Hamlet As Instrument of Divine Justice

Abstract

Hence given the clear demarcation between good and evil and the imbalance and chaos that is brought into the kingdom by Claudius’ act of murder and incest, Hamlet is undoubtedly an instrument of divine justice in the play and when he declares himself as the scourge of heaven one is likely more than not to agree with him given that things are rotten in the state of Denmark since Claudius’ immoral usurpation of the throne as well as the abominable acts of incest that he performs with Gertrude. At the end of the play when Hamlet forces Claudius to drink the poison he had prepared for him the audience undoubtedly feels that divine justice has been done and the moral order restored when evil has been purged from the kingdom and Fortinbras from Norway takes over as the reign of Claudius was a reign of unspeakable evil as the ghost of Hamlet’s father rightly points out. Hence there is little doubt that Hamlet is an agent of divine justice rather than merely harbouring a personal vendetta against the king because Claudius is unrepentant to the end, choosing to kill Hamlet rather than redeem himself.