Revenge in Shakespeare's Hamlet

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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is one of William Shakespeare’s most renowned works of literature. Published in the very early sixteenth century, the play remains to be the longest of all Shakespearean works and the most popular as well. Perhaps what is so appealing about this masterpiece, the tragic story of the death of King Hamlet, murdered by Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, who later marries Queen Gertrude in order to take the throne, and Prince Hamlet’s journey to exact revenge on Claudius for all he’s done to the kingdom, is the fact that revenge plays a rather large role throughout the play, being what motivates Hamlet to pretend insanity in order to succeed. Revenge is an important theme portrayed constantly throughout Hamlet, not only by the title character, but also by other minor characters.

The idea of revenge in Hamlet is depicted in various ways throughout the play. Shakespeare makes a fine job of identifying the different types of revenge by giving the characters different motives; whereas Hamlet and Laertes, almost mirrors of each other, both want to avenge the deaths of their fathers by killing the person responsible for the murder, Fortinbras seeks to avenge his father’s death by reclaiming the land that he lost to King Hamlet before dying. Also, the author goes further into the personalities of the characters and explores their motivations, most particularly Hamlet’s; although he has a scheme for killing Claudius, he does not set his plan into motion immediately, but is rather delayed by different events throughout the story, forcing the reader to contemplate whether or not Hamlet is as strong-minded and angry about his father’s death as he claims to be. Conversely, Laertes and Fortinbras waste no time and c...

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...dal in which Denmark finds itself caught in when the play begins and the actions of Hamlet to avenge his father that it was as big of an issue back in the day as it is in the present times. If we, as a community, are not careful, the mistakes of our society will bring us to a world where revenge will be the only thing everyone will be after.

Works Cited

Kumamoto, Chikako D. "Gertrude, Ophelia, Ghost: Hamlet's Revenge and the Abject". Journal of the Wooden O Symposium: 6. (2006), pp. 48-64.

Lawall et al. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2009. Print.

Watts, Newman. Was Hamlet Mad?: A Legal and Metaphysical Study. K. Paul, Trench & co., 1888. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

Zott, Lynn M.. "Hamlet." Shakespearean Criticism. Vol. 71. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

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