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Essay On The Struggle For Revenge In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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Essay On The Struggle For Revenge In Shakespeare's Hamlet
Throughout the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, various characters seek for revenge, including protagonist, prince Hamlet. While he seeks for revenge for his father since his uncle disgracefully killed him, Hamlet murders Polonius, the father of his friend, Laertes, causing an avengeful domino effect. Hamlet has to face many obstacles, including his own indecisive mind, to take action for his father and the revenge obligations of Laertes and Polonius parallel the plot. Hamlet is cursed by the ghost of his father coming back and haunt him by dictating Hamlet to avenge his horrible murder. Since he is naturally both a thinker and a reasoner, Hamlet questions whether the ghost is really his father. The self-examination causes a delay in Hamlet’s avenge-seeking plans. Moreover, Hamlet displays signs of depression since his mother did not mourn her husband’s death for very long before remarrying, ironically to her husband’s murderer. The ethical concerns of Hamlet are obvious when the queen tells Hamlet: "If it be, why seems it so particular with thee?" (Hamlet 1.2. 76) Hamlet disputes Gertrude’s charge that he is being hypocritical, "Seems, madam? Nay, it is, I know not ‘seems’…" …show more content…
Shakespeare crafts the play so Laertes can have an illogical need and desire for revenge. Laertes is determined to make Hamlet pay: “I am satisfied in nature, / Whose motive in this case should stir me most / To my revenge". Laertes’s need for revenge indicates his desire for closure and his wish to find inner peace. Laertes believes that the solace he desires will come through revenge: "But in my terms of honor / I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement / Till by some elder masters of known honor / I have a voice and precedent of peace.” Again, this demonstrates the need for closure and shows the reasoning behind Laertes’s thirst for justice, reinforcing Shakespeare’s theme of
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