Revenge By William Shakespeare 's Hamlet, And Sophocles ' Antigone

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.

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 best revenge is to not become like the one who wronged you,” said Marcus Aurelius. Revenge shows an evil part of someone that may not be captured at one’s first glance. Something that must be avoided for its immense toxicity. “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allan tells a chilling story about how a man Montresor takes revenge on Fortunato for some unknown reason. The essay “Of Revenge” written by Sir Francis Bacon shows the flaws of revenge and how revenge only causes more harm than justice. When a person is wronged, it is not acceptable for that person to take revenge. Revenge is wrong because it hurts that person even more than what that person currently is. “This is certain, that a man consumed with a desire for revenge keeps

Revenge as a theme is cleverly built upon throughout Hamlet; with it being the driving force behind three of the key characters in the play. Revenge is a frighteningly vicious emotion, which causes people to act blindly and without reason. In Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor enacts revenge for reasons unknown. Hamlet in contrast, has all the motive in the world to complete his task; yet he constantly hesitates. The text reveals that the need for revenge creates a stranglehold on the genuine emotions, thoughts, and actions of three characters: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Laertes; son of Polonius, and Fortinbras; Prince of Norway. This hold makes the characters act beyond their standard ethical positions and makes them helpless to

Revenge is a very common theme amongst literature. Revenge is a tricky game that is often played in most pieces of literature. Two of the most famous pieces of literature that are frequently related to, in regards of revenge, are Homer’s The Odyssey and Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The protagonists in The Odyssey and Hamlet both use deception to achieve revenge against those who have wronged them. Though, both ideas of revenge were sought out in different situations. However, the way they go about these deceptions differentiate Odysseus and Hamlet. While there are similarities, such as unfathomable length and overall development, the alterations begin with the two mindsets of the authors.

Revenge has caused the downfall of many a person. Its consuming nature causes one to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. Revenge is an emotion easily rationalized; one turn deserves another. However, this is a very dangerous theory to live by. Throughout Hamlet, revenge is a dominant theme. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. But in so doing, all three rely more on emotion than thought, and take a very big gamble, a gamble which eventually leads to the downfall and death of all but one of them. King Fortinbras was slain by King Hamlet in a sword battle. This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was written in a seal 'd compact. "…our valiant Hamlet-for so this side of our known world esteem 'd him-did slay this Fortinbras." Young Fortinbras was enraged by his father’s murder and sought revenge against Denmark. He wanted to reclaim the land that had been lost to Denmark when his father was killed. "…Now sir, young Fortinbras…as it doth well appear unto our state-but to recover of us, by strong hand and terms compulsative, those foresaid lands so by his father lost…" Claudius becomes aware of Fortinbras’ plans, and in an evasive move, sends a message to the new King of Norway, Fortinbras’ uncle.

In both William Shakespeare’s texts Romeo and Juliet and Othello, revenge is a theme that emerges because of mistrust when Romeo kills Tybalt, Othello kills Desdemona, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. The first conflict that causes tragic

Revenge can be a primitive justice. Paying someone back for their harmful actions can feel quite rewarding at times. In Edgar Allan Poe’s spine-chilling tale, Poe creates a mood of suspense and horror to accompany his theme of revenge.

Have you ever been hurt so badly that you want to hurt the person back? This little feeling is the need for revenge. Most people have this need. However, this is one of the human instincts that are not going to help you in the end. Hurting someone not only has the potential of hurting you in return, but the relationship that you have with the person will forever be hurt as well. We see this prominently in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet as many people feel the pain of their actions. Therefore, In Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, the violent and serious consequences of instigating a fight or altercation prove that revenge always hurts the doer more than the receiver.

Throughout history, revenge has stood out as a primal human instinct that has fueled terrible deeds. Though, it often leads one to perform criminal acts, Howard argues that it is a necessary component in the functioning of society. He points out that revenge is a threat that acts as a disincentive to undeserved violence. Revenge is an emotion that has not only consumed many, it has been simplified that in all fairness one turn deserves another. However, Shakespeare's Hamlet questions the effectiveness of revenge as a deterrent, as it is an emotion that consumes Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes and leads to the deaths of all, but one of them.

One example of Hamlets revenge being delayed is having to deal with his mother’s ‘desire’. After being sent away to school in England, Hamlet comes back to Denmark. Only to find that his father has been murdered, and his mother has remarried to Claudius. In the event that Gertrude (Hamlets Mother) has remarried. Hamlets believes that she has no grieve over his father’s death. He then comes into conclusion that she is being an accomplice after he says “A bloody deed? Almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king and marry with his brother.”(Shakespeare 1765) However, Gertrude has no idea what he is talking about. In addition, Hamlet feel that his mother should be grieving in pain, but since she shows no emotion. It leads to him think bad about

The Shakespearean play of Hamlet does have enduring appeal among all audiences regardless of time and culture. This due to the fact that Shakespeare generally tends to display themes in a complex manner and Hamlet is no exception. The main contribution to Hamlet’s Appeal is the fact that the theme of revenge was handled in an effective way. Although multiple forms of media portray a revenge plot, Shakespeare indulges the audience with a revenge plot that is complex and doesn’t revolve around the loss of humanity of the protagonist.

Throughout history, revenge, or vengeance, has been altered by several cultures and even the American culture. This is shown throughout many ancient greek epics. Throughout these two epics, what is just revenge and what the action of revenge is are much different than what Revenge is seen through today’s society. Revenge is the main theme in The Iliad, with Achilles’ revenge on Agamemnon and Hector, and in The Odyssey, with Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus and Odysseus’s revenge on the Suitors, and these epics define how revenge was seen in the ancient Greek world.

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 tragedy was a popular genre of drama in the late 16th and 17th centuries in England. People at this time enjoyed the blood and gore filled story lines typically featured in revenge tragedies. Revenge tragedies in there very basic plots contain the quest for vengeance, where carnage, madness, death of a loved one and mutilation are the very basic conventions which we expect to come across when we are reading a piece of this popular genre. Both the Spanish Tragedy and Hamlet are well known revenge tragedies following the same story