Revenge in Hamlet

By definition; revenge can be termed as the act of doing harm, inflicting pain or destroying something of value to someone else as a retaliatory measure for whatever they wrong they had previously done to you. It is considered an emotion-driven reaction as opposed to a rational calculation. Therefore, in most cases, revenge ends up being more disastrous than it was initially intended as the person seeking revenge is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. James E in Shakespeare's Sense of Character highlights that the Author “Shakespeare uses revenge as one of the major themes that in his work. ” It plays a major role in character shaping for characters such as Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes. From this observation, there is a suspicion of foul play. Dunne and Derek in their book Shakespeare, Revenge Tragedy and Early Modern Law bring out prospectively the death of Hamlet’s father.

The ghost of Hamlet’s father complains about how he is unable to rest because he was murdered. By so doing, the ghost of his father asks him to find and avenge the person who was responsible for his murder. The ghost narrates to Hamlet on how he was murdered by the king Claudius. However, upon discovery of their plot, he arranges for the hanging of both of them. In the process, Ophelia drowns due to singing sad songs mourning the death of her father (Bowers 34). In his fight with Laertes, Hamlet succeeds in revenging the death of his father by stabbing Claudius with a poisoned arrow dropped by Laertes during the fence fight. This comes after Laertes explains the part Claudius play in a joint plot with Laertes to kill Hamlet.

He, therefore, succeeds in avenging the death of his father but under different circumstances. However, his revenge mission is not entirely successful as he ends up being killed too in the process by the same poisoned sword that he had intended to use to destroy Hamlet. In their fight, Laertes drops the poisoned sword, which Hamlet uses to stab him with. However, before his death, he has succeeded in also getting to stab Hamlet with the same poisoned sword and thereby achieving a significant feat in his quest to avenge the death of his father. Knutson in his work the Shakespeare Studies highlights that Laertes in his final moments “is filled with regret and guilt for pursuing the revenge mission” after Hamlet apologizes for killing his father. The fruits of his mission are too short-lived as he dies even before the person who he sought revenge on.

Horatio a very good friend or Hamlet is the first to mention the intentions of Fortinbras in the first act to Hamlet. Fortinbras believes in going for what is rightfully his. As a young prince whose backline story is almost similar to that of Hamlet. However, he takes a different approach strategy towards avenging his father’s death. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras are princes whose uncles have taken kingship, which is supposed to be rightfully theirs. Shakespeare’s skill of characterization helps to bring out the human nature that drives people towards seeking revenge. He succeeds in showing how different approaches towards a certain specific goal could easily lead to different outcomes as opposed to what was initially intended or in other instances lead to success. Works cited Berg, James E.

Wopsle’s Revenge, or, Reading Hamlet as Character in Great Expectations. “Shakespeare’s Sense of Character. Shakespeare Studies 45 (2017): 237-242. Martin, Mathew R. “These were spectacles to please my soul”: Inventive Violence in the Renaissance Revenge Tragedy. Staging Pain, 1580–1800. Routledge, 2016.