How Is Revenge Shown In Hamlet

In the Shakespearean play, Hamlet, revenge is a theme portrayed throughout the tragic tale. Revenge is defined as inflict hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong doing to someone else (Dictionary.com). In today’s society, revenge is prevalent in many movies, books, and television shows.
Young Hamlet is devastated by the murder of his father and looks to avenge his death after being told by the King’s ghost that Claudius poisoned him while he was asleep in the orchard. The ghost said to Prince Hamlet, “So art thou to revenge when thou shalt hear” (Act 1, Scene V, Page 1). Throughout the story, Hamlet is blinded by the desire to avenge his fathers death that ultimately it leads him to sin, tragedy, and the dethrone of Denmark (Hamlet Themes, Story and Characters.).
Another character in the play is also driven by the revenge of his father’s death. Laertes, son of Polonius, is angry after learning that Hamlet stabbed his father thinking that it was Claudius. Polonius from behind
the arras, “Oh, I am slain” (Act 3, Scene 4, Page 2).
Revenge is one of the primal instincts that humans have.
The need to inflict suffering and punishment on those who have wronged goes way back. Some people may even associate revenge with justice or even karma. “Movies about turning the other cheek are a lot less interesting than movies about stabbing someone through the cheek, there have been a pile of great revenge films over the years” (Top 10 Great Revenge Movies - Listverse.). One of those films is Taken which was released in 2008. Taken is a movie that stars Liam Neeson who is a former CIA agent traveling around the world to save his daughter and revenge on her captors. She was kidnapped during a trip to Paris and her father is now forced to rely on his own skills to rescue her. In another movie, Law Abiding Citizen, A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the
deal.
Revenge is a prominent theme in literature as well. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman is similar to Hamlet in that Inigo Montoya is in the pursuit of avenging his father's death by a six-fingered man. “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die,” was some of the last words that Inigo said before killing the six-fingered man (The 7 Best Revenge Stories in Literature.).
Carrie by Stephen King is another classic revenge novel (The 7 Best Revenge Stories in Literature.). King’s novel is a story of a bullied teenage girl’s brutal revenge on her peers at prom. Stephen captivates Carrie’s hatred for her peers in this terrifying and captivating novel.
The human nature to do wrong to those who have done wrong to them has been cultivated throughout the centuries. From Shakespeare's Hamlet written in 1599 to the movie Taken released in 2008, the theme for revenge still remains prevalent in today’s society. The question then must be asked. Is revenge really as sweet as it is in the movies and television shows? For Prince Hamlet, it was bittersweet. The consequences were tragic, but his promise to his father’s ghost was fulfilled.