Vengeance in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights

Whereas Fortinbras directs his vengeance toward a target outside his family and country, Hamlet's enemy is exposed within the very core of Denmark, his own family.   As a ghost from the grave, King Hamlet returns to reveal to his son that Claudius, the king's very brother caused his death by pouring poison into his ear while he slept.  This earth quaking news is compounded with the recent marriage of now King Claudius to Hamlet's short mourning mother, Gertrude.  If the offenses of treason, parricide murder, and adultery were not enough to incite Hamlet to avenge his father, the ghost gives a fourth reason.  This unexpected death was most untimely for King Hamlet because he had not repented for the sins he had accumulated throughout his life; thus, a sentence of suffering in purgatory withholds his entrance to heaven.  Unlike Prince Fortinbras's goal of seeking retribution by recovering what was lost upon his father's death, the ghost of King Hamlet calls his son to avenge him for deeds and responsibilities that remained even after his life left his body.  For "this most foul, strange, and unnatural"(1.5.29) murder Prince Hamlet pledges to avenge his father by killing his uncle, king, and mother's husband, Claudius, without harming the Queen.

Catherine was bitten and Heathcliff was sent back to Wuthering Heights. According to the Linton’s he was uncivilized and his bad behavior was not accepted in their household. Catherine was accepted into their house and welcomed even though she was not respectful. Luckily for her she knew when to turn it off and not let them see that side of her, but are polite. Thrushcross Grange is actually a house where its members of the Linton family are civilized. The Linton’s are rich and have many luxuries that Catherine is not using to but she wants to become a esteemed lady. Thrushcross is an elegant house that the Linton’s own and love to hang out in the parlor. Later on when Catherine returned home to Wuthering Heights the Linton’s came over but Edgar had spoken to Heathcliff, which was not part of the agreement. Hindley had sent Heathcliff away for his actions with Edgar. Edgar saw how Hindley treated Heathcliff and he was fearful of him. Edgar was fond of Catherine but he was not willing to visit Wuthering Heights because of Mr. Earnshaw. Edgar was eager to marry Catherine and move her to the ThrushCross Grange, which is more lavish then the callous, dreary, and desolate Wuthering

The young prince of Denmark wanders around the streets of the kingdom aimlessly. Disheartened by the sudden death of his father, he falls into a vortex of confusion. He is intelligent yet indecisive. He is Hamlet, the protagonist of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the play, Shakespeare creates characters like Hamlet and Claudius, who carefully craft their plans and strive to actualize their goals. While some take immediate action to control their fates, some remain indecisive and overly concerned about the consequence of their actions. Despite the different paths characters take to approach their targets, none turn out to be successful. Not only do Hamlet and Laertes end up killing each other with their poisoned swords, but Claudius is forced to drink the poisoned wine and accidentally causes the death of Gertrude. By contrasting various characters' outcomes with their intended goals, Shakespeare reveals

Hamlet having discovered the plot against him returns to Denmark to continue his quest. Claudius, devises a scheme whereby Laertes and Hamlet duel. The duel being uneven in that Laertes would have a poisoned foil and should that fail, Claudius would poison Hamlet with wine. Hamlet and Laertes duel and Laertes wounds Hamlet with a poisoned foil which Hamlet in turn seizes and wounds Laertes. The Queen, failing to heed Hamlet’s warning drinks from the

Hamlet ends up getting some points and is offered a drink that had been poisoned in the shape of a pearl, however hamlet declines his offer and after beating laertes his mother, Gertrude, Takes a drink of the poisoned drink and is slowly dying. Shortly after Gertrude drank the poison, Laertes came up behind Hamlet Jr. and scratched him with the tip of the poisoned sword. Laertes and Hamlet both go up the staircase and Hamlet throws Laertes of the platform they had been fighting on. As laertes is dying, he informs Hamlet that it was his father’s idea to poison him and asks Hamlet for forgiveness. Hamlet then throws the fencing sword towards Claudius as he is running away and is Impaled by the sword that had been thrown to him by Hamlet, Then is forced to drink the poisoned drink that he tried to kill hamlet

When evaluating the family problems of a typical middle class American you may find deaths in the family, divorces, money problems, sibling rivalries, and more. In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, all of the above is seen with a topping of vengeance and selfishness. This interesting conflict is caused by the abusive actions of the characters. From relationship to relationship, one character abuses another to get to their way or to get back at another character for their own wrongdoing. Having this occur frequently throughout the novel creates a dumbfounded sort of tone and leaves the reader on the edge of their seat. Throughout the novel Wuthering heights, Emily Bronte emphasizes the characters ' abusive and unhealthy relationships; this is exemplified through repeated vengeant duality, internal and external conflict, and irrational thinking.

