Revenge In Hamlet Essay

Revenge is a recurring theme in Hamlet. Although Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death, he is afraid of what would result from this. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet’s unwillingness to revenge appears throughout the text; Shakespeare exhibits this through Hamlet’s realization that revenge is not the right option, Hamlet‘s realization that revenge is the same as the crime which was already committed, and his understanding that to revenge is to become a “beast” and to not revenge is as well (Kastan 1).

When Hamlet’s father, the late king of Denmark, comes to him as a ghost and reveals he died at the hands of his brother, Claudius, he demands Hamlet “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.4.23-25). Without hesitation, Hamlet agrees to avenge his father’s death, saying, “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift / as meditation or the thoughts of love, / May sweep to my revenge” (1.5.29-31). He decides the proper form of justice is to kill Claudius, just as the king killed his own brother, though he has his own motives. Hamlet loathes Claudius for marrying his mother, and learning King Hamlet died at the hands of Claudius only provokes Hamlet more. As the play continues, Hamlet plots his revenge, and he deceives everyone with his apparent insanity. Hamlet eventually succeeds in his search for vengeance and justice, though it kills him as well. He

Amongst the most tragic story lines of Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet is definitely one of them. In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Fortinbras, Hamlet and Laertes each demonstrate the ways revenge leads to tragedy when they are unable to cope with the loss of a loved one. Young Fortinbras has intentions of honoring his father’s loss by gaining the territory that was rightfully theirs. The lengths he is willing to go compare to Hamlet’s determination to seek revenge upon his uncle, and father’s murderer, Claudius. Hamlet’s hopes of wanting to destroy Claudius the way he had done to King Hamlet are delayed several times throughout the play, making it nearly impossible to follow through with his plan. One of Hamlet’s setbacks is being shipped

      Let us briefly trace Hamlet’s progress through the play to illustrate these two movements. In the first act, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, who commands him to kill his uncle and stepfather, but not to harm his mother (Act One scene 5, Shakespeare: 952). We should note here that even before this confirmation of the unnatural death of his father, his mother’s hasty remarriage had thrown Hamlet into a deep depression, to the point where only his religious sentiments prevented him from making away with himself: “How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world!” (Shakespeare: 948). The revenge mission is thus initially

Revenge is one of humanities most intrinsic instincts. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, characters are compelled to restore familial honor by exacting vengeance on those who wronged them. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet are driven and controlled throughout the play by a need for revenge. It is Hamlet’s inability to commit revenge that gives Shakespeare the time to build Hamlet’s emotional and psychological complexity. Revenge was a deeply fraught topic in Elizabethan culture; it was against the law and considered a sin. However, one could not expect justice. Authorities often did not help commoners. This resulting in a paradox; revenge was both sinful and, in many situations, one’s only mean of

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the theme of revenge quickly becomes a present theme in the latter half of the play. Soon revenge spreads like a virus throughout the characters of this tragedy. It acts as the prime motivating factor of Act IV, from Hamlet’s actions, to Claudius’s plotting, to Laertes’s reappearance in the play. Before the act even started Polonius was murdered by Hamlet. This lead to the furious return of Laertes and his eventual conspiring against Hamlet alongside Claudius. The chain of events presented will form another climax in this tragedy, where revenge acts as a driving power. Even though other crucial emotions and elements are presented in this act, revenge acts as the ultimate motivating factor throughout Act IV of

Whether or not the readers enjoy reading or are fond of the play, Hamlet, it’s obviously true that Hamlet’s procrastination on taking revenge for his father’s death is a constantly recurring theme throughout the play. To begin with, after the ghost reveals the truth of Claudius killing King Hamlet Sr to Hamlet and demands Hamlet to seek revenge, Hamlet is somewhat convinced but mostly unsure about what he heard from the ghost, “The spirit that I have seen may be a devil, and the devil hath power t’assume a pleasing shape, yea, and perhaps, out of my weakness and melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuse me to damn me..catch the conscience of the king” (2.2.587-594). The sudden appearance of the ghost triggers Hamlet’s suspicion of the ghost’s real identity, in which Hamlet’s carefulness not only leads to showing a performance, which corresponds to his father’s death to test the conscience of Claudius, but also delays his vengeance.

