Define Revenge in Hamlet Essays

It is natural human instinct for a son to feel offended over the death of his father.  So is the instance of the two young princes, both spurned by the sudden death of King Hamlet toward destinies of avenging fallen fathers, which emerge to permit comparisons in Shakespeare's great tragedy Hamlet.  In the first act of the play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, both are fatherless heirs whose uncles occupy the throne of their respected countries.  Both princes seek revenge for the events relating to the death of their fathers while their uncles and kings oppose their nephews, plotting to accomplish their own objectives.  However, by what is learned in the brief sidelined accounts of

Revenge is a dangerous downfall. Revenge has caused people to do incredibly stupid and recklessly acts. The worst part of revenge however, is how easily people can justify and rationalize their actions, an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth. Hamlet is no exception. Throughout Shakespeare’s Hamlet, revenge is an almost suffocating theme. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet are all seeking retribution for the deaths of their fathers. However, while seeking such revenge, they rely on their emotions which drive them to make gambles. Gambles that in the end lead to death save one. Fortinbras father was slain by King Hamlet during battle as seen in the text, "...valiant Hamlet for so this side of our known world esteem'd him did slay this Fortinbras." Fortinbras son was so angered by his father's murder that he not only sought revenge against King Hamlet, but against all of Denmark. Young Fortinbras empowered by his rage planned to take back

“If you seek revenge, dig two graves.” This ancient Chinese proverb explains the mood in Hamlet, a play, written by Shakespeare. The theme of revenge is seen throughout the play as each character extracts one form or another of revenge from a person who has wronged them. In the play the characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all desire revenge for a lost father; however, their motivations for murder differ.

Revenge and action vs. inaction continue to build on each other as Hamlet’s character develops. Hamlet refrains from killing Claudius once again because he thinks that Claudius is praying and if Claudius were to be killed, he will go “to heaven” (3.3, 79). Finally, Hamlet decides to act after seeing Fortinbras, who, unlike Hamlet, acts by leading an “army of such mass and charge” (4.4, 50) and faces “fortune, death, and danger” (4.4, 55). Hamlet finally decides to act upon his need for vengeance when he

Act One, in Hamlet, immediately introduces the conflict two counties hold. This includes Lord Hamlet and Lord Fortinbras. Both of these characters’ fathers passed away and both felt the need to avenge them. Before King Hamlet was murdered, he fought over, and won the land that was possessed by King Fortinbras. This created a feud between the two and eventually between Lord Fortinbras and Denmark. Lord Fortinbras wanted revenge for King Hamlet taking away pieces of land from Norway and throughout the play he is a problem to King Claudius; “Young Fortinbras, / Holding a weak supposal of our worth / Or thinking by our late dear brother’s death / Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, /

In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses revenge as a major theme present throughout the work. Revenge plays a crucial role in the development of Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and Laertes, son of Polonius. All three men seek revenge for the murder of their fathers. Revenge can be interpreted as a separate character in Hamlet. Revenge is set to overcome anyone who seeks it. Initially, after each of the murders, every son had a definite course of action to obtain vengeance. Or in Hamlet's case the choice was to seek no vengeance. As the play unfolds, each young man approaches the desire for revenge and chooses a different path towards gaining it based on the guidance of another character in

Although, Laertes and Hamlet show clear evidence of hate towards one another, one may suggest that they have some resemblance between one another. Throughout the entire play, Laertes could be classified as an absent character with minimal influence towards other characters. With Laertes and Hamlet both having intelligence, Laertes attending the University of Paris and Hamlet at Wittenberg, shows each characters are mentally stable until madness slowly deteriorates each down to their breaking point. During Act 4, Scene 5, Hamlet “unknowingly” kills Polonius, drawing his sword multiple times through the King, while Laertes is secretly sailing back from France in hope to see his father. When ALertes arrives he demands for his father, that is when Claudius declares that his father has died.

Hamlet, King Hamlet’s son and rightful heir to the throne, and Laertes, son of Polonius right hand man to Claudius, have many similarities throughout the story and parallel each other in many ways. However, they realize throughout the story in their missions for revenge, they hurt and cause suffering to those whom they love, unintentionally and regretfully. Hamlet and Laertes both have their fathers killed, they direly crave revenge for the deaths’ of their fathers, and their schemes to obtain the revenge lead to the eventual death for both of them. The deaths of King Hamlet and Polonius are key examples of how Laertes and Hamlet parallel each other.

