Hamlet by William Shakespeare - Essay Example

Revenge in William Shakespeare’s hamlet Hamlet, the revenge tragedy by William Shakespeare, consists of revenge and tragic flow of the protagonist. But Hamlet, the protagonist, is considered as a tragic hero, who fought bravely to save the honor of his father. This assumption is half true because one can easily identify the protagonist is beyond a tragic figure. The helplessness faced by the protagonist and his attempt to save his father’s honor lifted him to the limelight of tragic heroes. Within the context of tragic heroes, Hamlet acquires an important position because his attempt to take revenge leads him towards tragedy. Thesis statement: An investigative study to prove that Hamlet is more than a tragic hero because his ultimate aim was to take revenge of his father’s assassination and the revenge taken by the other characters are related to Hamlet’s tragedy. The concept of revenge in the play Hamlet The concept of revenge in the play is not limited to the sphere of the protagonist. Instead, it can be extended to the spheres of other characters. John OMeara states that “The connexion between revenge and murder, moreover, is more than a matter of common ruthlessness” (70). Almost all the main characters, like Hamlet, King Hamlet (the ghost), Gertrude, Ophelia, Claudius, Polonius and Laertes tries their level best to regain their lost honor in some way or other. But all these revenge stories are connected with Hamlet’s revenge. A. Revenge taken by Hamlet The main motive behind Hamlet’s attempt to kill his uncle was to regain his honor as the prince of Denmark. His father’s death and inspiration by the ghost are the other elements which motivated him to take revenge. In the work Hamlet: a tragedy by William Shakespeare, Hamlet points out about his uncle that “My father’s brother, but no more like my father, than I to Hercules” (8). Besides, Gertrude’s involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate King Hamlet ignited anger in Hamlet’s mind. From a different angle of view, Gertrude’s betrayal of her son and her life with Claudius enraged Hamlet. Ophelia’s death by drowning forced Hamlet to take the strong decision to assassinate his uncle and to regain the throne. The role of King Hamlet’s ghost in preparing Hamlet to take revenge is minimal because he was not sure about the truth behind his father’s death. So, he decided to seek help from his friends to prove the roles of his mother and uncle. So, one can easily identify that King Hamlet’s death was not the most important factor behind Hamlet’s revenge against his enemies. For instance, Hamlet lost Ophelia, his lady love. This infuriated him because she was the one and only human being whom he did love. Gradually, Hamlet came to realize that his relatives are totally against him. This critical condition in Hamlet’s life forced him to consider that the words uttered by the ghost were right. So, he decided to take revenge of his father’s death and it led him towards ultimate doom. B. The relation between Hamlet’s revenge and King Hamlet’s (ghost’s) revenge The concept of revenge in the play Hamlet revolves around the character King Hamlet (the ghost). He is the most important factor of revenge in the play because all the calamities in the play are related to him. For instance, Hamlet murdered his uncle because he was behind King Hamlet’s murder. During his rule, King Hamlet was not so powerful and influential because he was unable to take any remedial measures to prevent his brother from his misdeeds. When he is presented as a ghost in the play, he became more influential and powerful. For instance, his words ignited fury in his son’s mind and forced him to regain the lost honor. But Eleanor Prosser opines that “ And even though Hamlet does for the moment accept the Ghost as “ honest,” when he calms down he will be less sure” (141). Hamlet very well knew that he will not be able to protect his life. But he decided to act according to the will of his father’s ghost. This proves the ghost’s influence upon Hamlet. The ghost very well knew that his son will be able to kill Claudius, but will lose his life. If the ghost did ask Hamlet not to take revenge of his father’s death, he might have acted in a different way. But the traditional revenge tragedies focus upon the reason behind the revenge and the tragedy faced by the protagonist in the end. So, Shakespeare presented King Hamlet’s ghost as the most important motivation behind revenge. C. The relation between Hamlet’s revenge and Queen Gertrude’s revenge The revenge taken by Queen Gertrude can be easily connected to her status as the Queen of Denmark. When Claudius murdered King Hamlet, she was forced to be his wife. From a different angle of view, Gertrude’s betrayal of her husband and her son is closely related to the inefficiency of King Hamlet. For instance, she very well knew that she needs to protect her status as the Queen of Denmark. So, she decided to play an important role in the conspiracy against the king and in the conspiracy against her son in the end. When one tries to superimpose Gertrude’s story into the context of Hamlet’s revenge, it is evident that her betrayal forced Hamlet to feel alienation in his family. Marvin Rosenberg makes clear that “Hamlet wants his mother to reform, and abstain from sexual activity” (701). The revenge taken by Hamlet can be considered as the strong emotion evolved from the fear of losing his own mother. Hamlet’s idea to kill his uncle can be considered as an attempt to regain his mother. But she was totally against her son and tries her level best to preserve Claudius’s status as the king of Denmark. So, Gertrude’s attempt to preserve her status and to betray her husband (King Hamlet) is interconnected with Hamlet’s revenge and the element of revenge in the play. D. The relation between Hamlet’s revenge and Ophelia’s revenge The revenge taken by Ophelia was self- destructive and was most painful to Hamlet. For instance, Ophelia’s