The act of revenge never fails to gather an audience, for the simple fact that revenge raises one of the great questions concerning human life: how does one seek Is there justice when the law ceases to function properly? William Shakespeare exploited the human fascination with the act of revenge and produced a play whose predominant motif is vengeance. Hamlet has not one, but three revenge plots; each linked in a most fascinating way. In the play, young Fortinbras, young Hamlet, and Laertes all act to avenge their murdered fathers. The first plot is due to the murder of King Fortinbras of Norway by King Hamlet of Denmark; “…our valiant Hamlet – for so this side of our known world esteemed him – has slain this Fortinbras” (1.1.96-98). As a result, Fortinbras seeks revenge on Denmark. Hamlet wants revenge for the murder of his father by Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. The final revenge plot involves Laertes taking revenge on Hamlet for the death of Laertes' father Polonius. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses revenge as the force majeure that drives the play and shows that revenge taken rashly rather than through reason leads to downfall. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay In most revenge tragedies, a crime is committed, but the perpetrator cannot be prosecuted for some reason. Hamlet is not the one who killed King Hamlet in the play Hamlet. This form of event occurred in the daily lives of people living during the Renaissance. Thus, Hamlet is a tragic hero who commits crimes but gets away with them, unable to learn from them and therefore unable to face what is real. James Black says: “Hamlet is the crowning achievement of the revenge genre because Shakespeare turned the issue on the character of the avenger. » I agree with this because at the beginning of the play the problem was that Claudius had killed Hamlet's father, so Hamlet is seeking revenge. The problem then turns to Hamlet himself, who kills many people when he only wanted to kill Claudius. He is so obsessed and overwhelmed with the idea of ​​killing Claudius because the ghost told him that he kills several people in the process. Hamlet's obsession with what is not real makes him incapable of dealing with reality, which means he has killed many people unnecessarily. All acts of revenge have four stages. The first step towards revenge is motivation to action. In the opening scene, Horatio states: "But to recover for us, by strong hand and on obligatory conditions, those lands aforesaid thus lost by his father" (1.1.114-116). Following this speech from Horatio, the motivation for Fortinbras's revenge becomes known; Fortinbras wishes to reclaim the lands lost to Denmark when his father was killed. Hamlet's revenge is also introduced; the ghost of old Hamlet speaks to the prince for the first time and Hamlet learns that his father's death was murder. The guilt clearly rested on the shoulders of Denmark's new king; “The serpent that bit your father’s life now wears his crown” (1.5.46-47). The Ghost orders Hamlet to “avenge his vile and most unnatural murder” (1.5.31). Hamlet does not trust the Ghost and accepts the fact that he lacks real evidence to justify Claudius' murder. The majority of Denmark was Protestant when the play was filmed, including Hamlet. He had attended Wittenberg, a Protestant school, and Protestants did not believe in purgatory, nor in ghosts either, which leads Hamlet to think that the ghost is ademon. Accordingly, before Hamlet acts on the Ghost's words, Hamlet will use his abilities as a scholar to confirm them in his own way. Unlike Fortinbras, who is ordered to do nothing, Hamlet's efforts to seek revenge and prove his uncle's guilt are hampered by his indecision to take revenge on Claudius. With his motivation for revenge, Hamlet remains wary of apparent guilt. Hamlet attempts to allay his great suspicions by feigning madness, so that he can do and say almost anything he wants, without fear of reprimand. “Even if this is madness, yet there is method in it” (2.2.206). Polonius, in addition to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet's childhood friends, are used by Claudius to spy on Hamlet. Unbeknownst to Claudius, Hamlet sees through their false words and effortlessly recognizes Claudius' true intentions. While feigning madness, Hamlet bides his time while he discovers what to do to avenge his father; following his initial suspicions, Hamlet finds a way to prove Claudius' guilt. A traveling theater company visits Elsinore Castle and Hamlet first asks the players to give a speech which particularly emphasizes the motive of revenge; “With eyes like carbuncles, seek the infernal Pyrrhus, the old grandfather Priam” (2.2.488-489). Hamlet asks for the speech because Pyrrhus is like Hamlet in that his mission is to kill a king in revenge for his father's death; Pyrrhus' father was Achilles, who died of an arrow wound to the ankle. He also resembles Claudius in that Pyrrhus is the murderer of the rightful king of Troy. In the soliloquy, Pyrrhus is presented as a hellish character, without remorse or pity. Hamlet may also have requested this speech because he questions the morality of revenge and the depiction of Pyrrhus in the speech helps him confirm these doubts in his mind. Hamlet then has an impulsive idea and plans to have the players perform a play; the play in the lead is “The Murder of Gonzago”. Hamlet expresses his