How Is Revenge Depicted In Hamlet

Widely regarded as one of the best tragedies of all time, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet was written around the beginning of the 1600s. The play revolves around Prince Hamlet of Denmark. It is filled with intrigue, supernatural beings, spies, love, and murder. After the death of his father, the king of Denmark, Hamlet is visited by his ghost. The ghost tells a tale of his murder at the hands of his own brother, who is now married to Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude. Outraged by this account, Hamlet promises to get revenge for his father’s death. Revenge is the whole basis of the play; it is prolonged and postponed until the very end. Though written nearly 400 years ago, the theme of revenge depicted in Hamlet still rings true today.
The ghost of old King Hamlet set the scene for revenge when he commanded his son to “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Act I Scene 5). Determined to do just that, Hamlet spent the whole rest of the play trying to find an opportune time. He rigged a play to observe the king’s reaction and therefore determine his guilt or innocence. He was so reckless that he almost killed King Claudius while he was praying. In fact, the thought of revenge obsessed him to such an
Just get back at that person and life will be better in an instant. Many people think that it will make them feel better and better equip them to move past whatever unfortunate event occurred. Studies show that getting revenge actually causes the opposite of these effects.“The study explains that those who seek to punish continue to think about the perpetrator, keeping the pain and the anger very much alive in their minds, while those who ‘move on’ or ‘get over it’ think less about the perpetrator” (Kim). In the end, it is better not to get revenge but to heal from the hurt in a more peaceful manner. Revenge for Hamlet and his acquaintances did not end glamorously- they all