Hamlet and Revenge

Theme Hamlet: Revenge

Revenge causes one to act blindly through anger. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses revenge as the key theme for the play. Revenge starts as anger as we see in act 1 where Hamlet is encouraged to take vengeance on his father’s murder, and so forth throughout the play. It is through revenge that ultimately leads to Hamlet’s and Laerte’s very own death along with the death of other prominent characters.

The play is introduced by the site of the ghost of Hamlet’s father in the first scene, which automatically gives the impression that something is wrong. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Act1 Scene 4 Line 90). The ghost emerges before Hamlet and indicates that his death was not as innocent as it may seem. The ghost urges Hamlet to “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Act1 Scene 5 Line25) and informs him that “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown “(Act1 Scene5 Line 38). This appears to indicate that Hamlet’s father’s death was actually murder, and that the deed was committed by King Hamlet’s brother, Claudius.   The Ghost taunts Hamlet, telling him that it is part of every man’s honor to avenge his death. Hamlet then becomes filled with anger after he agrees to avenge his father’s death. This is the beginning of a nasty phase of hatred, death, and revenge that ultimately devastates key character’s lives.

Soon after Claudius marries Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, Hamlet fakes madness as a strategy to hide his attempts to avenge his father’s death and to bring him closer to Claudius. One of the first things Hamlet does in his effort to prove Claudius’ guilt was a recreation about a similar scenario as the one that had occurred when Hamlet’s father was murdered. Hamlet was waiting for a reaction from Claudius that would prove the ghost’s message. 

Following the King’s outburst after watching the performance, Hamlet confronted his mother and began to insult her unfaithfulness to her dead... [continues]

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