Hamlet theme paper

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Recommended: Claudius' influence on Hamlet's actions

While reading and analyzing the play of Hamlet it is very clear all of the different themes and lessons Shakespeare is trying to develop. Throughout the story many themes stand out but the biggest one is that revengeful actions never have the best outcome. Shakespeare builds and works on that theme for the duration of the play and that makes this play a revenge tragedy. It is a revenge tragedy because revenge is the most established theme in Hamlet and most of the characters are involved with some type of revenge. Shakespeare enforces this idea by having Hamlet deal with three different revenge stories, all having to do with a son avenging his father. First there is hamlet wanting revenge on Claudius, then Laertes wants revenge on hamlet and last Fortinbras wants revenge on all of Denmark. These three stories all develop and produce the major theme of revengeful actions never having the best outcomes. The first and most important story of revenge is Hamlet wanting to kill his Uncle Claudius, after Claudius kills Hamlets father. Shakespeare begins the whole idea of revenge very early in the story when the ghost comes and tells Hamlet of what his uncle has done. The ghost first tells Hamlet how his uncle killed the king and then he tells Hamlet to take revenge he says in the play, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” Hamlet responds with much eager to get revenge saying back to the ghost, “Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge.” It is funny how Hamlet says this because he first of says he wants to get swift revenge then the rest of the play after that Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius. Shakespeare continues to push the theme of revenge as hamlet conti... ... middle of paper ... ...hole country. Once again showing how revenge has no boundaries and it can force people to do evil things. All together this play is just a couple of people trying to get revenge for their dead fathers and get back at the people who killed them. All of them being Prince Hamlet wanting revenge on Claudius, Laertes wanting revenge on hamlet and Fortinbras wanting revenge on all of Denmark. The whole story is just one big revenge story with two side revenge stories and Shakespeare teaches many things about how revenge happens. Like how revenge can have a soft side, how revenge can be very violet and aggressive and how revenge has no boundaries. In the end, with the exception of Fortinbras being gifted the crown, all of the different tales of revenge end up with bad out comes and Shakespeare did a great job showing how revengeful actions never have the best outcomes.

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