Helen Keller once said “The Fearful are often caught with the bold. ” This was with reference to danger. She believed that those who avoided danger met danger as often as often as those who confront it. Shakespeare’s Hamlet has its share of the fearful and the bold, and both fearful and bold were met by a tragic death. There were numerous instances in the play that presented this. The whole cause of the plot of the play, the death of King Hamlet, is an example of this.
He is known to have conquered lands and fought a lot of wars. He can be considered one of the bold for he faced death head on and yet the reason why he died was not through his wars but instead he got killed in his own backyard, literally. This example is a perfect specimen as to why Helen Keller made the statement. It is exactly this, wherein he was killed in his own home, that she has this belief. Death, need not be found in dangerous grounds, for it can standing right outside your door.
Somehow, the proverb hints at some form of fate or destiny but in the case of Hamlet, the proverb is made true because of a miasma of actions between King Claudius and Hamlet. Due to their need to resolve the issues between them – for Claudius to hide his crime and for Hamlet to avenge is father – collateral damage in the form of the lives of the people around them were affected, if not taken away. It is Claudius and Hamlet that face their destinies and yet, the ones fearful for them received the same fate. Ophelia is the most innocent character in the play.
The Essay on Hamlet Justice Fathers Death
If you saw a ghost in the form of your dead father, would you believe what it said or what it told you to do? This is one problem Hamlet had to face. This ghost said he was King Hamlet Hamlet's father. He told Hamlet some shocking information, that he was murdered by his brother and is living in everlasting hell, until Hamlet would avenge his fathers death. Hamlet has to find out if this is the ...
She followed her father’s advice after being told that Hamlet will just break her heart. For fear of it being true, she obeyed her father, but this didn’t save her from the sorrow that she will experience later. In the process of helping Hamlet, Polonius dies by his hand and this drives Ophelia insane due to the extreme sorrow that she felt. She couldn’t protect herself from emotional pain that she tried to avoid. Queen Gertrude, who just wanted her son and her new husband to get along, ended up being poisoned.
She, too, wanted to help her son and protect him from whatever malady it was that he was experiencing. She was afraid for Hamlet’s health and life. In the end, she was poisoned by a drink that was meant for Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the dynamic duo that tried to help their friend. The reason why they went to Denmark was to try and console Hamlet for the death of his father and try to unite him with his stepfather and uncle. Unknowingly, they were bringing Hamlet to his death.
In their minds, all they were doing was bringing Hamlet to England to allow him time to recuperate. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were killed instead. In the case of Hamlet, the proverb “The fearful are caught as often as the bold” applied to the people that surrounded Hamlet. This is what usually is called collateral damage, the damage that is inflicted on those beside the actual target. Also, these people who surround Hamlet are not at all mindful of their own danger. As a matter of fact, it never occurred to them that they will encounter death.
However, they were afraid for Hamlet. Due to their affection for Hamlet, these characters tried to make him happy, protect him from himself, and protect him from others. In the end, all these people, afraid him, died tragically, even before Hamlet himself died. Therefore, those who were fearful for Hamlet were caught as much as the bold Hamlet in the tragedy of his vengeance.
Reference:
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet”. The Complete Works of Shakespeare Ed. George Lyman Kittredge. Boston: Grolier Incorporated,1936: p. 1147
