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Revenge and Vengeance - Revenge More Important than Oedipus Complex

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Revenge More Important than Oedipus Complex in Hamlet

A boy's streak of vengeance is not always merely Oedipal. Hamlet's revenge, and the situations that spur it, are not based on his love for his mother, but on the need to avenge his father's death. Although Hamlet is the only one who hears the ghost talk, others experience the sight. This proves that he does not subconsciously create the hallucination in order to rid his mother of her new lover. Once learning that his father was murdered, and that no one witnessed his death, Hamlet feels compelled to punish the killer. Even though the murderer is his mother's new husband, Hamlet acts to avenge his father's death, not out of jealousy for his mother's partner. Hamlet is very
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Although no other character hears the ghost speak, the ghost had a message for Hamlet alone concerning his father. The ghost informs Hamlet that Old Hamlet has been murdered by Claudius and did not die a natural death. Upon learning that his father had been killed, Hamlet becomes inclined to "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder"(I;v;25). Although he dislikes his uncle for marrying his mother so quickly after his father's death, saying that Claudius was "a little more than kin, and less than kind" (I;ii;65), his reasons for plotting to kill him were based purely on avenging his father's murder, not on Hamlet's feelings towards Claudius' new wife.

After learning that his beloved father had been murdered, Hamlet decides to seek revenge against his uncle. All of Denmark has been led to believe that Old Hamlet died a natural death, and, having learned that this was not the case, and that "the serpent that did sting [Hamlet's] father's life now wears his crown"(I;v;38-9), Hamlet begins to plot against Claudius. His reasons for this were not because he was jealous of Claudius for marrying his mother so quickly after his father's death, but because he feels compelled to honour his father, whom he felt was "so excellent a king" (I;ii;139), and punish his killer, his uncle, who was "no more like my father than [Hamlet] to Hercules"(I;ii;152-3). Even before learning that Claudius stole his father's life, Hamlet agrees to
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