Vengeance
Revenge is a force that has ceaselessly perplexed man’s conscience. Do you heed the words of the bible and let revenge fall upon the shoulders of the Lord, or do you take the eye that was so wrongfully taken from you? Do you take into your hands retribution, or do you adopt a philosophy of forgiveness? Perhaps being forgiving does not make for good entertainment. It is William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Steven Monroe’s interpretation of I Spit on Your Grave that cultivates the viewer experience in which these questions are left to marinate in the minds of its viewers. Hamlet’s lust for revenge, not unlike the protagonist in Monroe’s adaptation of I Spit on Your Grave, is what keeps the viewer intertwined within the tale. Hamlet
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During the course of the first half of the film we are introduced to Jennifer’s vulnerability. Jennifer is alone, but she is also kind to and trusting of the local men. Later, these would be the same men that savagely tormented and sexually assaulted Jennifer for their own repugnant enjoyment. Not only did they brutally violate Jennifer, but they also left her battered body in the woods as if her life had no value. Unbeknownst to the men that left Jennifer for dead, she survived the prolonged attacks, and thus emerges her passion for revenge. Furthermore, beyond similar methods of a great wrong being used to introduce a motive for revenge, Hamlet and I Spit on Your Grave also share similarities in how the revenge was carried out. Both works take the eye for an eye approach in their solutions. For Hamlet, he vows to avenge his father in a manner that involves an act of “antic disposition” (Shakespeare) that eventually leads to the death of everyone involved with the murder of King Hamlet. The final scene is essentially a bloody mess, but perhaps the most significant aspect is the fact that Claudius dies by poison at the hands of Hamlet because it is equal to the way in which Claudius ended the life of King Hamlet. As for Jennifer, her method of revenge is just as bloody for her tormenters. Each man is brutally tortured and murdered in a way that aims to match the suffering originally inflicted on Jennifer. However, the true significance
Getting revenge does not always guarantee a satisfactory win in the end. In the famous play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, returns from school after learning that his father, the king, has died. He later discovers that his uncle has actually killed Hamlet’s father in order to take his throne and wife. Instructed by the ghost of his father, Hamlet seeks out to get revenge on his uncle. In this play, the revenge of Hamlet’s father affects Hamlet’s relationships, actions, and state of mind.
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).
Hamlet is as much a story of emotional conflict, paranoia, and self-doubt as it is one of revenge and tragedy. The protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, is instructed by his slain father’s ghost to enact vengeance upon his uncle Claudius, whose treacherous murder of Hamlet’s father gave way to his rise to power. Overcome by anguish and obligation to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet ultimately commits a number of killings throughout the story. However, we are not to view the character Hamlet as a sick individual, but rather one who has been victimized by his own circumstances.
Throughout time, people have served justice for the wrongs of others, often through revenge. Because of this, some people see justice as taking an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is no exception. The primary form of justice throughout the play is through revenge. There are three characters who demand and successfully achieve the justice by taking revenge on the wrongdoer. Hamlet seeks justice for his father’s murder, Laertes for the death of his father and sister, and Fortinbras for both the death of his father and the loss of his land.
Quintessentially speaking, revenge is a thing that many have sought in response to a tragic event unfolding. Typically, as a result, vengeance is contemplated upon by the victim as a means of retribution, a way of making things right and seeking justice on the behest of the victim, if the law will not grant justice through due process due to corrupt forces stemmed deep within it- corrupt seeds of a corrupt plant. Therefore, revenge become an apparent option for those willing to walk that path [of no return]. However, instances of revenge not being attained in the “clear cut” way it is ordinarily acquired have occurred from time to time throughout history. One of the most prominent examples of unconventional revenge attainment can be found within the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, entailing the revenge path walked by its eponymously named main character, Prince Hamlet. Specifically, his intentful delay in attaining his revenge against his uncle Claudius for his direct role in the death of his father, King Hamlet. This literary conundrum has dumbfounded literary critics for over 400 years and counting- due to the fact that a universally accepted consensus amongst them as well as the general public as to why Hamlet delayed his revenge has not yet been reached.
