“…Thou art slain. No
medicine in the world can do thee good… The treacherous instrument is in thy
hand, unbated and envenom’d,” Laertes exclaims as he lies dying, having been
wounded by the poisonous sword of which Hamlet unknowingly holds in his own
hand. The sword had been dipped in poison of which no medicine could cure, and
was meant to take Hamlet’s life by the hands of Laertes. The roles, however,
have been switched as revenge is performed in the same intentional manner but by
a completely different person.
“The foul practice hath
turn’d itself on me,” Laertes realizes after being struck down. For every
action there is a reaction, for every exploit there will be a consequence, and
for every meticulously thought- out scheme something will not go exactly according
to plan. The King had hoped for a fool- proof plan in his endeavor to murder
Hamlet, but he too realizes that “… it is too late”. The Queen had drunk the poisoned concoction
intended for Hamlet, and Laertes had been struck by the venomous tip of the
sword that he himself had constructed.
Poison cannot only physically kill a
person’s very existence, but it also has the power to destroy everything that
the person had once stood for and had loved. The King’s ambition had blinded
him as well as had convinced him that he could slay his own brother and remain
without sin or fault. Hamlet’s hatred for the King had caused people to think
he was a mad man and a fool in love. Ophelia’s confusion and sorrow had been
the cause of her own death. And the Queen’s denial of committing incest as well
as her refusal to continue to mourn her late husband’s death had led to a broken
relationship with her son.
Fate cannot be changed, and destiny
cannot be determined no matter how fool- proof a plan may seem. The King and
Laertes had regarded every aspect and had discussed every diminutive detail,
but in the end something went wrong. One factor may have been accidentally
forgotten, or an element may have been misplaced. Whatever happened behind the
scenes, no will know. But one thing is known to be true- everything comes back
to haunt a person’s soul.
It is as Laertes said: “He is justly
served. It is a poisoned temper’d by himself.” The kingdom of Denmark had made
their decision to seek out revenge and to harbor hatred, and now they had to
pay the price they were willing to bargain with. A price that every man must
compensate for in the end.
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