Destiny Mclean
Miss Susan Sibbach
English IV
11 December, 2015
A Tragedy of Revenge In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, vengeance serves as a key aspect throughout the play causing the death of many characters. Each character constantly battles throughout the play and seeks revenge on one another. Some of the main conflicts lie right in the hands of the king. The death of a single character turned into a dysfunctional kingdom. The play focuses on the tragedy of revenge. Everyone in the play appears to not only have conflicts within themselves but with each other as well. “A Shakespearean tragedy is built upon a central conflict which runs through until the conflict is finally resolved. The play is built upon the long tragic conflict between Hamlet and Claudius and the conflict is upon the motif of revenge” (Hamlet). The point where the whole plot changed to revenge is when Hamlet Jr finds out that King Claudius killed his father. Hamlet, King Claudius, Laertes and the Ghost have the same thing in common, the eagerness to seek revenge on one another for the death of a loved one.
After reading Hamlet and discovering the true meaning, the Ghost happens to seek revenge first in the play. “In the beginning, Shakespeare sets up a scene, having a ghost on a dark night. Everyone is working and something strange is happening in Denmark” (Hamlet). The Ghost is the father of the main character in the play, Hamlet. The Ghost was murdered by his brother Claudius simply because
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet relays Hamlet’s quest to avenge the murder of his father, the king of Denmark. The late King Hamlet was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who took the throne and Hamlet’s mother Gertrude for himself. Hamlet is beseeched by the ghost of his father to take vengeance upon Claudius; while he swears to do so, the prince inexplicably delays killing Claudius for months on end. Hamlet’s feeble attempt to first confirm his uncle’s guilt with a play that recounts the murder and his botched excuses for not killing Claudius when the opportunity arises serve as testimony to Hamlet’s true self. Hamlet is riddled with doubt towards the validity of the ghost and his own ability to carry out the act necessary to
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the theme revenge takes center stage, driving the actions and fate of multiple characters. Throughout the play, revenge is shown through three different characters, Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet. The play goes on to show how revenge shapes and consumes individuals. Through the characters of Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras, Shakespeare examines the nature of revenge, illustrating how it consumes individuals, corrodes morality and perpetuates a cycle of violence. Revenge is seen throughout Hamlet by multiple characters; one of these is Fortinbras.
Shakespeare’s play tells of how Hamlet’s need for revenge affected his relationships. Hamlet’s revenge has put his relationships with Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Gertrude and even Claudius in very dangerous positions. Hamlet feels that what he has done justifies him being right to achieve vengeance, but in reality what he has done to justify his revenge is not an act of honor for his ruthlessness. Hamlet has not taken into consideration what pain it has caused for his family and the people he knows. Hamlet does not know what the ending of all his situations will cause for the future to come.
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, portrays a recurring theme of revenge. As we know, revenge without a brain can be extremely detrimental, it can turn a person inside out--making them act irrational and do the unthinkable. However, in times of trouble, Hamlet uses his scholarly characteristics of reasoning and logic that he has obtained from Wittenberg University to actively think through situations first, then proceed with his vengeance. Hamlet’s vengeance stems from Claudius for marrying his mother shortly after the death of his father. In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlet’s twofold mindset of scholar and warrior both contribute to his decisions; one cannot survive without the other to obtain justice.
Shakespeare 's portrayal of Hamlet 's revenge is not a worthy journey because he never finds his self worth, distracted between what will exemplify his purpose, and what will make him a failure in the memory of Denmark.
William Shakespeare’s famously philosophical play Hamlet epitomizes the revenge tragedy; the play’s characters are forced to act vengefully only to result in a bloody, dismal
Hamlet from the start of the play is driven to insanity as he tries to get revenge on his uncle, King Claudius. With loss of sanity, Hamlet proceeds to see a ghostly figure that no one else around him can see. This makes him appear even more insane to others around him and to himself as neither party knew what was going on. Believing that Claudius had killed his father, the ghost assured him a little more of this tragedy as they spoke saying,
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
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 can be defined as “the act of retaliating for wrongs received”. William Shakespeare 's “Hamlet” is considered one of his greatest plays and the plot is centered on revenge. Euripides ' Medea also shares a theme of revenge. While both central characters have been betrayed, resulting in their impending revenge, there is more than one theme of revenge in Hamlet, and there are differences in the ways all decide to handle their betrayals and the outcomes of their actions.
The play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, surrounds the central idea of revenge and betrayal. Revenge drives the characters and determines their actions throughout the play, which results in several instances of betrayal. With revenge, the friendship and loyalty of characters are tested and conflicts are established between characters. Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, was helplessly poisoned by his own brother, Claudius. Hamlet, the protagonist, becomes aware of his father’s death and finds himself seeking revenge and starting a cycle of hatred. Hamlet embarks on his journey for revenge by displaying an act of craziness. Throughout the play, there were several moments where Hamlet’s actions caused confusion and made it difficult for
Shakespeare writes in a way that is difficult to understand for anyone that speaks the modern language. His story Hamlet is understood through the emotions felt by his characters. Hamlet is the main character who is conflicted with revenge and conspiring friendships. Hamlet returns home from Germany for his father’s funeral only to find far more troubling things. Hamlet is a conflicted character but that doesn’t stop him from knowing what he wants. Revenge is the main cause of his confliction but with great reason, which is important to understand about this play because it helps explain all the betrayal and tragedy.
Hamlet, a sociopathic narcissist uses vengeance, a retribution of an action done toward him. He uses the death of his father as justification for his actions. In his mind he believes he can use revenge to gain power and control. By using vengeance, he is convincing everyone in his surroundings of his power. In Shakespeare's play, “Hamlet”, a theme of power occurs often. Hamlet’s compulsion revolves around the death of his father. As a protagonist, Hamlet is also a hero. His actions toward his control, are both moral and immoral implications involved through demanding revenge.
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).
In modern society humans stand up and fight for what they think is right and fair. Human beings have the desire to avenge what they think is wrong. The theme of revenge has a major effect in the play Hamlet and is a constant throughout the play, it underlies almost every scene. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare examines the theme of revenge through the erratic thoughts and actions of the characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras. The main revenge plots in the play is Hamlet’s aim to avenge his father, Hamlet Sr, Laertes’ aim to avenge the murder of his father, Polonius, and Fortinbras’ aim to avenge the death of his father, Fortinbras. Having lost their fathers, Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras take vengeance on the people that killed them. These plots play a major role in the play presenting the theme of revenge to the audience.