Revenge In Hamlet And Medea

Hamlet really wanted the revenge on Claudius but was really on the fence of what to actually do to follow through with then plan. Claudius was brave to feel so free, as Hamlet had opportunities to take advantage of him and had plenty of hate towards him for more than one reason. The action Hamlet may want and outcome of it, may be completely different as to what his father would do or like him to do.

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.

In Medea, Medea finds out that Jason is leaving her for someone better than her to gain power. She is an emotional wreck due to Jason’s betrayal because she has sacrificed so much for him. She even went out of her way and killed her own father and brother for the love between her and Jason. Now that Jason is abandoning Medea for another woman when she has abandoned her family, country, and home for him, Medea is fierce. Medea seeked revenge on her husband whom she loved so much by killing his new bride, Glauce and her children she had with Jason. Medea states in lines 1238- 1247, “I must kill the children quickly and be gone. They must die, in any case, and as they must it is I, who gave them life, must kill them. Let there be no weakness now, no tender memories of their birth, of them as babies…”.(pg. 66) Medea’s children were the product of her and Jason’s love which symbolized the marriage they once had, so Medea killing her sons represented their marriage coming to an end. Killing her children will also hurt Jason which was Medea’s ultimate goal and revenge for hurting her. Similarly, in

From the beginning of the play the conflict between good and bad where Medea and Jason are concerned has been ambiguous. Both characters have done terrible things in order to attain what they want. Nothing could stand in the way of them including Medea’s father, whom Medea betrayed and to pile on the grieve she kills her brother and drops parts of him into the sea so as to delay her father thereby ensuring that Jason and his Argonauts could fulfil their quest to attain the Golden Fleece. When Jason betrays Medea and walks away from their marriage we immediately identify him as the villain, yet the reader fails to understand that during that time when this play was written it was still socially acceptable for the man to walk away from his marriage provided he gives back the dowry he attained from the wife’s father. In this case Medea did not bring any such items so it was even easier for him to leave her so as to empower himself. It was Medea’s role as a woman belonging to that age to accept Jason’s decision however she feels betrayed that he would break a vow made in front of the gods, and apparently she was not a regular woman even by the standards of that time as she had an intellect that could rival that of scholarly men. So to exact her revenge she destroys everything Jason loves leaving him to regret ever betraying the marriage.

Revenge is a dynamic force on Hamlet that continuously changes Hamlet throughout the play as he becomes more consumed by his obsession with attaining justice for his father.

Revenge is a kind of wild justice. Throughout many texts, the notion of justice has been debated on whether it is an act that vindicates those who have been wronged or an excuse to pursue revenge. Through Medea, Medea’s actions have been judged and criticised whether her murders are an act of justice that she deserves or simply the idea of inflicting pain on those she loathes.

Her revenge was called “’almost a poetic gesture. She kills her kids after (Jason's) done all this, it kind of makes sense,’" in an article by Steve Bornfeld. In the design of the show, I wanted to create a world that absolutely made sense. I wanted the audience to feel the echo of the old cliché that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. In our current times, it becomes more and more obvious we still have have not learned from Medea. Medea, to me, wasn’t a woman to be over- sensationalized or set aside as strange. Medea is a cycle, repeating herself generation after generation, who required a timeless and realistic world to spiral downward in, and I strived to give it to her. As long as women find themselves losing control in life and making their children into their victims, Medea will have a practical and current necessity which makes her almost commonplace, which is echoed in every aspect of my production design, from the set and lights to the costuming

The three heroines of the plays have reasons for their actions and doing what they do, so it can be explained why they are in the right. Their crimes in Greek culture include Medea killing her children, Antigone burying her brother while disobeying a ruler, and Lysistrata condemning sex from men in war of their wives. Medea is the wife of Jason, who she has supported all through her life by killing her brother, betraying her father, and making her own homeland hate her. All of this for the benefit of her husband, giving him fame and success.

When Medea's quest for revenge leads her to slaughter innocent beings, and some call her justified, but there are many reasons why this is not the case. Those who believe Medea was just in her murders agree that Medea was betrayed by Jason in his breaking of marriage oaths, and in order to bring justice, feels the need to bring suffering to him. Kim Zarins refers to Medea as ¨a victim of Jason's false love¨ (Zarins 2) Medea loved him so passionately and then hated him so much that she was unaware of except her desire for vengeance. David Allsop said,¨ Medea's love of Jason stems from an oath made in the Argonautica, 'in our lawful marriage-chamber

Medea is a tragedy of a woman betrayed by her husband Jason and bent on revenge to the extreme of killing her own sons. Medea as the the main character we see her perspective on the story as to where she is the one being betrayed and view her actions before and following that. Medea feels betrayed by Jason, for him wanting a new woman and she lets the jealousy consume her. Medea bent on revenge so furiously that she will go to no extent to pursue what she feels just. First, she was angry, then cold and conniving.

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

Medea was a troubled soul once Jason left her for a younger princess. When the nurse says “Rulers are fierce in their temperament; somehow, they will not be governed;”, it rings very true of Medea (Puchner 531). Someone so accustomed to getting her way will by no means let anyone, including her beloved Jason, treat her with any disrespect. She not only felt dejected by Jason, but she felt she could do nothing to change her circumstance but take out deadly vengeance against those that committed such a hiatus act towards her. With all things considered, Medea felt Jason took everything from her when he left. Jason became her everything. When she

The death of Hamlet’s father and his mother remarrying two months after his father’s death are two scenarios that instill revenge into Hamlet’s brain. Throughout the play, the readers see how Hamlet’s personality and mental state evolves while revenge is still on his mind. Hamlet rationally thinks about revenge and the consequences to come by contemplating killing Claudius for a great amount of the play. Ever since Hamlet discovered that Claudius killed his father by pouring poison down his ear, Hamlet became obsessed with the idea of death and revenge. King Hamlet encourages Prince Hamlet to take action immediately against Claudius and ultimately leaves it up to Hamlet to figure out the revenge plan (1.5.7-41). Hamlet solely focuses on getting revenge even if it is the last thing he does. Because King Hamlet left his fate up to his son, Hamlet had to make complicated decisions on his own, which altered his mental state as the play progressed. Shakespeare tactically builds up the beginning of Hamlet, only to have Hamlet question the authenticity later in the play, which is where his paranoia begins. In the article “Revenge and Vengeance in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: A Study of Hamlet’s Pursuit and Procrastination Regarding Revenge,” the author, Haque, states that “Hamlet was actually considered to be an indecisive person who always used to think much but act too little,” meaning that the conversation with the ghost telling him to get revenge would not be the only time Hamlet was indecisive, which delayed his revenge process. The readers see that Hamlet is eager planning the revenge on Claudius, but when the time comes, Hamlet is unable to

To begin with, the exploration of human strengths and frailties in Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ provides a strong understanding of the complex nature of revenge, because Hamlet is determined to kill Claudius, which is the main reason for his father’s death. This is the most pivotal moment at the end of Act 1 because it leads Hamlet into insanity because it’s his primary mode of interacting with other people later in the play. The idea is used by Shakespeare to further develop Hamlet’s character because the concept of sin must be returned with punishment because Claudius has committed a sin on his father. The quote “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,” is used as a motif on the centre of honesty, as it explores the fact that Hamlet would do something for his father if they had a close relationship. He is rather keen to undertake this task so that he can get revenge on Claudius. “With wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love may sweep to my revenge,” uses a simile to express Hamlet’s determination