Revenge In Hamlet Research Paper

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Revenge in Hamlet Hamlet is one of the, if not the most well-known play of all time. Revenge is a major theme in Hamlet, and without it this play wouldn’t be famous. Revenge determines nearly every scene in the entire play. With almost every scene revolving around the theme of revenge, the play would not be complete without it. There are two major revenge plots in Hamlet; the main plot being Hamlet eager and determined to avenge his father’s death, and the other being Laertes’ determination to avenge his father’s murder. There is extreme importance of the theme revenge in this play and how it is used throughout the entire plot. Hamlet’s actions to avenge his father’s death are motivated by a ghost that claims to be his father, who was murdered…show more content…
Hamlet says, “A villain kills my father and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge,” which means he decides not to kill Claudius when he is praying, because if he does he will go to heaven (Miola 76). This is showing how committed Hamlet is on seeking revenge, not only because the apparition tells him to, but because Hamlet truly feels he should seek revenge for the purpose of hurting Claudius like he hurt his father. This leads to Hamlet killing Polonius. Considering there are many characters in Hamlet seeking revenge, it is easy to overlook Hamlet’s motivation to kill Polonius or to at least not care if he kills Polonius if he gets in his way. Hamlet should have known it would be highly unlikely that it was Claudius behind the curtains when he “accidentally” killed Polonius. He had just saw Claudius praying, which would mean it would virtually be impossible for Claudius to stand up, sneak by the Hamlet on his way walking to Gertrude’s closet, and hide behind the arras before Hamlet arrives to his mother’s room. Therefore, if Hamlet knew it was highly unlikely for that happen, he should have figured someone else was behind the curtains eavesdropping on their conversation when Hamlet struck him through the arras (Sterling). Regardless, Hamlet ended up

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