Revenge; a Wild Justice

Revenge: a Wild Justice

Lily Sanchez

Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Instructor Charles M. Deford 18 January 2013

In a society, revenge can often be manipulated in a way to create order and justice where rule of law is weak. Similar

situations arise when characters from the play Hamlet do the same in the midst of the royal court. In the Shakespearean

play, “Hamlet”, revenge is sought in a place where morals were weak, thus resulting in tragic repercussions instead of justice. Throughout the play, multiple characters experience loss in a way that leads to a desire for revenge, causing the innocent to suffer. In Hamlets pursuit of revenge, Ophelia is affected

very deeply in the process after her father Polonius is killed. “Oh, this is the poison of grief” (4.5 49). Many can see the

very apparent transformation within Ophelia because of the grief she is dealing with. Hamlets’ desire to enact revenge on

Claudius killed Polonius because he accidentally mistook him for Claudius. The grief of losing her father overcomes Ophelia, and

the “poison” of it changes her so that she literally becomes “mad” with grief. start when he Horatio becomes an innocent victim from the the ghost of Old Hamlet. Horatio

witnesses

becomes a person of confidence to Hamlet who informs him of any plans made, allowing him to get full understanding of every tragic event. ”If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart/ Absent

thee from felicity a while,/ And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain/ To tell my story” (5.2 43-46). After seeing all

the destruction and havoc, Horatio pleads to Hamlet to allow him

to end his life as he cannot take any more of the tragedy.

To

his dismay, Hamlet uses Horatio’s love for him to guilt him into living and telling his story as it truly was. Hamlet knows the

pain Horatio is in and asks him to endure the pain for a while and stay in this harsh world. Horatio agrees, but he knows he

will have to carry the horrific memories for as long as he lives. as well. Not only do the innocent suffer in consequence, but die Polonius, Gertrude, and Ophelia’s life came to an end The innocent became victims and lives were

because of revenge.

tragically lost in the pursuit for revenge. The deaths that occurred in the process also became “casual slaughters”. After the death of Polonius, Hamlet shows no

remorse for his actions by making jokes about the whereabouts of Polonius’s body when Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Claudius

question him about it.

Hamlet eventually gives in to admitting

where the body is at, noting that the smell of the body would lead them anyways. “He will stay till ye come” (4.1 39), Hamlet

jokes that there is no rush to recover the body as it will stay where it is until it is retrieved. another human being, Hamlet By joking about the death of to lack any remorse or

shows

sympathy for human life. his mother “Indeed this

Right after the death he also tells counselor/Is now most still, most

secret, and most grave/ Who was in life a foolish prating knave” (3.4 219-221), as if Polonius’s death was justified because of

his foolish and talkative nature. shows a futile attempt to keep

In act 5.2, Claudius also Gertrude from drinking the

poisoned tea “Gertrude, do not drink” (5.2 286). after she disregards his command,

His reaction

was a very nonchalant one Not

because he deliberately allowed his wife to poison herself.

much thought was given by Claudius on the fact that his wife’s death was soon a reality, other than “it was too late”. Later,

when Gertrude is dying from the poison, causing her to collapse unto the floor, Claudius claims “She swoons to see them bleed” (5.2 304). Claudius attempted to cover up his tracks from

everyone in the court by deceiving everyone into thinking that blood drawn from the scuffle made the queen faint, and that she would indeed be alright. The way these characters died a

ruthless death at the hands of Claudius and Hamlet shows how casual the deaths of Polonius and Gertrude were treated. The pursuit for revenge also becomes a blind one in which values and moralities are changed and compromised. In the

beginning, although Hamlet was suffering enough to want to end his own life, he couldn’t bring himself to choose his own fate and, according to his Christian faith, face hell. Hamlets morals become changed. After being However, that

informed

Fortinbras army of 1000 men are fighting for a petty “cause” in which a small patch of land will be fought over, Hamlet becomes angry at himself.

How stand I then That have a father killed, a mother stained Excitements of my reason and my blood And let all sleep—while, to my shame, I see The imminent death of twenty thousand men That for a fantasy and trick of fame Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause Which is not tomb enough and continent To hide the slain? Oh, from this time forth My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! (4.4 5565) Hamlets moral and values slowed him from seeking any sort of destruction to his offender. However, hesitation to kill anyone Hamlet thoughtabout the

was impulsively thrown out the window.

large army of men risking their lives just to preserve their prince’s honor and gain a bit of fame. Yet, although his father

was murdered and his mother defiled, Hamlet did nothing which he felt ashamed of. Hamlet no longer cared for what would await If

him in the afterlife, meaning his Christian faith was lost.

his thoughts were not bloody or destructive, Hamlet concluded that he would condemn them useless thoughts. Compared to his

value in ethics and morals before, his ethics and morals had a

complete turnaround.

In the end, revenge consumed Hamlet more

than the person it was intended for. The every ultimate tragedy was In the self-inflicted between sword downfall Laertes that of and

revenge Hamlet

seeker. strikes

the

scuffle with the

Hamlet,

Laertes

Laertes

realizes was his own poison tipped sword.

“Why, as a woodcock

to mine own springe, Osric/ I am justly killed with mine own treachery“ (5.2 302). Wanting vengeance, Laertes’s plan

backfired on him leading to his death, at the hands of Hamlet brought upon by his own weapon. The foul practice Hath turned itself on me./ Lo, here I lie, Never to rise again./ Thy mother’s poisoned. I can no more. The king, the king’s to blame .......... ... He mixed that poison himself. He is justly served. It is a poison tempered by himself. Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my father’s death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me (5.2 13-16). Laertes knows that his treacherous acts are what ultimately lead to his death. Not only does the plan backfire on Laertes, but Laertes rats Claudius

it also backfires on Claudius as well.

out when he is discovered for committing treachery after the queen is poisoned. Tables are turned on Claudius when Hamlet

poisons him with the same goblet Claudius made to ensure Hamlets death. Both Laertes and Hamlet forgive each other’s treachery

and agreed that neither caused each other’s death because they brought it upon themselves. They planned on ending others’

lives, but such plans turned against them, ending their lives in a tragic death shortly afterwards. Revenge is a very wild form of justice that results in tragedy. Retribution compromises ethics, causing destruction in

its path and leads to tragedy that is unfixable. Horatio claims that all the tragedies that resulted were caused by the

perpetrators. So shall you hear Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts, Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters, Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause, And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Fall'n on th' inventors' heads. (5.2 381-387) Many unfortunate events are caused at the hands of the avengers. Carnage, bad judgments, and casual slaughters result. end, no real justice is won; hence, no vengeance In the is ever

actually gained.