Theme Of Revenge In Hamlet

In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses themes such as revenge to show how madness and confusion lead to tragedy. One of the main revenge plots within the play is Hamlet’s desire to avenge his father’s death by killing his uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. What makes hamlet angrier is knowing that his mother married his uncle only two months after his father’s death. “Not only the characters but the whole state of Denmark, with King Claudius at the head, are out of balance” (Shakespeare). Hamlet is motivated by the ghost to seek revenge on his uncle, who married his mother and murderer his father King Hamlet. Even before the play begins King Hamlet has been poisoned, since this scene Hamlet has been feeling mad and sad “Is delineated as one under the dominion of melancholy” (Mackenzie). Hamlet finds that his mother has married his uncle Claudius two months after his father death, Hamlet is in a state of confusion and anger “Hamlet finds himself at the center of this drama following the death of his father, the King of Denmark, whom Hamlet believes has been murderer by the king’s own brother, Claudius” (Rapparport). Even though Hamlet wants revenge is mad and confused because of everything that is happening in the state of Denmark “Hamlet’s character, including feeling of honor and nobility, thoughts of cowardice and suicide, and the desire of revenge” (Skulsky). With the apparition of the ghost Hamlet knows what happened and who poisoned his father. “With the strongest purposes of revenge he is irresolute and inactive” (Mackenzie). The ghost describes and tells Hamlet how Claudius poured poison into his ear when he was enjoying his siesta and murdered him. “The Ghost’s revelations relieve Hamlet’s despai...

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...mlet is real and pure but to Hamlet she is just a sexual object, after a while Ophelia is totally crazy to the point to commit suicide drowning herself “Drown'd, drown'd… Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears: but yet It is our trick; nature her custom holds” (Shakespeare).

Hamlet has the opportunity to kill King Claudius but he did not do it yet “Hamlet states that he does not kill the king during prayer because his revenge would be spoiled, he believes that Claudius, killed at prayer, would not bedamned to Hell” (Hamlet). After this opportunity Hamlet kills Polonius by accident thinking that it was Claudius the one who was hiding behind a curtain in Gertrude’s mother room, Hamlet doesn’t seem to be sad for what he did. At the end Hamlet kills his uncle with a poisoned sword after being fatally wounded by Laertes (Mackenzie).