The Theme of Revenge in the Play Hamlet - Essay Example

?Theme of Revenge in the Play ‘Hamlet’ Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Thesis ment 4 Theme of Revenge in Hamlet 4 Justification of the Revenge in the Play “Hamlet”: The Execution was Right or Wrong 5 Conclusion 7 Works Cited 8 Introduction Elizabethan England witnessed many plays being staged during 16th and 17th centuries with motif of revenge among most of them. The revenge tragedies were very popular among the Elizabethan audience but the reason for this popularity was not only because of its bloody and criminal bent presentation. Rather, the potent theme of revenge inherent in these plays was also very attractive for the Elizabethan audience. Before the initiation of the law and order, primitive man took the refuge of vengeance to justify any crime taking place in the society. With the development of law and order, more disciplined way of executing justice came into being. But the fact at the greater ream was very disappointing. At times, the personal harm or injury inflicted on an individual or a family did not receive proper justice through the biased and many loop-holes present in the system of law and order. At this point of time, people started fulfilling their incomplete dream through the plays and revenge became a potent and popular motif in the Elizabethan plays as it became very relative to the interest and reality of the Elizabethan audience (Elsinore, “Elizabethan Revenge Drama”) “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” is one of the longest and most popular tragedies of William Shakespeare. Conceived in the early seventeenth century, it deviated a little bit from the conventional revenge plays of the Elizabethan period. Yet, it takes all the measures that a grotesque revenge play takes to justify and satisfy the vengeance with a wholesome package of violence, adultery, incest, murder and an emanating theme of foreboding eclipsing the entire ambience of the play. Nevertheless, far beyond the parameters of the technicalities and jargons associated with the genre in which the play belongs, there is a question of a moral order and here at a subjective level Hamlet surpasses all its other contemporary revenge based tragedies. The question of justifying the means with violence and the dilemma which inherently evolves at a regular interval in the play put the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark into a different height of moral and social order and leaves behind with a question of justifying the revenge with murder or not (O’ Connor, “Tragic Hero?”). Thesis Statement This essay intends to explore the theme of revenge penetrated within the plot of the play and tries to justify the revenge taking place in the play. Theme of Revenge in Hamlet If the conventional parameter of a revenge tragedy is observed from a close contour, then Hamlet undoubtedly confirms the traditional revenge tragedy. The repeated occurrence of the ghost of Hamlet's father who whet him time and again for his inaction towards the incomplete revenge indicate that the action of the plot is crafted keeping in mind the tradition of a typical Elizabethan revenge tragedy. The ghost says to hamlet: “Do not forget. This visitation Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose” (Bradley 75) Hamlet considers the work entrusted upon him as something sacred but he does not exempt himself from the required actions designated for his own self. In doing so, Hamlet ultimately executes murders at the cost of his own life and also many others. Thus, the theme of revenge becomes pivotal in the play manifested by the supernatural facets to the full extent. But for ‘Hamlet’, the theme of revenge does not limit within the actions of the protagonist. It extends much beyond. There are other incidents of revenges also operating within the plot of the play. Fortinbras wants to avenge on Denmark for the reason of losses incurred by his father during the duel between Fortinbras’ father and Hamlet’s father. Laertes also wants to take revenge for the death of his father and his insanity for loving his sister Ophelia. However, unlike Laertes Hamlet is both reluctant and ruthless as an avenger. But Laertes is a typical avenger. He wishes to cut the throat of the king in the church itself but Hamlet spares the king during his offerings. Here lies the subtleties of the play, the intricate contrasts woven through the comparative analysis of the characters foiling each other takes the play to the path of moral conscience and raises questions on myriad dilemmas (Britaininprint, “Elizabethan and Jacobean Revenge Tragedy”). Justification of the Revenge in the Play “Hamlet”: The Execution was Right or Wrong By all the technicalities and thematic judgment, “Hamlet” undoubtedly evolves as one of the finest revenge tragedies of Elizabethan period. It would be very justified to say that the play was also conceived keeping in mind the Elizabethan philosophy where the rational faculty of man dissipates him from being animal. And this rationale of a man actually torments Hamlet throughout the play in many ways. His decision to commit suicide or to avenge his father’s wrong doers is both guided by stark sense of moral order and dilemma. Hamlet appears as a troubled entity who after the death of his father is almost out of his mind and stands on the brink of insanity and is utterly confused with the way he can inflict his revenge on his uncle Claudius. Claudius not only killed Hamlet's father, but also he is the man who seduced Hamlet's mother and paved his way to the throne in a wrong. But there is a very strong intellectual pursuit behind the pervading of this ethical dilemma. This is also the reason for the delayed execution of revenge by Hamlet in the play. However, for the sake of the theatrical tradition and demand in an Elizabethan backdrop, revenge of Hamlet is justified. He entrusts the law in his hands and punishes the wrong doer. As a son, and a rightful heir of his kingdom he takes the revenge from a person who killed a benign king. But at heart, Hamlet is facing a greater conflict between his duties and conscience that pricks him continuously for going against Christian tradition. Later, this conscience is also seen as creating dilemma when Hamlet prepares himself to commit suicide which is again a sin according to Christian tradition (Vnthuquan, “Hamlet’s Inability to Act”). This intellectual pursuit of the play displayed through the ethical dilemma of the protagonist actually brings forth the rational aspect of the play and the dilemma of Hamlet transcends him beyond the Elizabethan code of morality and relates him to a universal and timeless paradigm where the action of a man is guided by mind. Therefore, in accordance with the theme of the play, the action of Hamlet and his moral dilemma both are actually justified. He commits a murder but is not casual about it. His moral conscience is very active and also he redeems his guilt through the sacrifice of his life. Hamlet’s revenge on the murderer of his father and his moral dilemma which results his inactions in the first half of the play, both are justified. Yet, he fulfils his revenge and establishes a moral order justifying his means and his end. But not a single moment in the play it is found that the intellect of Hamlet leaves his self. He is even skeptic of trusting the Ghost who comes to remind him of his unfulfilled duties and only when he is himself satisfied with his own thought process, he commits his unfulfilled actions in the form of murder of his uncle (Pierdominici, “Hamlet : The Moral Dilemma”) Conclusion “Hamlet” is one of the exquisite plays of Shakespeare. Not only for the horrified and bloody plot as revenge in play but also the play is one of the finest examples of literary allusions and its poetic presentation. But no other play can genuinely surpass the intellectual quality of the play, “Hamlet”. The Christian order of sin guilt and redemption is marvelously associated with the moral and ethical dilemma of Hamlet which provides enough space for the audience to exercise their gray matter along with thrill and entertainment the play provides. And all these qualities of “Hamlet” make it engaging for the critics and engrossing for the audience. Works Cited Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy Lectures On Hamlet, Othello, King Lear & Macbeth. Middlesex: Echo Library, 2006. Print. Britaininprint. Elizabethan and Jacobean Revenge Tragedy, n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2012. Elsinore. Elizabethan Revenge Drama, n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2012. O’ Connor, Evelyn. Tragic Hero? Home, 2011. Web. 06 Aug. 2012. Pierdominici, Elizabeth. Hamlet: The Moral Dilemma. The Association of Young Journalists, n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2012. Vnthuquan, Hamlet’s Inability to Act, 2009. Web. 06 Aug. 2012. Read More