    Critics analyze and examine Wuthering Heights to obtain a deeper understanding of the message that Emily Bronte wants to convey. By focusing on the different literary elements of fiction used in the novel, readers are better able to understand how the author successfully uses theme, characters, and setting to create a very controversial novel in which the reader is torn between opposite conditions of love and hate, good and evil, revenge and forgiveness in  Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights. There is no doubt that the use of conflictive characters such as Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff, and Edgar, with their interactions in the two different settings creates an

Heathcliff was the primary character that drove the plot of Wuthering Heights. The novel began and ended with him and his vindictive actions are most important to the progression of the story. He was unique from the other characters in the way that he looked, with “black eyes [withdrawn] so suspiciously under their brows...[and] dirty, ragged, black hair” (Bronte 3, 37). Mr. Earnshaw had generously brought this gipsy boy when he returned from a trip, picking him up from the miserable factory towns occupied by the lower classes in 1840. Earnshaw’s family did not receive this boy well, so Heathcliff was often characterized as a demon, epitomizing the equivocal attitude of the upper class, who at times felt charitable to and at times afraid of the lower class.

Much of the charm and allure of Wuthering Heights stems from Heathcliff, one of the main characters and the destined lover of Catherine Earnshaw. He is passionate and short-tempered, and he is also very prideful of himself despite the fact that he was considered a “dirty, ragged, black-haired child” and a “gipsy brat” (Bronte 37). Heathcliff is insecure as a young boy. At first, Heathcliff believes himself to be inferior to Edgar Linton, a light-skinned, dapper boy that was his rival for Catherine Earnshaw’s love. He wishes that he had “light hair and a fair skin, and was dressed and behaved as well, and had a chance of being as rich as [Edgar Linton] [would] be,” (Bronte 56).

Heathcliff is introduced in Nelly's narration as a seven-year-old Liverpool foundling (probably an Irish famine immigrant) brought back to Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw. His presence in Wuthering Heights overthrows the prevailing habits of the Earnshaw family, members of the family soon become involved in turmoil and fighting and family relationships become spiteful and hateful. Even on his first night, he is the reason Mr. Earnshaw breaks the toys he had bought for his children. "From the very beginning he bred bad feelings in the house". Heathcliff usurps the affections of Mr. Earnshaw to the exclusion of young Hindley-: "The young master had learnt to regard his father as an oppressor rather than a

It is revealed that Hamlet is displeased that his mother married the next King of Denmark within a month of his father’s death. Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo then enter and are greeted by Hamlet. Horatio then starts to explain to Hamlet that they have been spotting a Ghost with a very similar appearance to that of his father. Hamlet knowing this information plans to meet the Ghost in order to get some answers. The next scene is a conversation between Laertes and Ophelia about Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet. Laertes tries to explain to his sister Ophelia that even though Hamlet loves her it might not be possible for the relationship to continue. The reason for this is that Hamlet has responsibilities being the next heir of the throne. Polonius then enters and sends Laertes off for France. Polonius then reinforces what Laertes said when he speaks to his daughter. He then tells Ophelia to try to avoid Hamlet to try to stop the relationship from developing even more. In the next scene Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus go out to try to approach the ghost. As they do this, Hamlet makes a comment about the King’s drinking habit. The Ghost appears before the group and Hamlet recognizes him as his

The description of the setting of Wuthering Heights is described so thoroughly, which emphasizes the gothic tradition in this book. It is 1801 and Mr. Lockwood, a new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, writes in his diary that he has rented a house in the Yorkshire countryside, or New England. After he arrived there, he visits his landlord, Mr. Heathcliff. Heathcliff lives

The social classes in Wuthering Heights are an insight to the society that  Emily Bronte experienced. The British society of 1770 wasn’t accepting of a person with darker features which is reflected in how Heathcliff is treated in the novel. Orphans were also never meant to rise from their station below the servants. This is an insight into why Hindley Earnshaw hated Heathcliff and referred to him as a usurper of his father’s affections. When Hidley became master of Wuthering Heights he returned Heathcliff to his “rightful” place.

Someone having their true lover marry another person whom they do not truly love would be a difficult and undesirable situation. How a person in a similar situation reacts to it, especially in the long term, can reveal a lot about their character. Such is the case with Heathcliff, the main character of Wuthering Heights, a novel written by Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights takes place from the late eighteenth century through the early 1800s (decade) within the two houses of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange and on the land surrounding them (1, 58). The two houses are located in England and are near the village of Gimmerton (1, 102).

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. At first glance, it holds all of the common occurrences in a revenge tragedy which include plotting, ghosts, and madness, but its complexity as a story far transcends its functionality as a revenge tragedy. Revenge tragedies are often closely tied to the real or feigned madness in the play. Hamlet is such a complex revenge tragedy because there truly is a question about the sanity of the main character Prince Hamlet. Interestingly enough, this deepens the psychology of his character and affects the way that the revenge tragedy takes place. An evaluation of Hamlet’s actions and words over the course of the play can be determined to see that his ‘outsider’ outlook on society,