Prompt:
AP Literature 1973 Open-ended Question
In order for the ending of a literary
work to be effective, it must come to some sort of conclusion. Whether it is
that everyone dies or everyone lives happily ever after, it must have some type
of closure. Hamlet, a Shakespearean
tragedy, ends with a scene of many deaths and the passing on of a kingdom. In
the deaths of nearly all of the main characters, the tragedy of Hamlet has a very appropriate ending
except for the uncertainty that lies for the kingdom of Denmark ahead.
Claudius and Laertes are both killed
by their own wrongdoings. Claudius kills Hamlet’s father and then quickly
marries Hamlet’s mother. He ascends the throne with no regard for Hamlet or
law. His scheming does not stop there though. Throughout the play, he keeps
close tabs on Hamlet and eventually tries to murder him, being finally
successful on the second try. Laertes, after his father is wrongly killed by
Hamlet, plots with Claudius to destroy Hamlet by stabbing him with a poisonous
sword. Both Laertes and Claudius end up dying because the poison they use on
Hamlet is also inflicted on themselves. It is a rightful end to the play
because it shows the repercussions of scheming and trying to take the lives of
others. If they had not hatched such a violent plan against Hamlet, they would
have ended up saving their own lives.
Gertrude also falls as collateral
damage in this intricate ploy of Claudius’s and Laertes’s. Gertrude is Hamlet’s
mother and the current wife of Claudius. She was initially married to Hamlet’s
father, and only weeks after his death, she marries Claudius. Though Hamlet is
told that he is not to harm his mother, it seems like proper closure for her to
die with the rest of them because she is not innocent in the whole situation.
She should never have married Claudius so hastily and therefore, meets her fate.
Moreover, this is even more of an appropriate ending since the killing did not
come at the hands of Hamlet, so Hamlet still keeps his promise to the ghost of
his father.
Hamlet is also, unfortunately,
poisoned in this final scene, giving a rightful end to the tragedy of Hamlet. Hamlet has not physically done
anything so egregious that he deserves death, but rather, it is what he has not
done that sets his fate. His inability to take revenge after his father’s death
and stand up to his uncle allows for his demise to occur. Hamlet is ordered by
the ghost of his father to act upon Claudius since Claudius murdered old
Hamlet. Hamlet, however, is too wrapped up in his own mind to take this action
and get rid of Claudius once and for all. Thus, this leaves the gap of time in
which Claudius and Laertes devise a plan for Hamlet’s murder, and it ends up
being successful. Hamlet’s inability to act leads to his death, showing that
one must think and act quickly and avoid this passivity, a logical conclusion
for Hamlet.
The one questionable conclusion for Hamlet is the succession of the kingdom. Hamlet
states that the kingdom is to be given to Fortinbras, the aggressive prince of
Norway. This decision seems to be an odd choice. Hamlet’s father had been at
odds with Norway and would not have wanted his kingdom in their hands.
Moreover, the reader is left wondering what is to come of Denmark. Will
Fortinbras rule justly? Will he take out his revenge on the Danish people?
These questions are left up in the air. To have a changing of the guard in the
very final scene of the play leaves much to question, and the reader can only
speculate what will be of Denmark.
Hamlet
has a very appropriate ending for the fates of the main characters yet a
cliffhanger ending for the kingdom of Denmark. Claudius and Laertes die for
their scheming and cruel acts. Hamlet dies for his lack of action, and Gertrude
dies for making very questionable life choices. Those who have failed to act valiantly
die. The ending serves as a life lesson that one must act with honor in order
to prosper. Fortinbras, who is probably one of the most honorable characters,
lives and inherits Denmark. Now, the only question left to be determined is
what will become of this small nation.
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