"It is here, Hamlet. {Hamlet,} thou art slain. / No med'cine in the world can do thee good. / In thee there is not half an hour's life. / The treacherous instrument is in {thy} hand, / Unbated and envenomed. The foul practice / Hath turned itself on me. Lo, here I lie, / Never to rise again. Thy mother's poisoned. / I can no more. The King, the King's to blame" (5.2.344-351)
Laertes has been stabbed by Hamlet who used Laertes's poisoned sword, and in his dying breath, Laertes reveals to Hamlet what has happened. Laertes says that Hanlet has been poisoned by Laertes and his sword, and in a half an hour, he will die. He also reveals that he himself has inadvertantly been poisoned and he will die as well. Then, Laertes says that Gertrude has been poisoned by the wine in the cup, and finally, it was Claudius's plot that caused all of this. This revelation forces Hamlet to finally kill Claudius.
Laertes most likely revealed all of this to Hamlet because Laertes felt betrayed by Claudius after his plot killed him as well. It's also possible that Laertes felt remorseful about his actions, and because he was dying as well, he wanted to repent for his sins and gain forgiveness from Hamlet. The good part about this is that Claudius'd actions will not go unpunished, because Hamlet kills him soon after. Now Laertes can die knowing that the knave of a king has been put in his place.
No comments:
Post a Comment