Introduction
The Tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark is the longest play written by William Shakespeare. The tragic account runs strongly with the concept of loyalty between characters leading to both positive and negative impacts. While loyalty is a virtue much desired, in Hamlet, loyalty towards wrong ‘relationships’ led to much suffering and tragedy.
Loyalty to family
The central theme of the play revolves around avenging the fathers’ death. We see that Hamlet’s[1]loyalty to his father[2]leads him to feign madness in order to determine the truth about the murder of his father[3]and to seek revenge for it. He doesn’t shy away from showing disdain[4]for his mother’s hasty second marriage though he urges her to not sleep with Claudius. Ophelia, meanwhile, forsook her love for the sake of her father that ultimately led to her madness and untimely death. Similarly, Laertes blinded by his devotion to his sister and father and desirous of revenge, ended up being easily manipulated by Claudius[5]which gave way to the final sword fight and his death. Overall, the devotedness towards their respective fathers paved way to the tragic end of all three.
Loyalty to the Crown
Following behind loyalty towards family, loyalty towards the Crown or Claudius came with its own dire consequences. On one hand, we see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern[6]betraying their friend, Hamlet to spy for Claudius and consequently ending up being executed[7], at the same time, Polonius’s inability to be ‘true to his own self’[8]that made him spy on Hamlet for Claudius led him to be killed by accident[9]. We see that blindly following the royal command without searching for the true nature or intention led to their destruction and also the downfall in the play.
Loyalty to friend
While we see that loyalty resulted in much suffering, not every instance of loyalty was marked with doom. Horatio and Hamlet remained friends and faithful[10]to each other highlighting the only positive consequence of loyalty. Horatio advising Hamlet to be cautious while following the ghost[11]and later on to avoid fighting with Laertes were full of brotherly love and care. Finally, in the end, he even desired himself to be sacrificed for his friend which is a shining example of true friendship and brotherhood.
Conclusion
Even though loyalty plays a central role in the story, it is also the reason for heartbreak, death and tragedy. On its own, it is not a virtue. It is the combination with the right reason and the right person, that is highlighted as a virtue, otherwise it is a doom for all.
[1]Hamlet is the central figure of the play who judges the character of people based upon their loyalty towards him and his father, the deceased King Hamlet.
[2]The feeling of vengeance is mirrored in Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway, who tries to avenge his father’s death by an attempted invasion of Denmark. Denmark, under King Hamlet, had defeated Norway resulting in the death of her king but did not pass under Denmark and had rather remained under the charge of Fortinbras’s uncle, thereby making an invasion of Denmark by Norway imminent.
[3]While Hamlet decides to feign madness and plan a revenge on his uncle, he is also secretly unsure about the veracity of the ghost’s words and wants to confirm them. He was able to ascertain the guilt of Claudius using the play, ‘The Murder of Gonzago’.
[4]Hamlet complains that his mother remarried even before the sullenness of eyes had gone and the food for the funeral became the wedding feast. Gertrude’s marriage also made him doubt the female gender at large with him saying ‘Frailty, thy name is woman…’
[5]Claudius conspires with Laertes to use a poisoned sword during the duel so that Hamlet is killed. Laertes dies when the swords exchange hands and Hamlet attacks him with his own poisoned sword.
[6]The betrayal of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was in sharp contrast to the devotedness of Horatio. While Hamlet initially welcomes them as his friends, upon discovering their true intentions and their treachery, he grows weary of them and pretends to be even madder.
[7]Hamlet manages to replace Claudius’s letter purporting to get him executed in England by a forgery that gets the two messengers executed.
[8]While Polonius advised his son Laertes to be ‘true to thine self’, he himself failed to practice what he preached.
[9]Polonius is killed by Hamlet in the closet scene where he was spying on the conversation between Hamlet and Gertrude and Hamlet mistakes him for Claudius. Upon discovering the true identity of the eavesdropper, Hamlet expresses his disgust for same, calling him a foolish knave.
[10]A similar example of faithfulness can be seen in the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio in ‘The Merchant of Venice’, where both friends are willing to risk everything for each other.
[11]Horatio asks Hamlet to be cautious stating that ‘what if the ghost leads him towards the flood’. He shows his utmost concern for his friend’s safety. Hamlet also trusts him completely and reveals his true intentions as well as the fact that his madness is fake only to Horatio.
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