Revenge in Hamlet

Revenge in Hamlet
Hamlet has many themes and characters that depict many aspects of human
nature.
Perhaps the most important of those aspects is the impulse to seek out
revenge and the different effects it can have.
Shakespeare emphasizes the distinctive characteristics and actions of Hamlet,
Laertes and Fortinbras, each of whom share a mutual purpose: to seek
vengeance for the murder of their father. Though their situations are essentially
the same, each man reacts in a different manner from the others. In this
respect, Laertes and Fortinbras, who react swiftly and decisively at the news of
their fathers murders, serve as a contrast to the procrastinating Hamlet.
Thesis statement: Shakespeare explores the theme of revenge, revealing
how the human complexity can affect its outcome through the characters of
Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras.
Hamlet:
Hamlets reaction to his fathers murder and his subsequent plan for revenge
has can be seen in two different ways:
Hamlets lack of action after learning of his fathers murder is due to his
desire to validate the ghosts allegations
Hamlets delayed action is nothing more than procrastination, which is

caused by his desire to overanalyse his situation.
Either way, it cannot be denied that Hamlets course of action unfolds

slowly and involves a great deal of cunning, yet lacks execution. In fact,
Hamlet spends the majority of the play simply trying to determine his
uncles guilt beyond an arguably unnecessary degree of doubt, and the
lengths he goes to in order to convince himself is remarkable. In Act I, scene
v, for example, we learn that Hamlet plans to put on an antic disposition so
he can act in secrecy to determine whether or not the ghosts claims are
true. This feigned madness is apparent in Hamlets conversations with other
characters, especially Polonius. In Act II, scene ii, Polonius attempts to
converse with Hamlet, but Hamlet acts strange and mocks him. When
Polonius asks Hamlet if he knows him, Hamlet replies: Excellent well. You
are a fishmonger. Hamlet continues to feign madness throughout the play
as he investigates Claudius guilt.
Besides feigning madness, Hamlet goes to even further lengths. When
he learns that players have arrived to perform before the court, Hamlet seizes
his opportunity and pulls aside one of the players:
HAMLET Dost thou hear me, old friend? Can you play The Murder of Ganzago?
FIRST PLAYER Ay, my lord.
HAMLET Well hat tomorrow night. You could, for a need, study a speech of
some dozen or sixteen lines which I would set down and insert int, could you
not?
FIRST PLAYER Ay, my lord.
(Act II, scene ii)
Hamlet goes on to say that he plans to have these players play something like
the murder of my father before mine uncle. In so doing, Hamlet hopes to
gauge Claudius reaction. When the play is later enacted and Claudius leaves
the room, Hamlet has the proof he was looking for (Act III, Scene ii).
Yet, even with this proof, and even when he is provided with an opportunity to
kill Claudius when he finds him alone in prayer, he does not act (Act III, scene
iii). In fact, Hamlet himself later acknowledges his lack of action when he sees
Fortinbras army march past:
[] How stand I, then,
That have a father killed, a mother stained,
[] while to my shame I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men
That for a fantasy and trick of fame
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Wherein the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain? Oh, from this time forth
My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!
(Act IV, scene iv)
When Hamlet finally does enact his revenge in the final scene, he does so only
because he knows he will die, and because it is his last chance. Hamlet, who
agonizes, deliberates, and then acts at the last minute, is at one end of the
spectrum.
Laertes:
While Hamlet takes the length of the play to act, Laertes,
upon hearing of his fathers murder, reacts swiftly and recklessly. He returns to
Elsinore with a mob, threatening to overthrow Claudius if he does not produce

his father and explain his murder (Act IV, scene v). When Claudius tells Laertes
that Hamlet is responsible, Laertes swears he will have his revenge. He
questions nothing, and immediately agrees to take part in the Kings plan to kill
Hamlet. He conspires with the King to challenge Hamlet to a fencing match,
where Laertes will kill Hamlet with a poison-tipped rapier. For good measure,
Claudius also arranges to have a cup filled with poison ready for Hamlet, should
Laertes weapon fail to achieve its desired effect. The play comes to a terrible
end when the Queen mistakenly drinks from the poison-filled cup, and Laertes,
Hamlet, and Claudius are both wounded by the deadly rapier. Hamlets delayed
reaction to hearing of his fathers murder, coupled with Laertes rash actions
after learning of his own fathers death, eventually lead to the downfall of
everyone involved.
remarkable and vivid portrayal of the king 's ingenious villainy. With crafty
skill he forms and fashions Laertes to his nefarious will, as clay in a
potter's hands
Fortinbras: While Hamlet and Laertes are at opposing ends of the spectrum,
Fortinbras is in the middle. When Fortinbras father is killed by King Hamlet, his
reaction was neither delayed nor reckless. In contrast to Hamlets
procrastination and Laertes rashness, Fortinbras reacts rationally. Rather than
excessively contemplating his circumstances or acting on impulse, he calmly
and deliberately forms a proactive plan to avenge his fathers death and
reclaim his lands. He amasses an army, and arranges plans to have that army
march to Denmark. He arrives, conveniently, soon after the carnage at Elsinore
has unfolded (Act V, scene ii). It is no coincidence that Fortinbras, who acts
rationally and decisively, is the only one of the three characters to survive the
play. Shakespeare uses Fortinbras to show that acting with rationality rather
than on impulse or with excessive contemplation results in the superior end.
Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras are three individuals who were placed
in a similar position, but who reacted in drastically different manners. Hamlet,
who acts slowly and with much contemplation, and Laertes, who acts with
reckless abandon, represents polar opposites. Meanwhile, Fortinbras rational,
deliberate execution represents the ultimately superior combination of the two.
Shakespeares masterful use of characterization therefore illuminates that
aspect of human nature that gives us an impulse to seek revenge, and shows
how different reactions to that impulse can have drastically different results.

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Revenge in Hamlet

Hamlets delayed action is nothing more than procrastination, which is

Either way, it cannot be denied that Hamlets course of action unfolds

(Act II, scene ii)

(Act IV, scene iv)

Elsinore with a mob, threatening to overthrow Claudius if he does not produce

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