Hamlet Group

Question:

raecree09
raecree09
Student
High School - 12th Grade

What is Laertes' filial duty in "Hamlet"?

Rate question:

Posted by raecree09 on Monday November 3, 2008 at 8:56 AM and tagged with act 4 scene 5, filial duty, hamlet, laertes, plot, polonius.

Answers:


  1. robertwilliam

    eNotes Editor

    Filial duty just means the duty a son owes to a father. And, as Hamlet's duty is to revenge his father's murder, and as Fortinbras (in the final act) invades Denmark in order to revenge his father, Laertes returns to Elsinore to revenge the death of his father, Polonius.

    The scene to look at is Act 4, Scene 5, in which Laertes openly states that he will perform his filial duty even if it means that he goes to hell:

    I dare damnation. To this point I stand,
    That both the worlds, I give to negligence,
    Let come what comes; only I'll be revenged
    Most throughly for my father.

    With Claudius, Laertes then concocts a plan to kill Hamlet, who killed Polonius (behind the arras, thinking he was killing Claudius) in the closet scene.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet-text/act-iv-scene-v
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/laertes-character-analysis

    Rate answer:

    Posted by robertwilliam on Monday November 3, 2008 at 9:00 AM