plan by saying, “…the play is the thing by which I will catch the conscience of the king” (2.2633-634). He imitates the method in which King Hamlet is said to have been murdered by Claudius. Hamlet's plan will remove all doubt, so that his revenge can take place. Thus, Hamlet's confirmation of his suspicions will occur after Claudius watches the play; Claudius' reaction will remove all suspicion of the Ghost's words so that Hamlet can take revenge. Hamlet tells Claudius that the play is called "The Mousetrap" (3.2.261). Claudius runs from the room after seeing the play, and Hamlet rightly shouts, "What, frightened by the false fire!" (3.2.292). Hamlet's assertion of his uncle's guilt allows him to seek revenge; “Contagion to this world: I could now drink hot blood and do deals so bitter that the day would tremble to see it” (3.2.422-424). Hamlet comes across Claudius while he appears to be praying, so he decides to delay his murder, as he is convinced that killing Claudius while he is praying will send him to Heaven, which would ultimately forbid his revenge; “Now can I do it, now he prays; And now I won't. And so he goes to heaven; And I too am avenged” (3.3.77-79). Ironically, Claudius, “and may his soul be damned and black as hell, wherever it goes” (3.3.99-100), does not pray, because he is incapable of repentance. Hamlet's delay in carrying out his revenge results in his downfall. Hamlet now has a good motive and no longer has any doubt about Claudius' guilt. All Hamlet has to do is kill Claudius and his revenge will be complete. But Hamlet's angry character and blind rage push him to kill Polonius: "HowNOW ! a rat? Death, for a ducat, death! (3.4.29), thinking he was killing Claudius (whom he believed to be spying on Gertrude and Hamlet) instead. Hamlet damns himself, and his revenge will have a major complication; following the murder of her father, Ophelia committed suicide and Laertes now wishes to kill Hamlet in revenge. Fortinbras, Hamlet and Laertes now all find themselves in the same situation; it's the honorable thing to do to avenge slain fathers, and that's exactly what they each plan to do. Both Laertes and Hamlet are revenge-loving to the point that they will act quickly without thinking and ignore the consequences. Claudius orders Hamlet to go to England, with the apparent intention of retrieving tribute, but his real intention is for Hamlet to be executed, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern must be there to observe his death. On his way, Hamlet encounters the army of Prince Fortinbras, where he makes his last and most important soliloquy. There is much talk about revenge and one's failure to accomplish it: “How all opportunities reveal themselves against me and stimulate my secret revenge! » (4.4.33-34). Hamlet is distressed that he has not yet killed Claudius, and it seems that everything now reminds him of his unaccomplished mission. Hamlet swears that he will take revenge and nothing will stop him from killing Claudius; “Oh, from now on, my thoughts are either bloody or worthless!” » (4.4.68-69). In his final soliloquy, Hamlet shows extreme respect towards Fortinbras because of his apparent willingness to risk everything to gain a small piece of unusable land in the name of honor. Hamlet is irritated that he has waited so long to take revenge and will not be delayed any longer. Meanwhile, Laertes and Claudius hatch a plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes, in his blind rage, takes Claudius' words as the whole truth. The two agree to arrange a duel between Hamlet and Laertes, and Laertes will use a sword laced with poison. “I approach my point with this contagion, that if I irritate it a little, it may be death” (4.7.166-168). Laertes is thirsty for revenge, and it appears he will succeed, as Hamlet apparently trusts him and will not expect Laertes to descend to Claudius' level. However, Claudius greatly underestimates Hamlet, who declared that he would make his enemies "Hist with his own petard: and it will go hard but I will dive a yard below their mines and blow them on the moon" (3.4. 230-232).As a result, Claudius and Laertes will die by their own apparent trap. Hamlet returns after sending a letter to Claudius saying that he would return to Denmark alone. He implied that he had removed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, afterward. having taken a royal order that executed them in England Horatio notes that Hamlet is now acting in a rather royal manner: "Well, what a king is this!" Hamlet is on the path of revenge and is definitely now a decisive and smarter person Hamlet confronts Laertes and apologizes, which Laertes is still too angry to back down from his position, and his anger will result in his death. . Therefore, Hamlet and Laertes engage in their duel. Laertes strikes Hamlet and mortally wounds him: “It is here, Hamlet: Hamlet, you are killed; the medicine of the world can do you good; in you there is not half an hour of life. » (5.2.344-346) However, Hamlet strikes Laertes with the same foil, and Laertes cries, "I am justly slain with my own treachery" (5.2.337), and accepts his own death. Laertes is avenged, in the sense that Hamlet will die. Yet he does not blame Hamlet in the end, but rather Claudius after Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine. dies, and after his own mortal wound, Hamlet kills Claudius: “Here, you incestuous and murderous, damned Dane, drink.