Hamlet is not, by nature, a hard-hearted person. He has
been pushed to harden himself in order to find out how deeply lies the evil in the
palace following his father's murder, and his father's charge that
he avenge Old Hamlet's death.
I sense
compassion on Hamlet's part when he kills Polonius by accident. He certainly had no
intent to do so. When he discovers that the old man was hiding behind the arras in his
mother's chambers—rather than Claudius—he says,
readability="10">
Thou wretched, rash intruding fool, farewell. I
took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune. (III, iv,
31-32)
Hamlet also has
compassion for Laertes when he is dying and asks Hamlet for his forgiveness, even though
Laertes has poisoned him. Laertes identifies Claudius at the root of the evil plan to
kill Hamlet, and after Hamlet kills his uncle, he returns to Laertes, who
says:
Exchange
forgiveness with me noble Hamlet. Mine and my father's death come not upon thee / Nor
thine on me! (V, ii,
340-342)
And Hamlet offers
his forgiveness,
readability="8">
"Heaven make thee free of it" (I, ii,
343),
even though he knows he
is dying by Laertes' act of evil vengeance.
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