Romans 12:19, from the NIV Bible, states “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). This verse emphasizes that one should not take revenge into his own hands, but rather let God handle it. God’s wrath will eventually catch up with those who do wrong, and it is not one’s place to seek revenge. By seeking revenge, it makes them the villain as well as the victim. Shakespeare highlights the victim becoming the villain in the revenge tragedy, Hamlet. During the course of the play, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as the victim at first, but later becomes the villain when he murders his uncle to seek revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet’s Christian values kept him from seeking revenge all throughout the play until the very end. Some critics say Hamlet did not act on revenge because he was a coward; however, Hamlet did not act because he thought the ghost might be the devil, he wanted to make sure he had a reason to get revenge, and he knew the Bible says it is wrong to kill.
Although some people do not believe in ghosts, Hamlet did, and he thought the ghost might be the devil trying to get him to commit an evil act. In the play, Hamlet believed in the ghost, but then started doubting himself and thought it might be the devil. Hamlet declares, “The spirit I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape, yea, and perhaps out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me” (2.2.562-567). Hamlet wanted to kill Claudius because the ghost told him to, but then he began to think the ghost could be the devil trying to deceive him. Hamlet did not want to ...
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The question of why Hamlet delays in taking revenge on Claudius for so long has puzzled readers and audience members alike. Immediately following Hamlet's conversation with the Ghost, he seems determined to fulfill the Ghost's wishes and swears his companions to secrecy about what has occurred. The next appearance of Hamlet in the play reveals that he has not yet revenged his father's murder. In Scene two, act two, Hamlet gives a possible reason for his hesitation. "The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil, and the devil hath power / T' assume a pleasing shape" (2.2.627-629). With this doubt clouding his mind, Hamlet seems completely unable to act. This indecision is somewhat resolved in the form of the play. Hamlet comes up with the idea of the play that is similar to the events recounted by the ghost about his murder to prove Claudius guilty or innocent. Due to the king's reaction to the play, Hamlet attains the belief that the Ghost was telling the truth the night of the apparition.
In Hamlet, the protagonist Hamlet faced many dilemmas that led to his transformation throughout the play. The people around him and the ghost of his father dramatically affect him. Seeing his father’s ghost had changed his fate and the person he had become. The path he chose after his encounter with his father’s ghost led to his death.
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
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Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. Print.
The tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most popular and greatest tragedy, presents his genius as a playwright and includes many numbers of themes and literary techniques. In all tragedies, the main character, called a tragic hero, suffers and usually dies at the end. Prince Hamlet is a model example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Every tragedy must have a tragic hero. A tragic hero must own many good traits, but has a flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. If not for this tragic flaw, the hero would be able to survive at the end of the play. A tragic hero must have free will and also have the characteristics of being brave and noble. In addition, the audience must feel some sympathy for the tragic hero.
In writing Hamlet, William Shakespeare plumbed the depths of the mind of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet, to such an extent that this play can rightfully be considered a psychological drama.