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PaulA
Since: Jan, 2010
19th Mar, 2018 12:50:49 AM
For questions like this, please ask on the Is This an Example? page.
[Post writing this out edit: This can basically be summed up as "Does it count as Hoist By His Own Petard if the person who dies only dies as an indirect result of their actions/plotting?" and i'm specifically talking about Hamlet's death.] Would Hamlet's own death count as a case of "Hoist By His Own Petard"? Laertes was driven to murderous intent against hamlet because Hamlet's plotting resulted in the deaths of Laertes father and sister. It was killing ophelia that was the breaking point, and Hamlet had continuously pushed Ophelia towards madness as part of his scheme to feign insanity. Had Hamlet never driven Ophelia to madness he would not have died himself. So does this count as an indirect case of "Hoist By his own petard"? or is does it have to be a direct action that causes the death? (For those curious btw i'm actually writing a paper on this trope and how it applies to both Hamlet's character and the play as a whole) While i'm asking, would polonius's death also count as Hoist by His Own Petard? I'm pretty sure not because he was straight up stabbed, but he was stabbed because he was spying on Hamlet for the king. It's even more of a stretch than whether or not hamlet counts as HBHOP.