Through the common loss of their father’s, Laertes and Fortinbras highlight Hamlet’s conflict between his reason and passion. Laertes receives news regarding his father, Polonius’s murder and assumes that King Claudius is responsible. Laertes’s speculation causes him to threaten Claudius, “Only I’ll be revenged most thoroughly for my father” (4.5.128-134). In contrast to Laertes’s judgment, Prince Hamlet is revealed to have killed Polonius out of the belief that Polonius was Claudius. Through the progression of this plot, Laertes is shown as an individual who acts on passion and disregards reason to investigate the truth of Polonius’s murder.

This contrasts with Hamlet, who is easily distracted by his thoughts and emotions. His resolution to "set it right" (I.v.189), referring to the murder of his father, gradually weakens following the "loss of all his mirth" (II.ii.304), the death of Ophelia and his dialogue with Gertrude. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is made even more obvious by Fortinbras success. In the end, only when he is acting out of character, furious by Laertes betrayal, Claudius' underhandedness and Gertrude's death, is he finally able to succeed, at the cost of his own life. Personally, the most striking example of the difference between Fortinbras and Hamlet occurs when Fortinbras strides into the room at the end of the play to become the King of Denmark, showing the failure of the man who thinks and the success of the man who acted

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,

During a scene in Hamlet, King Claudius attempts to persuade Laertes to seek revenge on Hamlet for murdering Polonius and driving Ophelia to insanity. During their exchange, a messenger delivers a letter from Hamlet that notifies the king of his imminent return to Denmark. Laertes then agrees to duel Hamlet and murder him with a poisoned blade (4.7.25-146). The relationship between revenge and honor and whether or not those two concepts may coexist justifiably is explored throughout the entirety of the play. This particular scene offers its own interpretation of this question by juxtaposing Claudius and Laertes, consequently suggesting that Laertes’ desire to avenge his family is more honorable than Claudius’ violent disregard for his kin.

Hamlet is a character that illustrates throughout the play, one of thoughtfulness, morality and human triumph. He delays enacting revenge against his uncle, the now King of Denmark, for killing his dear father, the former King of Denmark, because he feels as though it is not right and goes against his morals. He is a scholar, in his thirties and has strong spiritual beliefs. Dealing with the concept of murder and his mother having recently remarried to his uncle, is all too much to deal with. Hamlet is not savouring his revenge and feels a sense of inadequacy throughout the play. Paralleling these events is Fortinbras, who also has recently lost his father, King of Norway, slain by Hamlet’s father. These two lives are intertwined with similarities

Revenge. Honor. Those are some of the many things that make the characters in the story of Hamlet tick. There is almost always method to someone’s madness, and there is always a motive behind revenge although it may not be the best option. Sometimes, the man who wants revenge gets so wrapped up in the thought of getting even with a person, they do not realize they are hurting the people around them. It is affecting their lives like poison. Hamlet took the life of an innocent man because he did not stop to think if it was truly Claudius. Instead it was Polonius. Doing this cause his son to avenge his death and restore his family’s name, when Hamlet was just trying to do the same. Then we have young Fortinbras, whose

William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ is characterised as a tragedy, illustrating an abundance of significant themes, with one of the most important ideas being revenge. Revenge is defined as an action of hurting somebody in return for something that has been done unjustly wrong. The main character, Hamlet, continuously reflects on revenge throughout the play, particularly in his soliloquies. Nevertheless, he has been procrastinating, talking about the situation, but not demonstrating it. In an honour code, it displays coward-like qualities. Revenge is effectively represented in ‘Hamlet’, as it allows to develop a strong understanding of human strengths and frailties. This is because it represents the different forms of deceptive plots that result in the situation of death. This is clearly evident in Hamlet’s interaction with his father’s ghost, convincing him to murder Claudius for revenge, which extends into the play that is acted out, proving that he is the murderer of his father. Also, Hamlet’s third and most famous soliloquy provides the reader with a reflection on death in his melancholic state of mind, and Hamlet also refrains from killing Claudius as he is praying and decides to kill him at another time.