Revenge in Hamlet

Revenge, or Wild Justice “Revenge has no more quenching effect on emotions than salt water has on thirst.”(Walter Weckler). Young Hamlet, the tragic protagonist of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is not the first character to be consumed by a revenge that leads to his downfall, nor will he be the last; yet Hamlet carries out his revenge with such terrible pathos, that it is worth contemplating and trying to understand. Just like salt water, which quenches thirst at first, but makes matters worse in the long run, revenge is deleterious, and it turns on the avenger in the end. “Yea, from the table of my memory, I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records…. And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain… So uncle, there you are. Now to my word; It is ‘Adieu, adieu! Remember me.’ I have sworn ‘t.” (Act 1), Hamlet swears to himself after the ghost of his father departs. The play has barely started, yet Hamlet is already revenge bound. Avenging the late king’s murder becomes the primary purpose of his existence. In the acts that follow, Hamlet constantly, almost obsessively ponders revenge, allowing it to eat at his insides and torment his soul. “Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I: … Am I a coward? … But I am pigeon- livered, and lack gall To make oppression bitter,” (Act 2). Hamlet chides himself for not acting sooner. At the end of the play, Hamlet carries out his revenge successfully, but doesn’t survive to tell the story, as he is slain by a sword coated in deadly poison. “Revenge should have no bounds,” (Act 4) Claudius tells Laertes, while trying to turn him against Hamlet. Laertes is yet another character that falls prey to vengeful thoughts and actions. “To cut his throat i’ the church.” (Act 4) says an angry, grief-stricken Laertes. He is confused and upset, and his desire for revenge outweighs any capacity for reasonable thought. In the beginning of the play, Laertes is a lively, polite young gentleman. He formally asks the king for permission to return to France, where his “thoughts and wishes bend towards” (Act 1). Upon his leave, he bids his sister Ophelia farewell, and gives her brotherly advice. By the end, Laertes has transformed into a bitter, spiteful man, much unlike his former self. Just like Hamlet, Laertes carries out his revenge successfully, but dies as well. “The foul practice hath turn’d itself on me; lo! Here I lie, Never to rise again. Thy mother’s poison’d. I can no more.” (Act 5). Laertes finds no satisfaction in seeing his vengeance complete. He regrets everything, and asks forgiveness of Hamlet. ”Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet: Mine and my father’s death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me!” (Act 5).
Revenge is such a predominant theme in the play, that even smaller, less notable characters are blinded by it. “If thou didst ever thy dear father love- Revenge his foul and unnatural murder.” (Act 1). The ghost of King Hamlet reveals itself to Hamlet and asks him to avenge him, and kill Claudius. Whether the ghost’s speech truly occurred or was just the figment of Hamlet’s intricate imagination is debatable, as no other man witnesses the conversation. Hamlet also appears to speak to the ghost in front of his mother, but she is unable to see it and verify its authenticity. Real or not, the ghost is also driven by revenge, just like Hamlet and Laertes. It speaks to Hamlet twice; the first time it asks Hamlet to “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (Act 1), and the second time to remind Hamlet of his promise. “Do not forget; this visitation is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose” (Act 3). Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway, is yet another gentleman consumed entirely by revenge. Although he is not introduced until the very end of the play, his name is mentioned a few times. Fortinbras wants to avenge his dead father, killed in combat by King Hamlet himself. Claudius writes to Fortinbras’ uncle to inform him of his nephew’s actions. According to Voltimand, Fortinbras’ uncle orders him to stop his vengeful plans, and his nephew promises to comply. Later on, he disregards his uncle’s wishes, and marches into Elsinore anyway. He regains the land lost by his father, and sees that King Hamlet is dead, but doesn’t seem to find any pleasure in seeing his revenge complete. “For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune” (Act 5) Fortinbras states at the sight of the dead Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet. So consumed by revenge is poor Hamlet, that he slowly loses sight of himself, and falls prey to despair. Laertes, influenced by Claudius, sets a trap for Hamlet, but he is caught up in his own tricks “I am justly kill’d with mine own treachery” (Act 5). Fortinbras and the ghost of the late king seek revenge as well, yet in the end, no character is happy to see their vengeful plans fulfilled. They either die, or accept their fate with a heavy, desolate heart. Revenge does not bring the feelings of fulfillment and happiness the avenger expects; like Charlotte Bronte once said, “Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time; as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing, warm and racy: its after-flavor, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation as if I had been poisoned.”