Theme of Revenge in Hamlet

Theme of Revenge in Hamlet

Hamlet admits that he is upset but refuses to give the true reason hence saying that “What a piece of work is a man” (Shakespeare 200). The quote appears to be admiring the wonderful creatures humans are while also criticizing and expressing despair. The quote correlates both the good and evil side of man, especially in the play Hamlet. Therefore, the discussion intends to focus on the theme of revenge, which is a reality concept in the story. First, King Hamlet dies, and he instructs his son through his ghost to avenge his death before he can rest. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, is the killer and the new King of Denmark who hurriedly marries his brother’s wife, Gertrude(Shakespeare 202).  Second, Hamlet decides to feign madness and pretend to be crazy about Ophelia to be noticed. The plot enhances his revenge; however, he is also poisoned in the end by Laertes, Polonius son; thus, he dies after the revenge. Thirdly, the entire play is created poised towards revenge because the King dies, and the brother takes over while inheriting his wife.The fact sheet will outline the theme of revenge extensively while asserting supporting examples from the text.

First and foremost, King Hamlet’s ghost appears to prince Hamlet thus informing him that Claudius killed him to take over the crown. The ghost first appears to Horacio, who is Hamlet’s friend, thus telling him to call the prince. The ghost later outlines how Claudius killed him to take over the crown and his wife hence affirming revenge. King Hamlet specifically advises the prince to avenge his death and take care of Claudius. Even though prince Hamlet is keen on revenge since he has always suspected King Claudius. However, the author correlates that “he doubts the credibility of the ghost.” (Shakespeare 150) After meeting the ghost, prince Hamlet makes a decision to go after Claudius with everything that he is got. His friends Horacio and Bernard promise to help him in the smallest ways that they can in the long run. The appearance of the ghost helps in affirming what the audience already guessed about the new King Claudius. The prince resolve of revenge is ascertained after the appearance of the ghost who is part and parcel of the story. Even though he doubts the credibility of the ghost however, it turns out to be true because Claudius is also aiming to kill the prince.

Secondly, prince Hamlet feigns madness to get close to King Claudius and avenge his father as promised. Thus, he pretends to be crazy about Polonius’ daughter Ophelia who has always had feelings for him. Ophelia tells his father how Hamlet appeared at her room half naked while professing love to her. King Claudius and Gertrude are shocked about Hamlet’s madness, and they start looking for answers. Polonius insists that Hamlet is crazy for love; however, his mother is not buying it. They set up Hamlet with Ophelia and he shouts, “get thee of a nunnery. “(Shakespeare 156). Hence the mother is convinced that Hamlet is not crazy over Ophelia. Madness works for prince Hamlet because he is able to get closer to the King and his mother while attacking them anyhow. While performing the play, the Murder of Gonzago, Hamlet uses the platform to indirectly outline the mother of his father. And the author says that, “Claudius rises and runs from the room.” “(Shakespeare 158).  He cannot stand looking at the play because he is guilty of killing King Hamlet, his brother. Hamlet follows her immediately, and they are involved in a huge argument which leads to the death of Polonius.

Thirdly, the entire play is created around revenge because the King dies, and the brother takes over while inheriting his wife. Claudius does not waste any time after the death of King Hamlet; hence he comes out as suspicious. Prince Hamlet wonders how the mother was quick to remarry even before the father’s body was cold on the ground. Moreover, he hated Claudius from the moment he took over the father’s crown because he seemed to have been looking forward to it. During a conversation with Claudius, Hamlet says, “My words fly up; my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” (Shakespeare 77) Therefore, prince Hamlet is bound to avenge his father from the beginning of the story since he died under mysterious circumstances. King Claudius is set to become the villain because he takes over the entire family of his late brother, and he is harsh to prince Hamlet. Moreover, King Claudius seems to be critical of the prince life because of the fears that he might come after him. All these already point to the great revenge story that is delivered eventually by the author.

Moreover, Hamlet kills Polonius mistakenly hoping that it was King Claudius who was spying on their conversation with the mother. The prince is very enraged after the conversation with the mother; thus he intends to finish the job immediately. He stabs Polonius in the middle of this rage, thus leading to Ophelia going Mad and the return of Laertes. Hamlet increases the number of his enemies after killing the King’s advisor, and Gertrude also appears to be on the side of the King. Hamlet’s obsession with revenge leads to the death of innocent people like Polonius and his daughter Ophelia’s. Although Ophelia’s death was aligned with suicide, she lost her mind after losing her father. Moreover, Hamlet fails to notice the poisoned arrow the Laertes is given by Claudius to kill him. He is hell-bent on killing Claudius at all costs, and he does not mind losing his life in the process. Eventually, Hamlet succumbs to the poison and he says “the rest is silence.” (Shakespeare 270) The mother is aware of the poisoned wine, and she drinks it to save Hamlet and exposes Claudius. She is ashamed of what she had done; hence she wants to pay for her sins and expose Claudius.

Conclusively, the theme of revenge is a realistic concept in the story because it is outlined from the beginning of the story. King Hamlet dies under mysterious circumstances, and the brother immediately takes over the wife and his crown. The immediate response to the King’s death already points to how guilty the brother is in the murder. Prince Hamlet also seems to be distanced from the uncle and her mother after the death of his father. He seems to hate his uncle even before he learns that he actually killed his father. Consequently, the ghost of King Hamlet appears, and the prince co0nfirms that Claudius is responsible for the murder. The ghost instructs the prince to organize a revenge mission against the King and that he does almost immediately. He feigns madness while associating it with love towards Ophelia, Polonius’ beautiful daughter. The madness plot helps him in attacking the King and his mother indirectly, thus leading to the breakdown of Gertrude. Hamlet breaks Gertrude by carrying out a play about the death of a king, and that gets to his mother. She breaks down, thus confirming that she knew what happened.