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Retribution Turned to Revenge by the Act of False Mercy Arguably William Shakespeare’s great tragedy, and perhaps his greatest work overall, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a gripping tale of betrayal, insanity, and grim horror that captures the imagination of the reader. This tragic play centers around the titular character, Hamlet, and his quest to kill his Uncle, Claudius. Although it sounds to the common ear to be merely a story of revenge, the play contains vivid characters that bring the play to shocking light for the reader or the viewer. Controversy is common in discussion of Hamlet due to the choices of the main character to reject his love, spare his traitorous uncle for a brief moment in the pursuit of a ruthless revenge, and the accidental killing of an innocent man, having mistaken him for the aforementioned uncle. These actions can be seen as mere plot devices, or sloppy writing on behalf of Shakespeare. They can also be seen as the literary genius that enriches Hamlet, depending on the point-of-view of the reader or the viewer. This essay will be an examination of the idea that, while these actions may not be genius, and they are in-fact simple plot devices, the actions taken by Hamlet in this play are deliberate, as the author intended them. Hamlet’s actions during this play, sparing his uncle and banishing his love, and also killing an innocent man, are a masterful portrayal of justified retribution turning into hate-driven revenge and its consequences. Retribution and revenge, as tropes and themes, were Elizabethan favorites, as can be seen in many of the plays and books written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Retribution, including crusaders, an eye for an eye, is defined for the purposes of the essay as a j... ... middle of paper ... ...n reference to Claudius: “It is a poison tempered by himself” (5.2.330). This statement could easily be applied to Hamlet himself. Had Hamlet simply killed Claudius in justified retribution instead of sparing him for the sake of unleashing a harsher torment upon him: Hamlet would have had a chance to have a happy ending with Ophelia, the woman he loved. Instead, Hamlet chose escalation, vengeance, and he ruined himself and all he loved in this pursuit. For dramatic affect and masterful literary necessity William Shakespeare had Hamlet choose his vengeance. Although this marks the ending of Hamlet as a hero and the beginning of the tragedy in the play, it could have been done no other way in keeping with the spirit of Hamlet. Put quite simply, had Hamlet chosen retribution instead of revenge, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, would not exist as the famous play that it does.