The Role Of Vengeance In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Hamlet is a confused man. In Hamlet, a play written by William Shakespeare, the main character, Hamlet, struggled to seek revenge for his father’s death. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet meets a ghost who claims to be his father; he told Hamlet how he was murdered. The ghost accuses Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, of murdering him while he was sleeping, and proceeds to tell Hamlet to avenge his death. The ghost told Hamlet that his mother, Gertrude, should not be harmed when Hamlet seeks revenge, because she is just weak. After Hamlet begins to act crazy, Claudius ordered people to distract and spy on him, including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are two of Hamlet’s school friends. Some situations lead to a delay in Hamlet’s quest for revenge.

Hamlet usually makes morally good decisions, but all of a sudden he is asked to go against his moral standards, he is hesitant. Hamlet is put in a moral dilemma when the ghost asks him to get revenge for his father’s death, because his morals clash. This ultimately leads Hamlet to be indecisive and hesitant to attempt the revenge. He cannot immediately ignore his morals. Hamlet, instead of quickly seeking vengeance, is delayed in order for him to justify his quest for revenge. Hamlet says in Act 2 to “I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my uncle before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks. I’ll tent him quick. If he do blench, I know my course” (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 557-562). In order to justify his actions, he asks the players for this favor. If Claudius’s guilty conscience appears, Hamlet no longer needs to go against his morals, because he will be morally inclined to seek justice for his father’s murder. Claudius indeed shows his guilt after the play is performed. Once Claudius verified the ghost’s words, Hamlet was no longer hesitant, until he finds Claudius “praying”. As Hamlet gets ready to kill Claudius, he says, “A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. Oh, this is hire and salary, not revenge” (Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 77-80). Hamlet needed his act of revenge to be justified, and Claudius’s guilt to be

Claudius attempted to prevent Hamlet from seeking his father’s revenge, by removing him from the premises completely and sending him to a different country. Without a prior notice, Hamlet was sent away to never come back. Hamlet cannot avenge his father’s death if he is not physically there to act out the revenge. He had to put a halt to his plans, since Claudius wanted him gone. In Act 4, Claudius tells Hamlet “For that which thou hast done—must send thee hence with fiery quickness. Therefore prepare thyself…everything is bent for England” (Act 4, Scene 3, Lines 42-47). In this scene, Hamlet tells Claudius that he murdered Polonius. Claudius uses this opportunity to tell Hamlet that he is being sent to England, for his own protection. However, it is a selfish act in order to stop Hamlet’s suspicious motives. Claudius is so scared of what Hamlet may do, he asks the king of England to kill Hamlet in a letter he sent with Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, whom he told earlier in Act 4 about the plan, Hamlet’s schoolmates. Claudius sends Hamlet to England so he no longer has to worry about him, however all he does is put a halt to Hamlet’s