FEATURED ESSAYS 1. Hamlet: Vengeance Is . . . Everyb... 2. Hamlet 12 3. Hamlet: Holding Back Revenge 4. The Tragedy In Hamlet 5. Hamlet 4 6. Ophelia As A Reason For Hamlet's ... 7. Hamlet's Revenge 8. Poem: The Fate Of Hamlet 9. Hamlet: Hamlet Defeated By His Ow... 10. Hamlet - Revenge A Chain Reaction 11. Hamlet The Challenge Of Reveng 12. Hamlet Revenge A Chain Reactio 13. Hamlet Criticism 14. Hamlet Revenge Essay

Hamlet Revenge

Revenge.  Revenge causes one to act blindly through anger, rather than
through reason.  It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye, but
this principle is not always an intelligent theory to live by.  Young
Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of
their fathers.  They all acted on emotion, and this led to the downfall of
two, and the rise to power of one.  Since the Heads of the three major
families were each murdered, the eldest sons of these families swore
vengeance, and two of the three sons died while exacting their acts of
vengeance, revenge is a major theme in the Tragedy of Hamlet.

There were three major families in the Tragedy of Hamlet.  These were the
family of King Fortinbras, the family of Polonius, and the family of King
Hamlet.  The heads of each of these families are all slaughtered within
the play.  Fortinbras, King of Norway, was killed by King Hamlet; slain by
sword during a man to man battle.  "āour valiant Hamlet-for so this side
of our known world esteem'd him-did slay this Fortinbras."  This entitled
King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was
written in a seal'd compact.  Polonius was an advisor to the King, and
father to Laertes and Ophelia.  He was nosy and arrogant, and he did not
trust his children.  He was killed by Young Hamlet while he was eves
dropping on a conversation between Hamlet and his mother.  "How now!  A
rat?  Dead, for a ducat, dead!"  King Hamlet was the King of Denmark, and
Hamlet's father. He had killed King Fortinbras, only to be killed by his
brother, Claudius."My offense is rank, it smells to heaven;  A brother's
murderā"  Each of these events effected the sons of the deceased in the
same way, it enraged them.

Every one of the three eldest sons had one thing in common, they all
wanted revenge for a slaughtered father.  In the time in which this play
is set, avenging the murder of a father was part of one's honor, and had
to be done.  All of the three sons swore vengeance, and then acted towards
getting revenge for the deaths of their fathers.

 Young Fortinbras was deeply enraged by the death of his father, and he
wanted revenge against Denmark because of this occurrence. Fortinbras
wanted to, by force, regain the lands that had been lost by his father to
Denmark.  "Now sir, young Fortinbrasāas it doth well appear unto our
state-but to recover of us, by strong hand and terms compulsative, those
foresaid lands so by his father lostā"  Claudius sends messengers to talk
to Fortinbras' uncle, the new King of Norway.  He forbid Fortinbras to
attack Denmark, and instead convinced him to attack the Poles to vent his
anger.  "āHis nephew's levies, which to him appear'd to be a preparation
'gainst the Polack;  But better look'd into, he truly found it was against
your highnessāOn Fortinbras;  which he, in brief, obeys, receives rebuke
from Norway, and, in fine, makes vow before his uncle never more to give
the assay of arms against your majesty."

Laertes found out about his father's death, and immediately returned home.
He confronted the King and accused him of the murder of his father.
Claudius told Laertes that Hamlet was responsible for his father's death.
He then decides to kill Hamlet to avenge the death of his father.  He and
Claudius concoct a plot to kill Hamlet.  Hamlet dies of wounds from the
poisoned tipped sword Laertes used.  "āHamlet, thou art slaināThe
treacherous instrument is in thy, unbated and envenom'd" Hamlet was deeply
sorrowed by his father's death.  He spoke to a ghost, and this ghost
stated that his father's death was a murder, by the hand of his uncle,
Claudius.  "The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his
crown."  Hamlet was astonished, and then swore vengeance for his father's
death.  He then proceeded to try and prove his uncle's guilt, and then
finally kills him while he himself is dying of poisoned wounds inflicted
by Laertes during their duel.  "The point envenomed too!  Then venom, to
thy workāHere, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, drink off this
potion,-is thy union here?  Follow my mother."  This left the King dead,
and his father's death avenged.

The lack of thought used in exacting the revenge led to the deaths of both
Laertes and Hamlet.  Laertes planned with Claudius to kill Hamlet with the
poisoned tipped sword, but they had not thought that the sword might be
used against them.  With Laertes believing the King's accusations that
Hamlet had murdered his father, he was in a blind rage, and would not
listen to Hamlet's explanation and apology.  "I am satisfied in nature to
my revenge I stand aloof and will no reconcilementāBut till that time, I
do receive your offer'd love like love, and will not wrong it.".  He
fights Hamlet, and wounds him once with the poisoned tipped sword; but
unfortunately, their swords are switched, and Hamlet wounds Laertes with
the sword.  That is the wound by which Laertes dies.  Hamlet had many
chances to kill his uncle, but his rage outweighed his intelligence; and
he chose to wait until the lord could see no good in Claudius, and then
strike him down into a world of eternal damnation.  "Now might I do it pat,
now he is praying;āA villain kills my father; and for that, I, his sole
son, do this same villain send to heaven."  Hamlet waits until he can kill
his  uncle while he is performing a sin, unfortunately for Hamlet, the sin
is the poisoning of his own son in law. Hamlet dies of his poisoned wound.
Young Fortinbras regains his fathers land, without use of violence, or
death to himself. Hamlet names him new ruler of Denmark before he dies,
and Fortinbras regains all of his father's lost land, and becomes King of
Denmark.

Since the Heads of the three major families were each murdered, the eldest
sons of these families swore vengeance, and two of the three sons died
while exacting their acts of vengeance, revenge is a major theme in the
Tragedy of Hamlet.  As a theme, revenge was present in all parts of the
play.  It seems ironic that Claudius, Laertes, and Hamlet all died of the
same sword.  It is also ironic that the first the seek revenge against
Claudius, Fortinbras, becomes King of Denmark.  Revenge was the driving
force behind three of the main characters of the play, for two it led to
downfall, and for the other it led to greatness.

 Word Count: 1102