Revenge 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 Shakespeare's 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 countries. Both princes seek revenge for the events relating to the death of their fathers while their uncles and kings oppose their nephews, plotting to accomplish their own objectives. However, by what is learned in the brief sidelined accounts of Fortinbras and the center stage antics of Hamlet, it is evident that they have quite different characteristics as well. Although these two princes have similar positions and supreme intentions, the force that drives them, the means of accomplishing their objectives, and outcomes are dissimilar, and display that the prince who follows the advice 'action speaks louder than words' prevails in the end.
Although it is the succession of King in Denmark that ultimately prompt the two princes to avenge their fathers, the unique reasons for taking up such vows are different. By instigating the duel between kings over the titles of conquered lands, King Fortinbras lost his life and thus Norway's holding to the strong arm of King Hamlet, fairly. Consequently, it is upon the Danish King's death that the young Fortinbras takes action toward recovering the honor and lands lost in his father's fated fight. The ambitious Norwegian prince respected the terms of his father's death until the Danish throne change...
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...en. By a direct irrefutable action, Fortinbras lost his father and by use of the same method, he seeks to get even. In like manner, King Hamlet's death by treasonous disguised affliction serves as means of accomplishing Prince Hamlet's objective. In the reasoning of 'an eye for an eye', the avenging princes honor their fathers by pursuing their adversaries using a personification of the weaponry used to kill their fathers.
Works Cited
Bradley, A.C.. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
Danson, Lawrence. "Tragic Alphabet." Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. from Tragic Alphabet: Shakespeare's Drama of Language. N. p.: Yale University Press, 1974.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. T. J. B. Spencer. New York: Penguin, 1996.
Olaudah Equiano was a freed slave living in London who made it his life person to abolish the British slave trade. His knowledge and training of the English language allowed him to grow into one of the key figures in the movement to abolish the slave trade in England. Although many scholars acknowledge his incredible talent, there has been evidence in the recent years that may question his reliability as a first-hand account. There is evidence to support that Equiano may have been born in South Carolina. This evidence does not make him a valid source of information about the slave trade and leads his audience to question his statements.
In his narrative, Douglass simplifies his experience to that of other slaves showing the cruelty, psychological and physical struggle of slaves. Douglass went through several life changes, from being a slave to having freedom. He went from the south to the north, from a young man to a well known and respected speaker. This man helped America come to terms with slavery which was an important factor in the abolitionist movement.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967.
...o considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuff "offers a personal testimony of survival and spiritual health." P.29 Having attempted suicide four times; Shange writes with the deliberate full intensity of a survivor who places herself at the forefront in defense of `colored girls' who have or who may consider suicide. The defense is a collective effort to provide sustenance through guidance and supportive feeding of the `colored girls' desires to be loved, to be educated, to be actively identified, to be protected, and to know when these rights to life are abused and how to fight for themselves and their family.
Bradley, A.C.. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
The complexity and effect of father-son relationships seems to be a theme that Shakespeare loved to explore in his writings. In Hamlet, the subject is used as a mechanism to identify the similarities between three very different characters: Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet. They have each lost their fathers to violent deaths, which leads them to seek vengeance. As different as they may seem, they all share the common desire to avenge their father’s deaths. The method they each approach this is what differentiates each of their characters, and allows the audience to discern their individual characteristics. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet’s intense loyalty to their fathers drives them to individual extreme measures of revenge, exemplifying Shakespeare’s masterful use of describing the human psyche during Elizabethan times.
One day, Douglass eavesdrops on him and Mrs. Auld’s conversation. Mr. Auld persuades her that reading “could do him (Douglass) no good, but a great deal of harm.” (page 39) This antithesis along with the rest of his statement makes Douglass come to the realization that literacy is equated with not only individual consciousness but also freedom. From that day on, Douglass makes it his goal to learn as much as he can, eventually learning how to write,
Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967.
The theme of revenge is expanded and created by the ghost of King Hamlet because not only does he instruct others to seek revenge but he has such a powerful reach that characters, mainly Prince Hamlet, become driven by this want for revenge. Prince Hamlet shows his eagerness for revenge by saying that “Hast me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift / As meditation or the thoughts of love, / May sweep to my revenge” (34). As the text progresses the message or theme of revengeance fully surfaces when those who are driven by revenge, Laertes and Prince Hamlet, lure themselves to their own demise and this showcases the evil in chasing revenge. In addition, Shakespeare not only uses the theme of revenge but also uses the almost opposite theme of patience to show what mankind “should be and what not to be”. The following shows the outcome of Fortinbras’s patience, “I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, / Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me” (177). In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the ghost of King Hamlet as a representation and establisher of the theme of revenge and by the end of the tragedy shows how the characters, Prince Hamlet and Laertes, who followed this path lead themselves to their deaths; however, Shakespeare uses Fortinbras to represent the theme of patience and how not seeking revenge or acting upon impulses, like Hamlet and Laertes, led him to the throne of Denmark. Moreover, even though the King Hamlet’s ghost appears in the text for a limited time he plays a significant role in the development of other
In the most general sense, the setting of Hamlet is one of complete turmoil, a direct result of a series of festering vengeances, which dominates the majority of the play. The kingdom of Denmark faces a very real threat outside of the internal power struggle between Hamlet and his untrustworthy family. The king of Norway, Fortinbras, wishes to take over the Denmark in an act motivated purely by revenge. Hamlet’s father killed Fortinbras’ in a battle, which took place before the time of the play. This, of course, is the threat of vengeance, which becomes a constant throughout. Even outside of the immediate famil...
Bradley, A.C.. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the theme of revenge is very palpable as the reader examines the characters of Hamlet himself, as well as Laertes, son of Polonius, and Fortinbras, prince of Norway and son of the late King Fortinbras. Each of these young characters felt the need to avenge the deaths of their fathers who they felt were untimely killed at the bloody hands of their murderers. However, the way each chose to go about this varies greatly and gives insight into their characters and how they progress throughout the play.
The simplest and superficially the most appealing way to understand Shakespeare’s Hamlet is to see it as a revenge tragedy. This genre was well established and quite popular in Shakespeare’s time, but it was precisely part of his genius that he could take old forms and renew them by a creative violation of their standards. As this essay will explore, Hamlet stands the conventional revenge tragedy on its head, and uses the tensions created by this reversal of type to add depth to its characters and story.
Hamlet is a revenge tragedy, written by William Shakespeare, in which the storyline’s primary motive is revenge. The story is complex and thought provoking. Hamlet provides a look at death, disease, murder, suicide, graves, and betrayal. Revenge tragedies offer no promise of eventual justice or happiness for the good people. In Hamlet, the highest levels of social figures were uneasy and plotting controversies. Hamlet was betrayed by his own mother and uncle. Hamlet’s uncle (Claudius) murdered Hamlet’s father. Claudius married Hamlet’s mother (Gertrude) in less than two months after the murder. Hamlet was made aware of the murder by a visit from his father’s ghost. The Ghost told Hamlet to revenge his death. Hamlet was shaken by this