Hamlets plot for revenge begins with the demise of his father. “ So art thou to revenge when thou shall hear.” 1.5.25 In this quote Hamlet discovers the ghost is his father and his death was murder. Once hamlet is made aware of who the murder is the ghost then helps him plan how he will get his comeuppance towards his uncle. This scene is a stepping stone to the plot due to the fact Hamlet discovers that he is talking to his father and that he must avenge his father's death. The ghost enlightens hamlet to information he otherwise would not have known. Hamlet begins to act differently in order to follow through on his plan. “ though this is madness, yet there is method in’t” 2.2.195. Hamlet gives off a fake persona in which he is insane, well knowing no one would suspect him to be a murder. Hamlet uses this knowledge to outsmart most of Denmark allow the loss of his father to be his reasoning towards how he is now mad. Hamlet was extremely close to his father knowing he was murdered forced hamlet to take action similarly Maximus lives only for

Revenge is one of the deepest instincts common to humanity. Different people emit different purposes of revenge and are most likely filled with an internal confliction of emotions. Once that individual gets his/her revenge, a feeling of justice is established in the mind. Unfortunately, many people blindly take revenge without thinking of their actions or the consequences and believe that they will be able to move on after they take revenge. Revenge is ultimately placed in the hands of the impatient individual who tries to control karma and does not want to wait for the universe to take action. One common theme in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is revenge. This tragedy is filled with a variety of emotions, most of which pertaining to

A forest fire starts and gradually grows uncontrollably. It consumes everything in its path. Revenge is similar to this devastation. Revenge is an act based on anger with no reasoning, and it’s not over until the act is completed. William Shakespeare, in Hamlet, built his play on this idea of an eye for an eye, which is revenge. Hamlet and Laertes are both out to avenge their fathers’ deaths. They go about it differently, but their motivation is the same. Shakespeare uses the characters Hamlet and Laertes, in their acts of revenge, show how the theme is developed throughout the play.

Hamlet’s need for revenge begins in act 1 when the ghost tells him what happened. In the play, the ghost of King Hamlet appears and tells his son, Hamlet, that he is his father’s spirit, “I am thy father’s spirit…” (act I, scene v). The ghost is talking to Hamlet and tells him how he was really killed. He says, “Now, Hamlet, hear. 'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abus'd; but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown” (act I, scene v). King Hamlet’s spirit explains to his son that the serpent that stung him was his brother, Claudius, by pouring poison in his ear while he was asleep. He then tells Hamlet that he must seek revenge on his uncle Claudius. The ghost states, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (act I, scene v). The most famous quote of this play, "To be or not to be, that is the question" is centered in Hamlet’s vengeance situation. Hamlet must decide whether he should avenge the death of his father or not. To successfully avenge the death of his father he will need to kill his uncle Claudius which will result in the liberation of his father from purgatory where he states that is weakening, "…Doom'd for a certain term to walk the

After reading Shakespheres “Hamlet” it was evident that the theme of the play was revenge, which was illustrated throughout the play by the characters actions. Revenge causes the characters in Hamlet to act blindly through anger and emotion, rather than through reason and morals. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye this action is not always the best means to an end which clearly shows at the end of the play. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their fathers, which lead them to do unethical and immoral things which in the end of the play ends Ironic. They all acted on emotion driven by the want for revenge for

A forest fire starts and gradually grows uncontrollably. It consumes everything in its path. Revenge is similar to this devastation. Revenge is an act based on anger with no reasoning, and it’s not over until the act is completed. William Shakespeare, in Hamlet, built his play on this idea of an eye for an eye, which is revenge. Hamlet and Laertes are both out to avenge their fathers’ deaths. They go about it differently, but their motivation is the same. Shakespeare uses the characters Hamlet and Laertes, in their acts of revenge, show how the theme is developed throughout the play.

In the aftermath of the death of Old Hamlet, his brother Claudius is chosen to be monarch. However, the ghost of the dead king tells Hamlet that it was Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, who killed Old Hamlet, and tasks Hamlet with taking revenge; and in spite of such urgent motives and circumstance, Hamlet continuously delays the execution of his task. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, Hamlet’s inner conflict and indecision lead to his inability to take action.

Who ever thought acting out revenge would be so difficult. In the story, Hamlet, we have a young man who is seeking revenge for the death of his father. The person responsible his death was Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. Hamlet contemplates killing Claudius many times throughout the play. There is much speculation as to why Hamlet hesitated, and why he didn't just kill Claudius as quickly as possible. Hamlet wants to ensure he did it right and that it was a righteous killing.