In the play “Hamlet,” by William Shakespeare, the main theme is that followed through plans of revenge lead to tragedy. Throughout the play, several different people want revenge on somebody. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, wants revenge on the current King of his country, his uncle, who killed Hamlet’s father, the original King, in order to take the crown and marry the Queen. When trying to revenge his father by killing his Uncle, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, the father of one of his best friends Laertes. In turn, Laertes wants to revenge his father’s death by killing Hamlet. Hamlet’s father’s arch nemesis, the King of Norway, was killed by Hamlet’s father in battle. The King of Norway’s son, prince of Norway, Fortinbras, therefore wanted revenge on Denmark. As the play begins, Hamlet is in a grieving period over the death of his father. What makes it worse is that only a few weeks after the horrible and untimely death, Hamlet’s mother, the Queen of Denmark, remarries Hamlet’s uncle, the deceased King’s brother. “Thrift Thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables,” Hamlet exclaimed to his best friend Horatio. The funeral of his father and the w
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is widely considered to be Shakespeare’s finest work. Hamlet is a confused young man beset by the conflicting demands made upon him by his religion, his sexual desires, his desire for revenge and a his oedipal desire for his mother.
Prince Hamlet is an inept character, forced into circumstances beyond his capacity. His father, the King Hamlet has recently died and his uncle Claudius has ascended the throne marrying his widowed mother, the queen Gertrude. Hamlet continuously displays an oedipal jealousy towards his step-father, calling him a satyr (a symbol of male sexuality and hedonism) (Pliskin and Just).
Hamlet (Revenge) Categories: Shakespeare
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Hamlet's Revenge
Revenge is a major theme in the Tragedy of Hamlet. Revenge causes one to act blindly through anger, rather than through reason. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye, but this principle is not always an intelligent theory to live by. Young Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their fathers. There were three major families in the Tragedy of Hamlet. These were the family of King Fortinbras, the family of Polonius, and the family of King Hamlet. The heads of each of these families are all slaughtered within the play. Fortinbras, King of Norway, was killed by King Hamlet; slain by sword during a man to man battle. Our valiant Hamlet-for so this side of our known world esteemed him-did slay this Fortinbras. This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was written in a sealed compact. Polonius was an advisor to the King, and father to Laertes and Ophelia. He was nosy and arrogant, and he did not trust his children. He was killed by Young Hamlet while he was eves dropping on a conversation between Hamlet and his mother. How now! A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead! King Hamlet was the King of Denmark, and Hamlet's father. He had killed King Fortinbras, only to be killed by his brother, Claudius.My offense is rank, it smells to heaven; A brother's murderа Each of these events effected the sons of the deceased in the same way, it enraged them. Every one of the three eldest sons had one thing in common, they all wanted revenge for a slaughtered father. In the time in which this play is set, avenging the murder of a father was part of one's honor, and had to be done. All of the three sons swore vengeance, and then acted towards getting revenge for the deaths of their fathers. Young Fortinbras was deeply enraged by the death of his father, and he wanted revenge against Denmark because of this occurrence. Fortinbras wanted to, by force, regain the lands that had been lost by his father
