Theme of Revenge in "Hamlet"

“If you seek revenge, dig two graves.” This ancient Chinese proverb explains the mood in Hamlet, a play, written by Shakespeare. The theme of revenge is seen throughout the play as each character extracts one form or another of revenge from a person who has wronged them. In the play the characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all desire revenge for a lost father; however, their motivations for murder differ.

Hamlet is unlike the other two characters in the way that he uses reason and logic before he acts and decides to kill his uncle, Claudius, because he is aware of the consequences. For example, when Hamlet is trying to determine how he can prove Claudius the murderer, after conversing with the players about the play, following Hamlet’s reasoning that the ghost could be a devil trying to deceive him, in his soliloquy he states, “I’ll observe his looks… If he do blench, / I know my course… I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” (II, ii, 625-634). He reattaches himself to his revenge based on the logic of Claudius’ guilt. If Claudius does not feel guilty and has no reaction to the play, Hamlet will not act because logically Claudius was not to blame. Subsequently, Hamlet discovers that Claudius is guilty and commits himself to taking his life, but when Hamlet approaches Claudius and sees him praying he thinks to himself, he shouldn’t kill him there saying, “That would be scanned:/ A villain kills my father, and for that, / I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ to heaven… this is… not revenge.” (III, iii, 80-84). As Hamlet over thinks his actions he reasons himself out of killing Claudius because he compares how Claudius would die, to his father’s death. By over thinking this he stalls and has more time to think about w...

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...inbras could act quickly when insulted and how Hamlet has more honor issues and how he cannot act. Fortinbras shows that he does not ponder thoroughly on his actions or the results thereof as he is about to waste men’s lives for a patch of land that isn’t worth anything.

Hamlet is slow to react whilst Laertes and Fortinbras act on impulse comparatively when they take revenge for the deaths of their fathers. Hamlet uses logic against him in excess and convinces himself to not act multiple times. Fortinbras sees, once it is pointed out to him, how foolish attacking Denmark is, sees the logic and does not act and is rewarded in the end. Laertes, who acts rashly, loses his control of the situation as he does not perceive the consequences he chooses. With revenge, or with any aspect of life, if you reason before you act, the consequences will become more clear to you.