How does Shakespeare examine the themes of revenge in Hamlet Essay

The revenge cataclysm established itself within Elizabethan theatre as a enormously popular genre. The style of the play had gradually evolved from the works of Seneca, an ancient Roman playwright. Once translated these plays carry outed, steadily rose in popularity, with plays such as Middletons The moron, Kids The Spanish Tragedy and Tourneurs The Revengers Tragedy being most popular. The typical revenge tragedy play has several(prenominal) important conventions within it, which are identify to the genre.see morerevenge hamletA five part structure of Exposition, anticipation, confrontation, partial execution and completion, portray the central character the revenger, discovering the deed he must avenge, wrestling with his conscience over the justification and validity of the act, then planning and eventually executing the act of revenge. Often Jacobean revenge tragedy often questi angiotensin converting enzymed the revengers morality. How far does the task of revenge affect t he revenger? How far does it taint the person? How can the audience be sure the acquaintances madness is non actually real?Is it possible that the conflicting morality suffered by him brings unto the revenger real madness and mental instability? The questions over morality are furthered by the death of the protagonist another generic feature. Elizabethans generally firmly believed in the concepts of heaven and hell, dying without forgiveness from God would mean eternity in perdition corresponding the limbo in which Old Hamlet is in, in Hamlet When I to my sulphrous and tormented flames Must r caner up myself. As the revenger usually dies at the end of the play after carrying out revenge, he dies without the chance of confession and absolution.This means the act of reach has not been forgiven. Inevitably this leads us to assume the protagonist allow spend eternity in hell. We can debate the authenticity of the spirit demanding for revenge. If they were once a loved one of the r evenger why would they make them vow to perform a deed, which would lead them to damnation? Could it be that the spirit is not in fact the spirit of the deceased but an evil spirit taking their form, tricking the revenger? after state of ward dispensing with some of the generic features, such as narrative by the ghost, it retains many of the conventions of the revenge tragedy.Hamlet is summoned to avenge the murder of his father, by his fathers spirit, the liquidator being Hamlets uncle, now stepfather and newly crowned King Claudius. Hamlet feigns madness to disguise his intentions of revenge and has a play entitled The Mousetrap performed, in which the murder of Old Hamlet is re-enacted. On preparing to kill Claudius Hamlet is set back by Claudius asking for forgiveness from God in a moment of prayer. This leads to an infallible climax, which results in the death of Hamlet, Claudius and Laertes in a typically bloody ending. All of these events are to be expected from a revenge tragedy.Further more, Hamlet contains several icons, key to its portrayal of the revenge theme. In act one, scene five Hamlet follows the supposed spirit of his father and is conscious of his fathers murder I am thy fathers spirit sleeping in mine orchid a serpent stung me. This scene conveys the task of revenge being set, the whole of the play hinges on this event. The imagery within this scene is also telling. Old Hamlet is dressed in battle fatigue, thus symbolizing him as a war-king the audience having been informed of the war he started against Old Fortinbras.This suggests that Old Hamlets position in hell is right and not solely due to him being unable to confess in the beginning his untimely death. This suggests repercussion on whether or not Hamlets soul will actually be damned, having not confessed but essentially living a broad(a) life. If the nature of damnation does in fact relay solely on whether or not one has lived a good life, and not whether or not one has confess ed ones sins, then it is possible Hamlet has gone to heaven, thus Shakespeare can be seen to be subverting the ideas of religion within the revenge tragedy genre.Young Fortinbras comments harbour Hamlet like a solider, in death Hamlet is viewed as a hero, in this context it is not difficult to assume he has get away damnation The theme of kingship is continued in Act two, scene two. We are presented with an image of Claudius, which is in direct contrast to the one presented of his predecessor. Talk of Claudius averting war with Young Fortinbras, shows the new king to be one which favours diplomacy to war. Surely such a king is more advantageous for Denmark than a bloodthirsty leader like the image we are presented of Old Hamlet.This furthers the question of whether Hamlet has enough moral justification to put forward a life, especially one that is so beneficial to the country. This scene is also important as the first signs of Hamlet feigning madness are demonstrated to the audie nce. In act three, scene two the feature of a play within a play is portrayed. Claudius is outraged by what he sees Give me some light. Away. Hamlet interprets Claudius answer to the play as unequivocal proof of his guilt. This a crucial number point in the play. Up to now Hamlet has been unsure of whether or not to perform his duties.That he is assured by Claudius reaction (poor evidence in hindsight) whitethorn illustrate Hamlets degradation by the mission he has been set. Ill take the ghosts word for a thousand pound In Act three, scene four the death of Polonius can be seen to serve triplex purposes. In its most insignificant form it leads Ophelia further into the madness, which eventually leads to her death. Also it demonstrates how the revenge plot has affected Hamlet A bloody deed. Almost as bad as kill a king and marry his brother. He has killed, in cold blood and without provocation, the father of his love and yet seems to show itsy-bitsy remorse.Can Hamlet still be se en as the hero of the play when he himself is placed in the same situation as Claudius? Polonius death introduces a secondary revenge plot. Laertes now has to avenge his fathers death, inviting the audience to compare Laertes and Hamlet as revenger. The alleged actions of Claudius have provoked a motorcycle of revenge plots, in which all involved are led to their deaths. The penultimate scene of the play affects the resolution of the three revenge plots. Hamlet and Laertes both achieve revenge, in doing they so they sacrifice their res publicaly bodies and possibly their eternal souls.Young Fortinbras revenge on Denmark for his country as he and his armies easily occupy, thus turning previous defeats on their head. Both Hamlet and Laertes at the beginning of the play were both well-liked and talented men Hamlet had the possibilities of becoming king bestowed upon him. Yet at the end each die as a murderer who is damned to Hell. Hamlet in this form can be seen as a unvoiced comme ntary on the idea of revenge, that it is the role of God to act upon those who have wronged, not the individuals.A modern audience may read Hamlet in ways different to that of a Jacobean counterpart would have viewed it in. Themes of religion are very strong in the play, and while an Elizabethan audience may have had a strong belief in the concepts of divine retribution, a modern audience may be less convinced by this. morality is not as central to modern life as it was in the era the play was written. Thus issues such as deeds on earth having direct consequences on a persons fate in the afterlife- a crucial part of the genre, lessen in their importance.