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Hamlet Research Paper

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The Revenge Amongst the Characters of Hamlet
"But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn No traveler returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have, Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought"(Shakespeare pg.124). Revenge causes one to act blindly through anger, rather than through reason. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye, but this principle is not always an intelligent theory to live by. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their fathers. They all act on emotion, and this leads to the …show more content…

"This is the use of Fortinbras expressing his anger but not using it in a way which could harm his country, and compensating by allowing him to express himself" (Bloom pg 49). Fortinbras' uncle may have saved his life right there because he very well could have been killed in his attack against Denmark this also saves a lot of heartache between the two countries. This also shows that Fortinbras is a very strong character, he assembles his army he gets ready to avenge his father but when he is told to think twice, he does. Oooh, Ahhh, is heard while the watchmen are at point. They look for the strange sound and nothing is thought of it except that it was a ghost. Marcellus one of guards hints that this may reveal something very big as he states, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (Shakespeare pg 124). Although deeply sorrowed by his father's death, Hamlet did not consider payback as an option until he meets with the lost of his father. His ghost tells him that he has been killed unjustly and with his rights still on his soul. "One moment he pretends he is too cowardly to perform the deed, at another he questions the truthfulness of the ghost" (McConnell pg 157). The ghost then tells Hamlet, "to revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (Shakespeare pg.124). However, upon his father's command, Hamlet reluctantly swears to retaliate against Claudius. Hamlet does this not because he wants to,

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