly switched the poisoned swords "in scuffling they change rapiers". In addition to this, Hamlet is dishonest with many characters in the play, in order to proceed in avenging his father's death "I must hold my tongue".
One of the reasons why Hamlet does not take action immediately is his vow to religion, which proves to be very important to him "Angels and Ministers of grace defend us". Shakespeare shows this through diction patterns of crime, death and decay "death and danger dare", but also imagery of heaven and the church, which Hamlet constantly uses in his soliloquies "For in the sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil". Hamlet does not want to go against his religion and kill Claudius, as he is afraid of death and going to hell. However, it is fair to say that the ghost of Old Hamlet would not approve of Hamlets deferred action, thus Hamlet's family honour is damaged. Laertes on the other hand, dares damnation and states that he would put avenging his father before the church " To cut his throat I'th'church." This may seem honourable to Laertes family, but the audience respects Hamlet's religion, especially if it was an Elizabethan audience, as they took religion very seriously.
Shakespeare uses different language and structure for each of the three characters, complementing the way in which the characters act and converse. Shakespeare has made it easier for the audience to identify and understand Hamlet more than the two other men. Hamlet's speech is written in prose, which is not as formal at the blank verse given to Laertes and Fortinbras. This allows the reader to relate and sympathise with Hamlet, as he appears more human and authentic. Shakespeare also uses language and the order of the characters language to make the reader respond in different ways to the various situations presented in "Hamlet". From the very beginning of the play Fortinbras is mentioned, "We here have writ to Fortenbrasse" even before Hamlet, illustrating is dominance in the play. Hamlets language is very emotional and descript, which emotes our feelings for him. Fortinbras language is very direct, indicating his assertive nature "where is this bloudy sight?" which the audience respect, but cannot relate to like Hamlet.
Hamlet proves to have control over his actions, as he still thinks about his religion. However, he does teeter on the brink of insanity, which is induced by his actions or non- actions" I must hold my tongue". The reader detects Hamlets false sense of madness early on in the play, due to his constant changes of rational to "wild and whirling" words. Other characters in the play distinguish Hamlets madness, which they believe to be genuine. The reader could see Hamlets charade to be further procrastination to the plan, in avenging his father's death. It could be said that part of Hamlet's madness consequently, does become reality, as he becomes excessively involved with his role-play, intended for revenge. Hamlet looses control at one specific point in the play and kills Laertes' father Polonius. It is ironic that he still didn’t kill Claudius even though he had lost control; there was obviously still some rationality to his decisions. Laertes cannot control his actions, but is calmed down very quickly by Claudius, which leaves us questioning his motive for revenge. If Laertes felt very strongly about his father's death Claudius would not have been able to stop him, showing his honour to be weaker than Hamlet's. Fortinbras proves to be very calm and will assess the situations that come before him, and then act with great power and control "I have some rights of memory to this kingdom". However, Fortinbras's physical heroism cannot overrule his lack of morality. Professor Germaine Greer explains "Hamlet may torment himself with his inability to redeem his family honour by mass slaughter/ but the way he has chosen, though painful and dangerous, is the right way." I agree with this view, as our perception of Hamlet is that he is more honourable and morally righteous than Fortinbras, who would risk the lives of many for his prestige "to my shame I see the imminent death of twenty thousand men."
As the three men interacted in the play, you can see how the differences between them would affect various aspects of the play, distinguishing them from all other characters. The qualities of each character prove to have many points that can be compared or contrasted with Hamlet. Each character has good qualities, which excel at certain points in the play, but Laertes has proved to be the true avenger. From this, Shakespeare invites the audience to explore whether vengeance is right or wrong in the captivating play "Hamlet".
