How does Shakespeare present the Theme of Revenge in "Hamlet"?

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Edward Notcutt

How does Shakespeare present the Theme of Revenge in “Hamlet”?

“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, is a revenge tragedy set in Denmark, which was written around 1600. It closely follows the dramatic conventions of revenge in Elizabethan theatre. 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, set all of the ideas and the norms for all revenge play writers in the Renaissance era including William Shakespeare.

The recent death of King Hamlet is a great loss to his son Prince Hamlet and his unhappiness is not helped by his mother’s “o’er hasty” marriage to his uncle Claudius. Hamlet was obviously very fond of his father. “A was a goodly king.”

One of Hamlet’s most significant themes is the one about revenge. Throughout the play there are three main plots for revenge. Hamlet vows revenge on his uncle, Claudius. Laertes vows revenge on Hamlet. Fortinbras vows revenge on King Hamlet. There is also another minor revenge plot during the play within a play where Priam seeks revenge for his father’s murder. All three characters endure the death of their father, which shows a common bond between Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes.

        The theme of war runs alongside Hamlet’s revenge plot as the army of Norway led by Fortinbras invades and conquers Poland before repeating this with Denmark. Fortinbras himself is led by his desire for revenge for his father’s death. With Fortinbras being a soldier he is more active than Hamlet in seeking his revenge immediately, but has respect for Hamlet and shows his by giving him a soldiers funeral. “Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage”. Fortinbras and Hamlet contrast each other in their emotions and actions. While both princes have lost their fathers and seek revenge, Fortinbras immediately pursues revenge while Hamlet procrastinates.

Hamlet himself has been a student at the university of Wittenberg. He has come back to Denmark and now feels that “Denmark’s a prison.” The audience can see that Hamlet is not naturally a soldier and finds the act of revenge a difficult task. For example he does not kill his uncle straight away. He takes time to get enough courage to finally complete the task although other factors such as Hamlet needing proof are also influential in his decision.

Hamlet is seen as a tragic hero and the flaw in his character is his inability to take action promptly. He has to think about what would be the best thing to do first, and then take action. If Hamlet had taken action at the first opportunity and killed Claudius while he was praying, Claudius’ soul would have gone to Heaven. Obviously Hamlet does not want this to happen. He also faces the problem of requiring proof that Claudius is the murderer, and refuses to take revenge until his has proof. This is why he decides to use the play within a play to provoke a reaction from Claudius. However this eventually leads to his downfall as obviously if Hamlet had taken action swiftly Claudius would not have suspected Hamlet of trying to murder him and would not have tried to have Hamlet killed. It is clear that Hamlet was heir to the throne so although Hamlet wants revenge for his father’s sake, he also wishes to avenge himself.

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The first time we see evidence of revenge is when the ghost of King Hamlet appears. Before the ghost appears Hamlet is obviously upset over the death of his father and his mother’s marriage to his uncle. The ghost warns Hamlet “so art thou to revenge when thou shalt hear.” Hamlet also suspects murder. “I doubt some foul play.” He however has no proof of it until the ghost appears. “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” The ghost reveals that the murderer was Claudius “the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” and although Hamlet ...

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