Fate as a driving force in the plot of W. Shakespeare's tragedy “Hamlet”

This article deals with the role of fate as a driving force in the plot of the tragedy “Hamlet” by W. Shakespeare. Fate in the play is presented in the form of three options: Fortune, Fate and Providence. The first gives or takes away luck, the second pursues a person for crimes committed, the third tests a person, offering remorse to the criminal. The plot of the tragedy combines two lines associated with fate: retribution to the fratricide Claudius and the return of the lands to Fortinbras. The article shows how the distant threat of the young Norwegian's arrival turns out to be the bait of fate for Claudius. The latter, using the threat as an excuse, reduces the period of mourning for the deceased brother and arranges a hasty wedding, which leads to the meeting of Hamlet with the ghost and eventually turns into the death of the new king. It is the haste of Claudius that breaks the usual ideas of the prince and leads the hero to the question “To be or not to be?” In his struggle with fate, Hamlet is above it by virtue of his noble character. He, on the one hand, fulfills his duty to his father, on the other hand, he does not become a blind instrument of revenge. Following fate and fighting it, he defeats it, so in the end, despite the bloodshed, he is worthy of military honors and paradise. Claudius, on the contrary, trying to change his fate, commits crimes over and over again. The author of the article shows how three different images of fate are combined in key episodes. In particular, the scene of the duel between Hamlet and Laertes is analyzed in detail. This article is devoted to the question of how fate in W. Shakespeare's “Hamlet” leads the main criminal (fratricidal Claudius) from crime to punishment, and the main character - from meeting with a ghost to fulfilling the will of the murdered. We also consider the plot of vengeance-trial in the context of the framed plot of returning the land by young Fortinbras.