decision to suicide was deeply rooted in Hamlet’s habit of neglecting her. Peter Mercer states that “In Hamlet the parallel crisis of pathos is the madness and death of Ophelia” (231). When her father and brother were totally against her love affair with Hamlet, she did not consider their protest as important. Her decision to drown herself can be considered as the revenge against her father, brother and her lover. One can easily identify that Ophelia’s death by drowning kindled the hatred in Hamlet’s mind towards his enemies. Earlier, Hamlet very well knew that he will not be able to lead a peaceful life with his lady love. So, he decided to ignore her and to concentrate upon his plan. Besides, Hamlet was aware of the fact that his love towards Ophelia will hinder his plan to take revenge. Ophelia’s father considered Hamlet as an important threat against his influence upon Claudius. The hatred between Ophelia’s father and Hamlet forced her to give up her life as her revenge against them. Besides, Ophelia’s self-destructive attitude ignited hatred in the mind of Hamlet against his enemies. So, Ophelia’s decision to take revenge by drowning herself is closely related to Hamlet’s attempt to take revenge. E. The relation between Hamlet’s revenge and Claudius’s revenge Claudius’s revenge against his brother is one of the important elements of the theme of revenge in the play. One can see that Claudius’s conspiracy against his brother helped him to gain the throne and the queen. He tried his level best to cover his cruel deeds, but Hamlet disclosed his real identity as a murderer. His very well knew that the Queen will act according to his will. But he did not realize that King Hamlet’s ghost will inspire Hamlet to take revenge. Later, he tried his level best to sustain his power and status as the king of Denmark. In short, Claudius’s attempt to kill his brother can be evaluated as his attempt to overpower King Hamlet’s supremacy. When the revenge taken by Claudius is superimposed into the revenge story of Hamlet, one can see that both the stories/ incidents are interconnected. For instance, Claudius’s greediness forced him to kill his brother and to usurp the throne of Denmark. This incident forced Claudius to be vigilant about Hamlet’s attempt to regain the throne of Denmark. Richard A. Posner states that “Worry that the ghost might be a devil had led Hamlet to delay his revenge until he could verify Claudius’s guilt” (110). All factors related to Claudius’s revenge against his brother forced Hamlet to consider his own uncle as his most important enemy. In short, Hamlets’ attempt to take revenge of his father’s death is closely related to Claudius’s brutality and revenge against his brother. F. The relation between Hamlet’s revenge and Polonius’s revenge Polonius’s revenge is interconnected with his relation with Claudius. When Claudius became the King of Denmark, Polonius became his counselor. So, he used to be in good terms with the king. Freddie Rokem states that “Polonius is a flattering, calculated courtier, incapable of distancing himself from his official role in the court” (72). When he came to know that his daughter is in love with his enemy, he decided to act against him. For instance, Polonius did not allow his daughter to marry Hamlet. Instead, he tried to break the relationship between his daughter and Hamlet. Polonius’s revenge is connected to Hamlet’s status as the future king of Denmark. In addition, he very well knew that Hamlet will not accept him as his counselor in future. Polonius’s intimate relationship with Claudius and his cruelty towards his daughter ignited hatred in Hamlet’s mind. So, Hamlet considered Polonius as one of his enemies and accidentally killed him. G. The relation between Hamlet’s revenge and Laertes’s revenge In the play, Laertes is Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother. In the beginning, Laertes was not totally against Hamlet. When Ophelia drowns herself and Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, Laertes decided to turn against Hamlet. Laertes considered that Hamlet is the one and only person behind the deaths in his family. So, he decided to seek help from Claudius and to take revenge. His attitude towards Hamlet underwent rapid change because he considered Hamlet as the person who is responsible for the problems in his family. But he did not realize Polonius’s crookedness. The revenge taken by Laertes is closely related to hamlet’s revenge because both of them became the victims of Polonius’s brutality. Summing, the theme of revenge in the play Hamlet is primarily related to the private and public spheres of Hamlet. But the scope of the theme of revenge cannot be limited to the sphere of Hamlet the character, because the same affected almost all the main characters in the play. The play Hamlet is a typical revenge tragedy because the main themes of the play are revenge and tragedy in the end. But Hamlet is beyond other tragic heroes because his aim was to take revenge of his father’s murder and regain his honor as the future king of Denmark. In short, other stories of revenge in the play are closely related to Hamlet’s ultimate aim because his revenge is the most important element in the play. References Mercer, Peter. Hamlet and the acting of revenge. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 1987. Print. OMeara, John. Otherworldly Hamlet: four essays. Montreal, Canada: Guernica Editions, 1991. Print. Posner, Richard A. Law and literature. USA: Harvard University Press, 2009. Print. Prosser, Eleanor. Hamlet and revenge. California, USA: Stanford University Press, 1971. Print. Rosenberg, Marvin. The masks of Hamlet. Cranbury, NJ: University of Delaware Press, 1992. Print. Rokem, Freddie. Philosophers and thespians: thinking performance. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2009. Print. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet: a tragedy. London, England: W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, 1818. Print. Read More