The relevance and significance of the revenge tragedy is in the way it explores human nature and forces audiences to evaluate ideologies such as revenge and justice. The concept of revenge is accompanied by moral conflict and Shakespeare demonstrates that by acting immorally society is likely to be riddled with corruption. Hamlet seeks to avenge the death of his father but struggles with the ramifications of seeking righteous revenge through an immoral act. The imposition of revenge instills the existential questioning on Hamlet as it contradicts his with his social expectation. His
Hamlet begins to react upon his feelings and does away with his reason as he says to the ghost that he will do away with all knowledge and memory and keep within his mind the want to revenge his fathers’ murder. “Yea, from the table of my memory I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past That youth and observation copied there, And thy commandment all alone shall live”, (1.5.96-103). Hamlet begins to exhibit the argued theme that revenge causes people to act recklessly
“If you seek revenge, dig two graves.” This ancient Chinese proverb explains the mood in Hamlet, a play, written by Shakespeare. The theme of revenge is seen throughout the play as each character extracts one form or another of revenge from a person who has wronged them. In the play the characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all desire revenge for a lost father; however, their motivations for murder differ.
Thus, Shakespeare’s play Hamlet uses both themes of revenge and tragedy, as they are both used in the main parts of the story. It is up to the reader if he or she wants to interpret this story as a tragedy or revenge, but it is most probably a mix between the two. Hamlet was, and is still a titanic part of our culture, and literary history, and will most likely still be analyzed in the future for its rich, and convoluted plot. Hamlet is a unique piece of literature, and will be regarded for a long time as one of the treasures of English
The theme of Revenge has been utilized in numerous works of art throughout history, including books, plays, movies, etc. Revenge is the result of one’s desire for vengeance, however, revenge is known to be implied under high emotions of anger thus not with reason concluding with a horrible outcome. Shakespeare’s play ‘Hamlet’ is no doubt a play about a tragedy caused by revenge; Prince Hamlet’s retribution for his father, King Hamlet’s murder and Laertes vengeance for his father, Polonius’ murder. The theme of revenge in Hamlet is portrayed through various literary techniques such as foreshadowing and irony.
Revenge is one’s desire to retaliate and get even. Human instincts turn to revenge when loved ones are hurt. But, these misdeeds of taking upon revenge may lead to serious consequences. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet,” Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes’s each show how their desire for revenge unavoidably leads to tragedy. The loss of their loved ones caused these characters in Hamlet to take action. Young Fortinbras has built an army to get back the lands his father lost to King Hamlet and Denmark. His actions can be compared to the measures Hamlet is willing to take upon Claudius. Hamlet wants to kill his uncle, Claudius, for killing his father to gain royalty status. Laertes has the same anger as Hamlet killed Polonius,
For my first critical review I will be starting off with A Traditional Revenge Tragedy. This article is written by Poonam Valeria. In her review of Hamlet, the play, she starts off by giving a lightly detailed background of Shakespeare. Then continues to apply the six characteristics of a traditional revenge tragedy and their application to Hamlet. The first characteristic is that the plot has to start off with a crime of some sort, in Hamlet that would be the death of King Hamlet. The death of King Hamlet is what sparked the traveling of Prince Hamlet to Denmark from Germany. If the Prince hadn’t come home than there would be no Hamlet. “The first murdered character is King Hamlet who is supposed to be revenged by his son prince Hamlet.”
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
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. At first glance, it holds all of the common occurrences in a revenge tragedy which include plotting, ghosts, and madness, but its complexity as a story far transcends its functionality as a revenge tragedy. Revenge tragedies are often closely tied to the real or feigned madness in the play. Hamlet is such a complex revenge tragedy because there truly is a question about the sanity of the main character Prince Hamlet. Interestingly enough, this deepens the psychology of his character and affects the way that the revenge tragedy takes place. An evaluation of Hamlet’s actions and words over the course of the play can be determined to see that his ‘outsider’ outlook on society,
The classic revenge tragedy is one way to describe Shakespeare’s greatest play Hamlet. The story is driven by a reprisal catastrophe lead by the main character, Hamlet. Over the course of the story, readers see that Hamlet is mulling over requital as opposed to demanding it. Hamlet’s powerlessness to vindicate the murder of his beloved father, king Hamlet, is what keeps the story running and prompts the demises of a large portion of the characters in the story, including Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes, Gertrude, Claudius, and himself. In Hamlet, there is no justification for revenge because evil consumes the protagonist and leads to the downfall of everyone around Hamlet, including himself.