Why is Fortinbras repeatedly discussed throughout the play Hamlet?

Answer 1

Fortinbras is an important Foild for Hamlet. Hamlet is very thoughtful and philosophical, and has a hard time acting. Right as he is about to act, he stops and ponders about it. Fortinbras however, does things without thinking. When he first attempted to Invade Denmark, he wasn't thinking about the relations the Danes had with the Norwegians.

Hamlet looks up to Fortinbras in ways.

Answer 2

In his soliloquy "How all occasions do inform against me" (which appears in only one of the source texts) Hamlet ponders the mental state of Fortinbras and his army, who are marching off to a pointless war in which they may well die. Hamlet admires the fact that they seem reckless of the consequences; they have a job to do, so off they go to do it, whatever may befall. Hamlet compares this with his own situation, where he obviously has the motive to act, but can't seem to get into gear. He admires that Fortinbras can get things done, even if they are stupid things, because he doesn't worry about whether it is stupid. "Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument but greatly to find quarrel in a straw when honour's at the stake."

Of course this is nonsense. Fortinbras is not admirable at all. He does do stupid things. But to Hamlet, who is thinking of himself "Now whether it be bestial oblivion or some craven scruple of thinking too precisely on th'event--a thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom and ever three parts coward--I do not know why yet I live to say "This thing's to do" sith I have cause and will and strength and means to do't." Fortinbras looks good by comparison.

Answer 3

Fortinbras in the nephew of the King of Norway. He is browned off because his father was killed in a duel with Hamlet Sr. (father of prince Hamlet), and all of his family's lands became the property of the Danish Crown. At the beginning of the play he is sharking up an army of lawless types to attack Denmark. Claudius is able to get the King of Norway (who didn't know this was going on) to get Fortinbras to leave Denmark alone. But Fortinbras still has this army of good-for-nothings, so decides to attack Poland instead, so he can get a tiny piece of land to call his own. He is returning from this piratical escapade when he passes through Elsinore at the end of the play. At this point he somewhat unexpectedly is hailed as the King of Denmark.

Hamlet is a play about how to live your life. Hamlet is a philosophy student, and so someone whose plan of action is to think carefully and make a reasoned decision. Fortinbras, on the other hand, is a guy who just goes with the flow. His decisions do not seem to make a lot of sense (they certainly don't have much moral sensitivity) but in the end he comes up trumps.

Hamlet the thinker is the guy who doesn't kill his uncle when he seems to be praying. His reasoning seems to make sense at the time but we know that Claudius isn't really praying and all of Hamlet's arguments make no sense after all. Later, though, when the ship he is on is attacked by pirates, Hamlet boldly jumps aboard the pirate ship. This sounds insane, but the result is that he gets back to Denmark. On his return, he has developed a new philosophy of action: there is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow, if it be not now, yet it will come and the readiness is all. In other words, just go with the flow. Do something, do anything, and see how it turns out. You cannot think your way through life. You have to act.

All this brings us back to the soliloquy "To be or not to be". Conscience, the act of thinking too precisely on the event, makes cowards of us all, and enterprises of great pitch and moment with this regard their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action. What you need to do is to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them. That is literally what Fortinbras does. He has a sea of troubles so he sharks up a list of lawless resolutes in the skirts of Norway and takes arms against Denmark, and if that doesn't work, then against, oh, why not? against Poland. It's crazy, it makes no sense but it's doing something, and, what do you know? It makes Fortinbras a king.

Answer 4

Fortinbras may not be a large part in Hamlet, but he is a character of some significance. The tone at the beginning of the play is set by the fact that Denmark is expecting an invasion by Fortinbras. The country is in a state of military readiness, hence there are jittery sentries. Fortinbras represents the world outside Denmark, which threatens war, forces Claudius to employ his considerable diplomatic skills, parades through Denmark on the way to battle, and, in the end, has to clean up the mess. Fortinbras has a grudge against the man who killed his father, just as Hamlet and Laertes have, and all three of them are mirrors of each other. Finally, there is the irony that although Hamlet's father risked his life to gain land from Fortinbras's father and add it to Denmark, and Claudius is prepared at the beginning of the play to go to war to prevent Fortinbras Jr. from taking it back, in the end it and the rest of Denmark is handed over to Fortinbras by default.

Answer 5

Good question. Basically, Hamlet's whole family has been wiped out so there are no relations of King Hamlet to take the throne. Laertes, who would have been a popular candidate, is also dead. There is a dearth of candidates for the throne. But why Fortinbras, for heaven's sake? A soldier of fortune who is not even Danish? His only claim is that Hamlet Sr. won some land from Fortinbras Sr.? If something was rotten in the state of Denmark before, it is not going to get better.

Answer 6

In Hamlet, Fortinbras is the prince of Norway. His father was killed by the late King Hamlet and so he seeks revenge.

Answer 7

At the time it was written, a person with a dead father has to avenge their father.

Answer 8

Fortinbras Senior, and King Hamlet, had a single combat over land. King Hamlet won, by killing Fortinbras Sr.

Answer 9

Fortinbras became king because when he arrived at the palace in Denmark all of the people that he could have challenged to become king were dead.