Revenge in Hamlet

Shall He Seek Revenge? Jodi Picoult once said the following quote “When you begin a journey of revenge, start by digging two graves: one for your enemy and one for yourself.” Revenge is a word that most people can relate to. It is doing something just to get satisfaction out of an injury or an insult. Revenge originates from the concept of envy. When people want to get back at someone, they act out of anger and seek revenge; this can cause serious damage and hurt others. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet and, The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, both demonstrate act of revenge. Hamlet, the main character wants to plot his revenge by proving who actually killed his uncle, King Claudius. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams seeks her revenge on Elizabeth Proctor, for dismissing her as a servant. In Act 1, Scene 5, Hamlet, the reader can see Hamlet’s first act of revenge into the play. Hamlet's father's ghost, King Hamlet, said that his own brother, King Claudius, had poisoned and killed him. During Hamlet and the ghost's conversation, Hamlet said, "Haste me to know't that I wingmay sweep to my revenge." (I, v, 34-35). Hamlet learned from another source that Claudius might have killed his father; Hamlet wanted to be sure that Claudius did murder him. Hamlet did not want to spill innocent blood.
Abigail Williams, in the play The Crucible, demonstrated her revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams; Elizabeth Proctor dismissed Abigail as their servant. Abigail could no longer have John Proctor, and she started to plot her revenge on Elizabeth. Abigail gave Elizabeth Proctor a puppet that had a needle in it, resulting in Abigail stabbing herself in the stomach. Abigail knew she had to get Elizabeth out of her way, so she could return to John. The only way to get revenge on Elizabeth was to accuse her of witchcraft, which would result in Elizabeth either going to hang at the gallows or being jailed. When Elizabeth found