In Act V, Scene ii, of ShakespeareÆs tragedy Hamlet, Hamlet and Laertes engage in a deadly duel that has been orchestrated by King Claudius to kill Hamlet. Claudius has poisoned wine he hopes Hamlet will drink and, should the drink not work, he has provided Laertes with a poison-tipped rapier. In the fighting, both Hamlet and Laertes are hit by the poison-tipper rapier. They both die but not before Queen Gertrude dies from mistakenly drinking the poison wine meant for Hamlet and not before Hamlet stabs King Claudius with the poison-tipped rapier. All four die. Despite this tragic ending, there are different motives for the duel for Hamlet and Laertes. This analysis will compare and contrast the different motives for their duel.
The description of Laertes by Osric is one of ôan absolute gentlemanö (Shakespeare, 1601, V.ii). Hamlet refers to him as ôa soul of great articleö (Shakespeare, 1601, V.ii). However, it is King Claudius who has arranged the duel between Laertes and Hamlet, hoping Hamlet will die either by drinking poisoned wine or being hit by a poison-tipped rapier he supplies to Laertes. The motives Hamlet and Laertes have for engaging in the duel are quite different. Laertes wishes to avenge the death of his father Polonius, accidentally killed by Hamlet, and the death of his sister Ophelia who has committed suicide due to HamletÆs rejection of her love. As Laertes states, ôI am satisfied in nature, / Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most / To my revengeö (Shakespeare, 1601, V.ii).
In contrast to Laertes, HamletÆs motives for engaging in the duel are not based on vengeance. Hamlet agrees to participate in the duel because he suspects the King Claudius, who has murdered his father and married his mother, has arranged the duel to entrap him. For Hamlet, engaging in the duel is one more step toward the destiny he has moved toward since discovering King Claudius murdered
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