Shakespeare wrote “Hamlet” in 1599, during the Elizabethan era. The play is made up of five scenes, each filled with all of the elements of the great tragedies from this era. “Hamlet” is known for many famous quotes and intense confrontations throughout it 's five scenes. In the Elizabethan era, revengeful plays were very popular; this popularity stemmed, primarily, from the many plot twists aimed at keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. Even though Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” ends with a surprising plot twist, it is still a play full of revenge and tragedy. All revenge tragedies share some common characteristics such as, “A play within another play, scenes wracked with anger, a very revengeful ghost, gory scenes, and a main character …show more content…
Hamlet comes upon Claudius praying and realizes that he cannot kill the King, while he is praying because he would go to heaven (Javed 330). Hamlet says to himself, “Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; and now I’ll do’t, and so he goes to heaven” (Shakespeare 3. 3. 73-75). Hamlet soon rethinks his plan of revenge on Claudius. Throughout the entire play, the audience keeps wondering, “Why doesn 't he just kill him already?” Hamlet wants Claudius to suffer and realize the hate Hamlet has for him (Javed …show more content…
The ghost is upset that Claudius to still alive. Claudius has finally caught on to the fact that Hamlet wants to kill him, so he devises his own plan for revenge against Hamlet. “Claudius banishes Hamlet to England for the murder of Polonius” (Mabillard 3). As soon as Hamlet arrives on English soil, Claudius plans to have him murdered. Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on the ship with Hamlet with a letter to the King of England; the letter asks him to kill Hamlet (Weller 2). Hamlet intercepts the letter and realizes what is happening: he rewrites the letter saying that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern need to be killed (Weller 2). The audience knows that the killing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is of no consequence to Hamlet because they are not his true friend. Now that Hamlet sees what Claudius had planned, he cannot wait to finally seek revenge on the
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By most accounts, this passage would be taken to mean that he does not kill Claudius because at this time the King is praying, and when praying one's soul will ascend to heaven if one should die. Hamlet wants Claudius to burn in hell; for him to go to heaven would make his revenge void. He will avenge his father's death when Claudius is engaged in some other less holy act, in order to insure the King's place in hell.
In the prayer scene, Hamlet misses his best opportunity to kill Claudius and avenge his father’s death. With no guards around, Claudius is alone and he is unaware that Hamlet is lurking in the shadows. The scene is set for Hamlet to take vengeance for his father’s unsettled spirit. However, Hamlet does not kill him, because Claudius is repenting for his sins, allowing him to go to heaven when he is to die. As one’s religion often dictated the afterlife of one’s soul, King Hamlet is doomed to an eternity in purgatory. Hamlet does not feel it is fair for Claudius to go to heaven, while his father is at unrest, so he decides instead to kill Claudius while he is doing something sinful. This is ironic because Claudius says he is not really praying; he is just going through the ...
Hamlet attributes his failure to kill Claudius at that moment to the fact that if Claudius was murdered while praying he would surely go to heaven, which Hamlet does not want him to do so. What is peculiar about this explanation, though, is that Claudius is having a hard time praying. Claudius says “My words fly, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never go to heaven” (Shakespeare 33). Hamlet must have overheard Claudius struggling to pray.
Hamlet was written in the early seventeenth century, it has been said that Shakespeare derived the play from a story about a man murdering his brother, the king, and taking the queen and the throne for himself. Shakespeare shifted the focus of the story to the king’s son, Hamlet, and his thoughts throughout his search for revenge. The time period in which Hamlet was written is known as the Renaissance; human nature was analyzed in art, writing, plays, and other avenues to help aid man in this “rebirth” of ideals. Hamlet’s storyline focuses on the idea that people will never see past the facade others put forth; this is displayed through Hamlet’s lack of knowledge over the details of his father’s death, as well as his apparent insanity (SparkNotes
Revenge in Hamlet In Elizabethan times, a type of play known as a "revenge tragedy" became popular. These plays revolved around, ". the revenge of a father for a son or vice versa, the revenge being directed by the ghost of the murdered man." (Harmon and Holman #6).
