Grace Kasemeier

English 12AP

Mrs. Bradley

February 27, 2017

Hamlet Stabs a Curtain

Shakespeares Hamlet has stood the test of time, as it appeals to all different

kinds of people. The heartache, bloodshed, and betrayal speaks to many different

people and will continue to. Hamlets motive is the death of his father and the conflict is

his need for revenge; on whom is not known for certain until Act IV. The climax is

therefore when Hamlet makes the decision to enact his revenge on Claudius when he

stabs the curtain that is hiding Polonius, not Claudius, as Hamlet thought.

In Act I, the conflict is set up by the ghost of Hamlets father, King Hamlet. The

ghost tells Hamlet, Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder (Act I Scene 5 line

31) and Hamlet who is already feeling less than friendly towards his uncle (now king)

who has just married his mother is told that The serpent that did sting thy fathers life

Now wears his crown. (Act I Scene 5 lines 46-47). His uncle is his fathers murderer, or

so the ghost tells him. Hamlet is not stupid, though he may appear to be, so he decides

to act crazy so no one takes him seriously. He also decides to have a play held that

mimics the circumstances of his fathers death to see if his uncle, Claudius, has a

reaction and therefore he will prove his uncles guilt and not simply take it on the word of

a ghost.
 Hamlets harsh and ugly words against his uncle, even before King Hamlets

ghost tells Hamlet Claudius is his murderer, prove there is little love between them.

When comparing his deceased father and Claudius, Hamlet says So excellent a king,

that was to this Hyperion to a satyr. (Act I Scene 2 lines 143-144). Even so, it does not

make easier to kill a man so Hamlet does not act rashly, at least in relation to his uncle,

until after he sees Claudius reaction from the play. When he and Horatio see how angry

he is, they assume his guilt and Hamlet decides to take revenge and kill his uncle.

Angry at the world, Hamlet goes to his mothers room where he attacks her. When

Polonius from behind a curtain cries out for help Hamlet stabs him, thinking hes

Claudius. This ultimate action to resolve the conflict makes it the climax of the play.

Hamlet was finally going to take revenge for his fathers death, but to his surprise he

killed his girlfriends father instead.

Act IV deals with the consequences of Hamlets decision. Not only do his actions

play into the main conflict but they also have consequences on sub plots like Ophelia

who goes insane and kills herself. Hamlet is forced to leave Denmark and Claudius

sends him away to execute him as he doesnt want to die and Hamlets murder of

Polonius is known to be in an effort to kill Claudius. Hamlet doesnt tell anyone where he

put the body so it cant receive the proper respects. Laertes comes back from college to

find his father murdered by Hamlet and he wants him dead. Hamlets decision therefore

to stab a curtain, though it is the climax, was by no means thought through.

Hamlet stabbed a curtain to revenge his fathers death, a death that was fueled

by Hamlets hatred of his mothers remarriage to his uncle. Hamlets emotional nature
caused him to take action without thinking and he was rewarded by killing the wrong

man. This high point of emotional intensity and action that would have resolved the

conflict of Hamlets fathers murder is therefore the climax. Act IV deals with the

consequences of this resolution (of sorts) of the conflict, and Act V ties up loose ends,

making sure that if the audience wasnt previously emotionally involved they will be. The

emotions of the whole play draw in audiences and allow them to experience Hamlets

story, especially when he stabs a curtain.