The Ending of Hamlet

Horatio is a logical character throughout Hamlet, and I think Shakespeare uses Horatio in Act 5 to show it is better to rely on logic than emotion. Horatio only speaks for more than two lines once in all of Act 5 until Hamlet dies. I think Shakespeare is showing a lack of logic in the situation, and the fact that everyone is dying shows that the lack of logic is a bad thing. Even when Horatio wants to make a logical point, other characters prevent him from doing so. After Osric has informed Hamlet of his upcoming battle with Laertes, Horatio says, "You will lose, my lord" (5.2.223). Hamlet, somewhat logically, points out that he has "been in continual practice" (5.2.225) since Laertes went to France, but because Hamlet's thoughts are still bloody, he does not realize that he is walking into a trap. Horatio can see that the King still wants to kill Hamlet, but Hamlet will not listen when Horatio tries to explain this. At the end of the play, Horatio, the logical character, is one of the few that did not die, and he continues to have logical ideas. He will "speak to th' yet unknowing world" (5.2.421) about the deadly events that recently occurred "lest more mischance on plots and errors happen" (5.2.438-440).

One aspect of the play that confused me is why Hamlet wants Fortinbras to take over Denmark. The reason Hamlet wanted to kill Claudius is because Claudius killed King Hamlet. One of King Hamlet's great accomplishments was defeating Fortinbras, so I would have thought that Hamlet would have wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, and uphold his dad's previous victory. Maybe Hamlet just wants what is best for Denmark, and he thinks Fortinbras will do the best job of leading the country. Maybe Hamlet thinks all of the royalty that would be next in line to take over the throne are corrupt. If he thinks they were loyal to Claudius, he would not want them to become King, so he wants the new king to be someone he knows was not loyal to Claudius, like Fortinbras.

Hamlet points out that "by the image of [his] cause [he sees] the portraiture of [Laertes's]" (5.2.87-88). Hamlet and Laertes were faced with very similar situations. The death of a loved one "in this case should stir [them] most to [their] revenge" (5.2.260-261), but they end up seeking revenge so that they do not lose honor. Claudius has already taken Hamlet's father, married his mother, and taken over the throne that Hamlet was supposed to inherit, so Claudius has completely disgraced Hamlet. Everyone thinks that Hamlet is going crazy, so by now he might feel that he wants to kill Claudius because of the honor Claudius took from him, instead of for the father he took from him. Hamlet and Laertes can forgive eachother when they are about to die because they both know that they are victims of bad situations, not bad people.