Is vengeance really the correct way to solve something? As shown in the story Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the act of vengeance caused much more death than what sparked the feeling in the first place. The use of characters, setting, and resolution help to convey a theme in this play, which is that vengeance should never be the answer to a problem.
The most prominent cause of this theme is in the characters. In Hamlet, three characters are faced with the morality of vengeance: Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras. While Hamlet and Laertes choose to engage in revenge, which eventually causes their demise, Fortinbras instead decides to disregard this feeling and refuses to avenge his father's death. Because of Hamlet's personality, and the final push made by his dead father, Hamlet creates a plan to kill his father's murderer out of revenge. This alone causes so many deaths that could have easily been avoided. Throughout the story, Hamlet's carelessness causes not only Laertes father to be killed, but Laertes sister to die as well. This, along with King Claudius's commitment to kill Hamlet as well (Who also killed Hamlet's father) finally push Laertes to take revenge on Hamlet. However, a prince from another kingdom, who had undergone the murder of his father, refused to enact his revenge and was rewarded well for it. This prince, Fortinbras,
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This play takes place in the kingdom of Elsinore, Denmark and is set sometime in the middle ages. More specifically, Hamlet takes place in and around the royal palace. As the main cast or of royalty, this is a very important factor. The setting also paves the way for the relationship between Hamlet and Fortinbras, prince of a neighboring kingdom. The setting is important in this play, as the characters are of royalty. Had the characters not be of royal status, Claudius would never have intentions of murdering his brother, The King, and father 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
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.
conclusion the King had murdered his father, he planned for revenge, but acting it out came very
Revenge is the great motivator of men and women alike. People are compelled to seek justice for themselves and for the ones they love and many will commit atrocities to achieve their retribution. Revenge, and its role in Hamlet, is established early in the play with the presentation of the character Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway. Fortinbras is introduced as a hot headed, merciless, and revenge obsessed man who is assembling a private army to reclaim the land that his father, the former King of Norway, died for. The theme of revenge is further established in Act I when Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is convinced by the ghost of his father, the former King of Denmark, to avenge his death by killing the man who murdered him, Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and the current King of Denmark. Revenge continuously acts as a major motivating force for the actions of Hamlet and Fortinbras, and even affects Laertes, Hamlet’s old friend. When Laertes’ father is killed by Hamlet, he is convinced that he will find justice for his father by killing Hamlet. Love is the uniting force among these men, they all love their fathers and demand justice for their murder. The theme of revenge in Hamlet by Shakespeare shows how human emotion drives: Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes to commit horrendous acts in the name of “justice”.
Revenge resembles taking action and justice for what is right. Shakespeare is familiar with this concept that is presented in his play, Hamlet. The characters Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes show the willingness to seek revenge on others through the five assumptions of revenge play.
In his play Hamlet, William Shakespeare frequently utilizes the word “revenge” and images associated with this word in order to illustrate the idea that the pursuit of revenge has caused the downfall of many people. He builds up the idea that revenge causes people to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. In Hamlet, Fortinbras, Laertes and Hamlet all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. Hamlet and Laertes manage to avenge their father’s deaths and in doing so, both rely more on their emotions rather than their reasoning, which eventually leads to their downfalls at the end of Hamlet.
“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.
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
Hamlet’s motivation throughout the play is to kill Claudius and avenge his father’s death, so every action he makes works to accomplish that goal. On the other hand, Fortinbras’ motivation toward action does not lie exclusively for the sake of revenge. Fortinbras, like Hamlet or any other proud prince, feels a certain obligation to exact revenge on his father’s killer. However, whatever he decides to do it would not entirely be accepted as revenge because King Hamlet is already dead when the play starts. Although it is unclear if Fortinbras desires to kill Hamlet in the name of his father, killing Hamlet would not be the same as killing his father, the true murderer. Rather than act as if responding to a vendetta, Fortinbras is motivated to restore honor to his father by reclaiming the parcel land in Norway that is seized after King Hamlet kills King Fortinbras.
There is an old saying, "The sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons." When the sons in question are Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras - pivotal characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet - one might wonder how each man's father affects their particular natures - their particular sins. While Hamlet could be considered a story in the vein of Cain and Abel; a jealous man who slays his brother, an allusion which Claudius himself makes during his "prayer" at the climax of the play - "O! my offense is rank, it smells to heaven,/It hath the primal eldest curse upon 't;/A brother's murder! . . ." (III, iii, 36-39) - the greatest sum of miseries in the play are caused by the paths taken by Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras
Avenging a father in Hamlet will kill you Awkwardness and mistakes, if not unashamed ill will, complicate human interactions to the point of eventual suffering, conflict and revenge. From the smallest of grievances to the most despicable actions, we have all found reasons to seek revenge, but even when it is successful, revenge solves nothing, neither the grief nor the loss. Revenge is one of the most important themes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a tragedy that has continuously been adapted since it was first written. In Shakespeare’s play, Fortinbras, Laertes and young Hamlet all seek revenge for the death of their respective fathers. Each of them has their own reasons, but with Hamlet being a tragedy not unlike real life itself, they will all succeed but gain nothing from revenge but death.
Laertes found out about his father's death, and immediately returned home. He confronted the King and accused him of the murder of his father. Claudius told Laertes that Hamlet was responsible for his father's death. He then decides to kill Hamlet to avenge the death of his father. He and Claudius concoct a plot to kill Hamlet.
Revenge is one’s desire to retaliate and get even. Human instincts turn to revenge when loved ones are hurt. But, these misdeeds of taking upon revenge may lead to serious consequences. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet,” Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes’s each show how their desire for revenge unavoidably leads to tragedy. The loss of their loved ones caused these characters in Hamlet to take action. Young Fortinbras has built an army to get back the lands his father lost to King Hamlet and Denmark. His actions can be compared to the measures Hamlet is willing to take upon Claudius. Hamlet wants to kill his uncle, Claudius, for killing his father to gain royalty status. Laertes has the same anger as Hamlet killed Polonius,
In “Hamlet,” he is betrayed by the King of Denmark, his uncle Claudius, who killed his father, the previous King, so he could rule the kingdom and marry the Queen, Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet feels extreme betrayal by his mother as well, who chose to marry Claudius a mere two months after the death of his father. When trying to avenge his father by killing Claudius, Hamlet inadvertently mortally wounds Polonius, the father of his friend Laertes and his girlfriend Ophelia. This act forces Laertes to obtain revenge for his father’s death by killing Hamlet. Hamlet’s father killed the King of Norway during combat. The Prince of Norway, Fortinbras, thus wanted revenge on the entire country of Denmark.
After reading Shakespheres “Hamlet” it was evident that the theme of the play was revenge, which was illustrated throughout the play by the characters actions. Revenge causes the characters in Hamlet to act blindly through anger and emotion, rather than through reason and morals. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye this action is not always the best means to an end which clearly shows at the end of the play. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their fathers, which lead them to do unethical and immoral things which in the end of the play ends Ironic. They all acted on emotion driven by the want for revenge for