Recurrences

A fascinating thing about Hamlet is the way things keep happening over over again. So much so that they pile up in overlapping layers like the harmony of Renaissance polyphony. Consider the following:

• Hamlet's father is killed and he gets involved in intrigue and plotting to try to avenge this death.
• Laerte's's father is killed and he gets involved in intrigue and plotting to try to avenge this death.
• Fortinbras's father is killed and he gets involved in intrigue and plotting to try to avenge this death.

One of the interesting changes that Shakespeare makes to his source material in Hamlet is to change Hamlet's fathers name such that he and his son have the same name thereby underlining the recurrence. Fortinbras (the dark horse in Hamlet) also has the same name as his father.

And then consider that old Hamlet killed the father of Fortinbras and young Hamlet kills the father of Laertes.

One thing that distinguished Hamlet from the two competing harmonic characters is that he has a mother and neither of them seem to have living mothers. Another thing that distinguishes him is that he has Ophelia, if he wants her that is. There will be much to say about Ophelia.