Hamlet

Avenging the murder of a father was a part of one’s honor and had to be done at all costs. Although revenge was considered to be a form of murder, the act could be justified only if the revenger died after the revenge was carried out. In William Shakespeare’s world-renowned tragedy Hamlet revenge was the driving force behind three of the main characters: Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras. For two of the characters it led to their tragic downfall and for the other it led him to greatness.

The main character in the play, Hamlet, sought revenge for the untimely murder of his father, Old Hamlet, by his uncle and now King Claudius. In Act one Hamlet is first visited by the ghost of his father. During the encounter the ghost reveals that he was not killed by a snakebite but that his own brother had poured poison in his ear while he lay asleep. The ghost then instructs Hamlet to “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (1.5.25). This is the point in the play when Hamlet first starts thinking about carrying out the revenge. After much thought and debate Hamlet devised a plan to tell if his uncle actually did murder his

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This was a successful way of revenge and therefore sent the ghost to rest, Hamlet to Heaven, and Claudius to Hell. The swords in turn were switched and Hamlet ended up with the poisoned sword meant to end his own life. Unfortunately Claudius’ act of sin is only after Hamlet, himself, has been stabbed by a poisoned sword making him weak but not too weak for he still had the strength inside of him to end Claudius’ life with the same sword that had slain him. When Laertes first found out about his father’s murder he immediately thought it was Claudius that had slain him and was ready to seek revenge right away at any costs. After finding out that it was actually Hamlet that had killed his father, Laertes and Claudius set up a plan to kill Hamlet for revenge. Since Claudius is praying Hamlet knows that he would be sent to heaven instead of hell where he belongs; so Hamlet decides to wait and catch him in an act of sin that will send him straight to hell for all of eternity. Fortinbras’ plan for revenge involved him entering Denmark on false pretences. Laertes and Claudius plan was to have a mock duel between Laertes and Hamlet and Laertes sword was going to be poisoned. To this point I stand, that both the worlds I give to negligence, Let come what comes; only I’ll be reveng’d most throughly for my father. For Hamlet and Laertes it led to the tragic ending of their lives but for Fortinbras it led him to greatness. 131-136)

This quote shows Laertes desire to seek out revenge at any cost. 87) just haunting Hamlet and trying to get him to murder his uncle.

Approximate Word count = 771
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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