The Authority of Power:

Justice in Hamlet

By Büşra Nur Güven and Hasancan Artuş

William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a revenge tragedy published in 1603. It shows us 11th century Denmark, which is a kingdom, and, in the play, we witness the inadequacy of the justice system. This play especially portrays the difficulty of observing justice within the royalty to show the significance of having a system of justice. Authoritative characters in the play abuse their power and are not punished or even prosecuted, even if they have unjust actions. That is why the main purpose of this play is to emphasize the importance of justice. In the play, King Hamlet is murdered by his brother Claudius to claim the kingdom. The murder of King Hamlet is the key event that set the play’s events in motion. As a result of the death of King Hamlet during his reign, his brother Claudius ascends to the throne as he planned. Kings occupying all power and the throne in the monarchy are in the primary position to cause injustices. With their power, they are well positioned to commit various crimes and not be punished. In the play, the justice system is corrupt because, in Hamlet, the person who is in the punisher position is the person who should be punished. What is emphasized here is the importance of authority. This is necessary for real justice to be achieved. The lack of justice causes people to provide their justice, just like in the play Hamlet. After King Hamlet’s death, King Claudius, who is responsible for this, is not punished by the justice system because he is the one who has absolute power in that kingdom. For that reason, Prince Hamlet decides to take his father’s revenge himself. In the play, Hamlet commits a crime by killing Polonius. For that reason, King Claudius only wants to send Hamlet away from Denmark instead of punishing him. This is another piece of evidence showing that power can overshadow justice. Laertes the enemy of Hamlet also acts exactly like him. After the death of his father Polonius and his sister Ophelia, his purpose is to create his justice by taking revenge. Likewise, Hamlet plans. For that reason, Laertes kills Prince Hamlet by poisoning and stabbing him in the play. To give one more example, Fortinbras loses his land and like Prince Hamlet and Laertes, his father dies. Like others, he is also the one who tries to attain justice himself. Regardless of the title of one who rules a country, the person who holds the power, such as the monarch, the king or even the president, is in a position which is eligible to abuse the power and make unjust acts. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a literary work that has enough examples for us to highlight this. What is tried to show with these is the fact that unjust deeds can only be overcome with a properly structured and just justice system.