“No place indeed should murder sanctuarize; / Revenge should have no bounds” (IV.vii.140-141). Here, King Claudius justifies the act of revenge while he is ironically oblivious to Hamlet’s plans of vengeance. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the theme of revenge closely surrounds each character, whether the character is one to deliver it or feel the consequences of it. In this particular story, the characters directly involved in vengeance reside in close father-son relationships and therefore seek to exact revenge on their fathers’ offenders. Fortinbras’s direct actions are mainly unseen until the final scene but end in a sorrowful acceptance of great fortune. Laertes, a secondary character, acts rashly in anger after learning that his father
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Having been dead for two months, the ghost of King Hamlet visits his son and reveals the truth behind his death. Following this, the ghost gives Hamlet instructions to avenge his death, saying: “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.v.29). Not only does Hamlet discover in this moment that his father was murdered, but the ghost instructs that he must also retaliate against King Claudius, the murderer. This point early in the play causes Hamlet to become consumed with the desire for revenge and therefore sets off a series of events that end in a sizable amount of collateral damage. Because of Hamlet’s paranoia and desire to kill King Claudius, he acts with irrationality. For instance, when Hamlet is in a meeting with his mother in her bedroom, his insanity drives him to stab who he thinks is King Claudius but actually is Polonius. This sets Laertes off on his own burst of revenge and sends Ophelia into a madness that kills her in the end. If it was not for this incident, Laertes would not have returned from England and conspired with King Claudius to kill Hamlet, therefore eliminating the crisis that ended in multiple deaths. After Hamlet’s return from Claudius’s attempt to exile him, Hamlet reveals the fates of his friends Rosencrantz and
Having been dead for two months, the ghost of King Hamlet visits his son and reveals the truth behind his death. Following this, the ghost gives Hamlet instructions to avenge his death, saying: “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.v.29). Not only does Hamlet discover in this moment that his father was murdered, but the ghost instructs that he must also retaliate against King Claudius, the murderer. This point early in the play causes Hamlet to become consumed with the desire for revenge and therefore sets off a series of events that end in a sizable amount of collateral damage. Because of Hamlet’s paranoia and desire to kill King Claudius, he acts with irrationality. For instance, when Hamlet is in a meeting with his mother in her bedroom, his insanity drives him to stab who he thinks is King Claudius but actually is Polonius. This sets Laertes off on his own burst of revenge and sends Ophelia into a madness that kills her in the end. If it was not for this incident, Laertes would not have returned from England and conspired with King Claudius to kill Hamlet, therefore eliminating the crisis that ended in multiple deaths. After Hamlet’s return from Claudius’s attempt to exile him, Hamlet reveals the fates of his friends Rosencrantz and