Essay On Revenge In Hamlet - 723 Words

Hamlet essay â€Å"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth† is a widely known statement referring to revenge, though many don’t know the origins of the saying. The thing is, however, is it truly that simple? Or does revenge cause more problems than it solves? In the case of the play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare in the sixteenth century, it could be argued that it changes the way that people would look at revenge and put a spotlight on its complexities. In Hamlets quest for revenge for his father’s death, not only does he accidentally kill Laertes father, causing Laerates to set off on his own journey for revenge; but he leads the woman he loves, Ophelia, into madness due to the death of her father before she sequentially takes her own†¦show more content†¦Ophelia is caught between the Hamlet that she loved, and the one before her. Both her father and brother believe Hamlets infatuation for Ophelia to be impure; that he plans to steal her virginity w ith the promise of marriage, only to leave her alone, and without options for suitable marriage. This is what motivates Polonius to spy on Hamlet, and with the help of Claudius he finds himself in the queens chambers in order to eavesdrop on Hamlets conversation with his mother. Polonius inevitably meets his end, propelling Ophelia into her own bout of insanity that ends with her taking her own life. By killing Polonius, as well as being part of the reason behind Ophelias lunacy, not only has Hamlet essentially killed two innocents in his perusal of revenge; but has labelled a target on his back. Similar to that of Hamlet himself, Laertes does not simply accept the knowledge of his fathers murder, but seeks vengeance. Alongside Claudius, who has his own motivations, Laertes concocts a plan to kill Hamlet in his crusade for retribution. He decides to challenge Hamlet to a duel in fencing wielding a poisoned sword, where just the breaking of the skin will lead to death. Claudius provides a backup plan, wherein the case Hamlet bests Laertes, in celebration he will offer him a chalice filled with poisoned wine in celebration. Their plan is essentially a success, if one only considers the fact that Hamlet does get stabbed by the poisoned sword.Show MoreRelatedEssay on Revenge in Hamlet912 Words   |  4 Pageslanguage. Shakespeare wrote hundreds of pieces, from sonnets to plays. Hamlet is one of his most well-known plays. There isn’t any shortage of revenge in Hamlet, and so that is the theme we’ll be discussing. Hamlet and Laertes are the most obvious character with revenge in their minds, and that’s who we’ll be focusing on throughout the essay. Two months before the beginning of the play, the King Hamlet dies. The King shows himself to two guards, Barnardo and Francisco, atRead MoreDefine Revenge in Hamlet Essays1219 Words   |  5 Pages Revenge is one’s desire to retaliate and get even. Human instincts turn to revenge when loved ones are hurt. But, these misdeeds of taking upon revenge may lead to serious consequences. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy â€Å"Hamlet,† Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes’s each show how their desire for revenge unavoidably leads to tragedy. The loss of their loved ones caused these characters in Hamlet to take action. Young Fortinbras has built an army to get back the lands his father lost to King Hamlet andRead MoreRevenge In Hamlet Essay1900 Words   |  8 PagesHamlet is visited by his father’s ghost who ultimately gives him the task of enacting revenge upon Claudius, but because of his suppressed resentment he clashes with the idea of achieving retribution for his father. In addition â€Å"Sigmund Freud, in a letter to Wilhelm F liess, announced that he had found in his own development all the symptoms of the Oedipus complex and that he was coming to consider â€Å"love of the mother and jealousy of the father† (Faber pg. 79). Hamlets impulsive actions seem to beRead MoreRevenge in Hamlet Essay1152 Words   |  5 PagesIn his play Hamlet, William Shakespeare frequently utilizes the word â€Å"revenge† and images associated with this word in order to illustrate the idea that the pursuit of revenge has caused the downfall of many people. He builds up the idea that revenge causes people to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. In Hamlet, Fortinbras, Laertes and Hamlet all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. Hamlet and Laertes manage to avenge their father’s deaths and in doing so, both rely more on theirRead MoreEssay on Revenge in Hamlet892 Words   |  4 PagesRevenge in Hamlet    It is natural human instinct for a son to feel offended over the death of his father.   So is the instance of the two young princes, both spurned by the sudden death of King Hamlet toward destinies of avenging fallen fathers, which emerge to permit comparisons in Shakespeares great tragedy Hamlet.   In the first act of the play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, both are fatherless heirs whose uncles occupy the throne of their respected countriesRead More Revenge In Hamlet Essay1109 Words   |  5 Pages Hamlet nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Hamlet is a classic example of a tragedy as Hamlet suffers while trying to avenge his fathers death and eventually dies at the end while attempting to do so. Hamlet feels empty without resolution to his fatheramp;#8217;s death and since there is no justice system that is going to reveal the truth about his fatheramp;#8217;s death, he must take it into his own hands. Hamlet delays killing Claudius for a long time after the ghost appears. Hamlet delays hisRead MoreEssay On Revenge In Hamlet1526 Words   |  7 PagesThe Fate of a Prince Revenge. Honor. Those are some of the many things that make the characters in the story of Hamlet tick. There is almost always method to someone’s madness, and there is always a motive behind revenge although it may not be the best option. Sometimes, the man who wants revenge gets so wrapped up in the thought of getting even with a person, they do not realize they are hurting the people around them. It is affecting their lives like poison. Hamlet took the life of an innocentRead MoreHamlet- A Revenge Tragedy Essay705 Words   |  3 Pages Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. At first glance, it holds all of the common occurrences in a revenge tragedy which include plotting, ghosts, and madness, but its complexity as a story far transcends its functionality as a revenge tragedy. Revenge tragedies are often closely tied to the real or feigned madness in the play. Hamlet is such a complex revenge tragedy because there truly is a question about the sanity of the main character Prince Hamlet. Interestingly enoughRead MoreRevenge Conventions In Hamlet Essay1182 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare that very closely follows the dramatic conventions of revenge in Elizabethan theater. All revenge tragedies originally stemmed from the Greeks, who wrote and performed the first plays. After the Greeks came Seneca who was very influential to all Elizabethan tragedy writers. Seneca who was Roman, basically set all of the ideas and the norms for all revenge play write rs in the Renaissance era including William Shakespeare. The two most famous EnglishRead MoreEssay on Revenge and Vengeance in Shakespeares Hamlet1913 Words   |  8 Pages     Ã‚   Speculation about whether the Shakespearean drama Hamlet satisfies the requirements of an Elizabethan revenge tragedy is discussed in this paper, with considerable critical commentary. Richard A. Lanham in â€Å"Superposed Plays† comments on the lesser revenge tragedy within the greater revenge tragedy of Hamlet: Now there is no doubt about how to read the Laertes play: straight revenge tragedy, to be taken – as I’ve tried to imply in my summary – without solemnity. We are to enjoy the