As the old saying goes, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,”. That is a well known-saying because it addresses something that everyone has to end up dealing with at one point or another. Revenge has been around for as long as anyone can remember. At some point in time, everyone has tried to get revenge on another person. There is something in humans that makes them want to avenge people that have done them wrong in any way. There are always times where people feel they have been wronged and need to bring justice into the situation. Sometimes, it is simply taking back something that a person stole. However, other times it goes farther than that. These ideas of revenge, no matter the degree, are evident in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The play is centered around revenge. There is no argument that this should be considered a revenge play. There are numerous characteristics that help to qualify it as such. Hamlet should be viewed as a revenge play because of the time period it was written in, the basics of the plot, and the actions of the characters.
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The time period that Hamlet was written in plays as role in the way it was written. Hamlet was written by Shakespeare during the time of the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of religious confusion. People did not know if they should focus on the traditional pagan ideals or Christian beliefs; “The Renaissance was characterized by an uneasy alliance of classical and Christian elements...no single issue was more perfectly calculated to expose the inner tensions of the age than revenge,” (Cantor 25). In Hamlet, Hamlet himself does not know how to balance the beliefs; “Given the hybrid nature of Renaissance culture, dramatists in the era were able to explore the issue of revenge with particular awareness of the range of ethical responses it can evoke,” (Cantor 25). There are two roads to choose from. The first includes the classical view of revenge being heroic. Pagan’s believed that getting revenge on someone who did wrong was correct. Hamlet knows that his uncle killed his father and promises the Ghost that he will avenge Old Hamlet’s death; “As he vows to drink hot blood, Hamlet comes closer than ever before to the conventional role of the avenger, taking on a pagan fierceness,” (Cantor 36). However, Hamlet is not a completely classic avenger. He is careful in his revenge and does not kill at any chance he can get. There is a point in the play where Hamlet has the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius. However, he did not do it because Claudius was praying. If Hamlet would have killed Claudius while he was praying, Claudius’s soul would have gone straight to Heaven, “Now might I do it pay, now he is praying. And now I’ll do’t...A villain kills my father, and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven,” (III.iii.70-71). This is one of the points when Hamlet changes from classic to Christian ideals. Instead of seizing the moment, Hamlet waits to make sure that Claudius will not go to Heaven. He lets his belief in a certain afterlife to affect his actions. Another time when Hamlet lets his Christianity affect his revenge is when he decides to not get revenge on his mother. He follows the commands of the Ghost and leaves her alone; “Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven, And those thorns that in her bosom lodge, To prick and sting her,”(I.v.25). Hamlet’s belief in a bigger being able to punish his mother shows his that he is merciful and does not have the classic traits of an older hero or someone similar to a pagan. The Renaissance was a time of confusion for people. They did not know what they should believe and whether certain beliefs were right. People were not sure if they should go with classic beliefs or start going off of Christian based ideas. Shakespeare portrayed the events of his time through Hamlet. He expressed confusion and altering viewpoints of different types of people. He suggested that even though people have Christian beliefs, they
The time period that Hamlet was written in plays as role in the way it was written. Hamlet was written by Shakespeare during the time of the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of religious confusion. People did not know if they should focus on the traditional pagan ideals or Christian beliefs; “The Renaissance was characterized by an uneasy alliance of classical and Christian elements...no single issue was more perfectly calculated to expose the inner tensions of the age than revenge,” (Cantor 25). In Hamlet, Hamlet himself does not know how to balance the beliefs; “Given the hybrid nature of Renaissance culture, dramatists in the era were able to explore the issue of revenge with particular awareness of the range of ethical responses it can evoke,” (Cantor 25). There are two roads to choose from. The first includes the classical view of revenge being heroic. Pagan’s believed that getting revenge on someone who did wrong was correct. Hamlet knows that his uncle killed his father and promises the Ghost that he will avenge Old Hamlet’s death; “As he vows to drink hot blood, Hamlet comes closer than ever before to the conventional role of the avenger, taking on a pagan fierceness,” (Cantor 36). However, Hamlet is not a completely classic avenger. He is careful in his revenge and does not kill at any chance he can get. There is a point in the play where Hamlet has the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius. However, he did not do it because Claudius was praying. If Hamlet would have killed Claudius while he was praying, Claudius’s soul would have gone straight to Heaven, “Now might I do it pay, now he is praying. And now I’ll do’t...A villain kills my father, and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven,” (III.iii.70-71). This is one of the points when Hamlet changes from classic to Christian ideals. Instead of seizing the moment, Hamlet waits to make sure that Claudius will not go to Heaven. He lets his belief in a certain afterlife to affect his actions. Another time when Hamlet lets his Christianity affect his revenge is when he decides to not get revenge on his mother. He follows the commands of the Ghost and leaves her alone; “Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven, And those thorns that in her bosom lodge, To prick and sting her,”(I.v.25). Hamlet’s belief in a bigger being able to punish his mother shows his that he is merciful and does not have the classic traits of an older hero or someone similar to a pagan. The Renaissance was a time of confusion for people. They did not know what they should believe and whether certain beliefs were right. People were not sure if they should go with classic beliefs or start going off of Christian based ideas. Shakespeare portrayed the events of his time through Hamlet. He expressed confusion and altering viewpoints of different types of people. He suggested that even though people have Christian beliefs, they