Revenge And Corruption In Hamlet

Over the centuries, many great authors have come and gone, leaving behind timeless writing. Out of all, however, Shakespeare may be the most well known and revered author, with popular writings such as Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and the infamous tragedy Hamlet. Hamlet is as timeless as it is profound, and is, to this day, one of the most widely read pieces of literature. Hamlet’s messages of loyalty, revenge, and corruption still apply to present day situations, and give readers insight into Hamlet’s views on the world, and himself. After hearing the Player act out the story of Hecuba, Hamlet cannot help but look into himself and consider his own actions and motives. Feeling that he lacks the passion that the Player holds, Hamlet wonders what the Player would do “had he the motive and the cue for passion” that he has. The Player is so dedicated to his career that he can bring “tears [to] his eyes”(Shakespeare 2.2.582) and bring awe to the audience, while Hamlet can only sit and make plots to off the King.
He goes on to call himself a “coward” and asks “who calls [him] villain” and “plucks off [his] beard, and blows it in [his] face” (2.2.598-600), all of which were insulting actions from Shakespeare’s era. This is in an attempt to insult himself and work himself up into a state of passion, something he may feel that he needs in order to be able to kill Claudius. He still has his doubts about killing Claudius, however, since he is unsure whether or not the Ghost that came to him was really his father, or if it was a demon trying to trick him into killing the King. Recognizing this, he calls himself “pigeon liver’d” (Shakespeare 2.2.604) and remarks that had he more courage, he would “have fatted all the region kites with this slave’s offal” (2.2.606-607), wishing that he could kill him and feed his body, or offal, to vultures, the region’s