William Shakespeare s Hamlet - 1333 Words

A Man of Action versus A Man of a Thought Honore de Balzac once said â€Å"Most people of action are inclined to fatalism and most of thought believe in providence.† Men of fatalism believe they are powerless to do anything other than what they believe they are destined to do. These men are more likely to make rash decisions and leave the rest to fate. On the other hand, men of Providence believe in the guidance of God or nature when making important decisions rather than the guidance of man. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, he portrays his characters as having both types of qualities. Characters like Claudius, Laertes and Hamlet represent the action of men and how audacious they behave. On the other hand, Shakespeare also uses Hamlet†¦show more content†¦Laertes also shows that he is a man of action who believes in fatalism when he is persistent on finding his father’smurderer. â€Å"That both the worlds I give to negligence, /Let come what comes; only I ll be revenged / Most thorough ly for my father† (4.5.131-133).He shows that he is ready to avenge his father’s death no matter what it takes, even going as far as taking his anger out on the King. Finally,Claudius and Laertes, using their belief in fatalism devise a plan to kill Hamlet.The king suggests that they convince Hamlet into entering a duel with Laertes.Laertes adds to the plan by offering to use a poisoned uncapped sword so that even if he only managed to scratch Hamlet, it would still kill him. Claudius also further develops the plan when he comes up with a backup plan of offering Hamlet a cup of poisoned wine if he wins the duel against Laertes, â€Å"And that he calls for a drink, I’ll have prepared him/ A chalice for the nonce; whereon but sipping, / if he by chance escape your venom’d stuck,† (4.7.160-163). Therefore, Claudius and Laertes show that the belief in fatalism results in negative consequences. Contrastingly, Hamlet has a belief in only providence. He does not progress in any of the plans he devises. When he is a man of thought, he over analyzes situations and lets opportunities pass him by. To