Hamlet+Act+4

4. "Not that I think you did not love your father,/But that I know love is begun by time/And that I see, in passages of proof,/Time qualifies the spark and fire of it./[There lives within the very flame of love/A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it,/And nothing is at a like goodness still;/For goodness, growing to a pleurisy/Dies in his own too-much. That we would do/We should do when we would; for this "would" changes/And hath abatements and delays as many/As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents;/And then this "should" is like a spendthrift sigh,/That hurts by easing. But to the quick of th' ulcer:]/Hamlet comes back; what would you undertake/To show yourself indeed your father's son/More than in words?" (4.7.126-143). This shows that Claudius has regressed back to his heartless self from Act 3 to Act 4. In Act 3 it appeared that he may have been turning around, feeling the desire to ask for forgiveness and pardon from his heinous crime. However, this quotation proves that deep down, Claudius is, indeed heartless. He says that while he believes that love exists, he also believes that it can quickly fade, proving that he has no compassion and kindness in his soul.

5. Many of the characters's behavior has changed from previous Acts. It appears in Act 4 that Ophelia, too has gone mad, possibly due to her father's death but this sudden insanity could also be attributed to other causes. Additionally, her brother Laertes has returned from France. When he returns he does not seem as kind, open and honest as he had in previous Acts. He has lost his patience for both Hamlet and his sister. King Claudius has again returned to his heartless attitude and behavior and Hamlet is now even more determined to avenge his father's death with more blood and violence than originally anticipated. These changes in behavior contribute to the chaos encountered in this Act.

7. While Laertes does encounter many sudden and tragic changes upon his return from France, I do not think his behavior is completely excusable. It must pain him terribly to have lost his father suddenly and in such unnecessary brutality. And to top it off, his sister, Ophelia seems to have gone completely mad and ends up drowning herself. He has now lost two family members in quick succession. However, while this must not be good for his psychological state, I do not think that turning to violence against his father's killer is necessarily the right course of action. Hamlet is also in a bad place psychologically and considering the slaying was accidental, I do not think Laertes should join in Claudius's plot to kill him. Hamlet and Laertes are suffering under similar horrifying circumstances and it is for this reason that I do not find Laertes behavior completely excusable.