Vengeance. A vicious, violent way to make oneself feel better about an offense against them. Throughout the tragedy of Hamlet revenge is a recurring theme, amongst all of the characters. Whether this revenge is in physical form, or mental form, it is equally hurtful. Mahatma Ghandi said, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Ghandi is literally saying that if one person commits a revengeful act, it will create a continuing reaction of bitterness and violence throughout everyone. This quote is highly significant throughout the duration of Hamlet, as it portrays almost precisely, both the plotline of the story, as well as the conclusion. From the murder of King Hamlet to the murder of Prince Hamlet the tragedy is filled with violent acts of revenge.
Revenge in Hamlet Revenge causes the characters in Hamlet to act blindly through anger and emotion, rather than through reason. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye; this action is not always the best means to an end. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their fathers. They all acted on emotion driven by the want for revenge for their father's deaths, and this led to the downfall of two, and the rise to power of one. Since the heads of the three major families were each murdered, the eldest sons of these families felt that they needed to take some kind of action to avenge their father's deaths; this need to bring honour to their respective families was ultimately the demise of Laertes and Hamlet.
Imagine a play in which a prince is seeking revenge of his father’s murder and ultimately succeeds. Now, imagine a play with the same plot, but with young love, dramatic scenes denying this love, and true madness that leads to suicide. Which sounds better? Which would hold your attention longer? Odds are that the second play described is the choice you have chosen or unknowingly chosen in your thoughts. If it is not, then you would be missing out on one of the most famous plays written by William Shakespeare. Both plays described have the fundamental plot of this Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but only the second is the true play that Shakespeare intended to be performed. Only the second play includes the young, lovesick and distraught Ophelia who separates the first described play from the second. Ophelia may not be the star of the play like Hamlet, but through her transformation into a state of madness along with her role in the only true romance in the play, we learn more about several characters and remain intrigued in the play.
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).
One of the most revealing scenes about Hamlet’s anger can be found where Claudius is praying to absolve his sins. Hamlet, with his sword drawn, declares that Claudius should die in a state of sing, not under prayer. His father was killed before being able to ask for forgiveness and now Hamlet shall do the same to Claudius.
It could be said that Hamlet is deliberately delaying his revenge for fear of actually committing it. However, religion was a focal part of people’s lives at the time the play was set and at the time it was written, one would be justified in claiming that Hamlet genuinely didn’t want to kill Claudius while he was praying to prevent him from going to heaven.
The Roman poet, Juvenal, once said that, "Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind." Most people would agree with Juvenal that revenge is an abhorrent human need that can only satisfy narrow-minded people. Even though, we know revenge will generally not bring us much satisfaction, we still constantly lust for taking revenge on someone. It is because revenge is such a natural part of human nature that writers so often use it as their theme. Revenge can easily be an awe-inspiring theme for a novel because it is something that all people can relate to, whether they know it or not. The suspense from it will make most people sit on the edge of their seats.
When wronged, it is in human nature to punish those who wronged us, thus revenge is born. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, revenge is not only the catalyst of the play but a major theme as well. Upon hearing the truth regarding his father’s death, Hamlet Jr. instantly begins investigating and plotting his revenge against Claudius, which leads to all the events which unfold in the play. Upon hearing about his father’s death, Hamlet Jr. declares that he will “sweep to [his] revenge” (Shakespeare I.v.37). Hamlet Jr.s’ eagerness to take revenge and revenge’s prevalence in the play illustrate it as a major theme in the play. This mirrors the beliefs of the Psychoanalytical school of literary criticism, specifically the fifth tenant which states that “conflicts between our conscious and unconscious minds can create mental disturbances” and the sixth tenant which states that “in order to free ourselves of unconscious material we need to use skilled guidance to bring it to our conscious selves” (Rulli).
Revenge’s consuming nature causes one to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. Revenge is a very dangerous emotion to acquire, and typically leads to ones downfall. Throughout Hamlet, revenge is a dominant theme. Not only does revenge underlie almost every scene, but it also has a major effect on the play as a whole. Two of the main revenge plots within the play are Hamlet 's aim to avenge his father’s death by killing his uncle, Claudius, and Laertes ' aim to avenge the murder of his father by killing Hamlet. These two revenge plots play a major role in presenting to the audience the theme of revenge. But, the audience may not realize that within the play, Hamlet’s quest for justice gets lost in his quest for revenge. The justice