ENG 4U1
Mrs. Murphy
Wednesday June 13, 2018
Dancing With the Devil
I do not ask of much. I simply request that you obey God and follow in his right path. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour, thou shalt honour thy father and mother, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife. Comply with these commandments and thou shalt gain entry to heaven. God is forgiving to those who deserve forgiveness. Humans have been blessed to be given the chance to confess their sins to God in order to clear their conscience, but the question is if they are willing to deal with the guilt that comes with committing a sin. Before me stand the departed souls of Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet. The final years of these men's lives have been disorderly and full of chaos, but it has given me an outlook on who they genuinely are as individuals. Before I determine their fate, each of these men will be given the opportunity to present to me justification for their actions. The question I have left them to ponder on is: Are you worthy of entry into heaven and eternal bliss?
I, Laeartes, beg you, holy Gatekeeper, for entry into the heavens. I believe that I am worthy of the kingdom before me because I have implemented the commandments of God not only into my life, but into the lives of those closest to me. First, I warned my sweet sister Ophelia of the sins the Devil would trick her into committing had she continued to fool around with prince Hamlet:
Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain,
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmastered importunity. (1.3.29-32)
This is validation that I sincerely care about my family’s promise to God, and I will not let the Devil deceive us into opposing Him. God grants us forgiveness no matter the circumstance and because of my devotion to God I have learned to forgive those who I would have never thought to forgive. Hamlet slayed my father Polonius, and his actions had also provoked the sweet Ophelia to commit suicide. Hamlet took everything away from me, yet I was still able to follow the path that God had made for us and forgive him: “I do receive your offer’d love like love/ And will not wrong it” (5.2.242-243). The death of my father caused such despair in my life that I began to misinterpret the meaning of the commandment: ‘thou shalt honour thy father and mother’. The Devil used the sin of wrath to trick me into participating in the affairs Claudius had arranged and gave me the illusion that by partaking in these affairs, I will be honouring my father's death. However, despite being deceived by the Devil himself, I was able to regain my conscience just before I committed the sin of murder: “My lord, I’ll hit him now/… And yet it is almost against my conscience” (5.2.187-189). My dedication to God’s plan proved to be stronger than any force from hell. Even during my dying breaths, I took the time...
