Vengeance in Hamlet Essay Example

Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Essentially stating that solving violence with violence, will only create more violence, seeking revenge will do nothing for you. Historically, we know that violence runs in a circle and countless individuals have tried to warn us against it– Shakespeare being one of them. Shakespeare uses his play Hamlet (1603) to issue this warning, wherein, a man's quest for vengeance leads to the death of all of those close to him along with himself.  

By laying out the cause and effect of all of Hamlet's actions on his quest for revenge, we see a clear correlation between him and the deaths of essentially everyone around him. The tragedy began with Hamlet mistakenly stabbing Polonius from behind a curtain, thinking it was King Claudius– the man who killed his father, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!” (3.4.24). This one mistake becomes the catalyst for his downfall. Subsequently, Polonius’s death drives his daughter– and Hamlet’s girlfriend– Ophelia mad; she then drowns in a river as a consequence of her madness. The death of Ophelia and Polonius brings Laertes– Polonius’s son– home from France, now seeking vengeance. 

King Claudius attempts to be rid of Hamlet by sending him to England along with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: who happen to have a letter from Claudius asking the king of England to kill Hamlet, “By Letters congruing to that effect,// The present death of Hamlet. Do it England!” (4.3.66-67). Hamlet discovers and rewrites this letter to cause the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, his once friends. Laertes plots his revenge with King Claudius; however, their plan balloons into calamity leaving: Queen Gertrude poisoned, Laertes stabbed by Hamlet, King Claudius stabbed and poisoned by Hamlet, and Hamlet stabbed by Laertes with the same sword. 

Consistently throughout the story, we see Hamlet begin to fear and reject the idea of vengeance by constantly delaying himself and even questioning suicide. For instance, in the church scene, Hamlet has the chance to murder Claudius—“Now I might do it pat. Now he is a-praying”—but he doesn’t (3.3.74). Rather, he hesitates and leaves, finding seemingly any excuse to avoid carrying out his mission. Despite claiming to want revenge, Hamlet’s fear drives him into questioning suicide, as seen in the infamous “To be or not to be,” soliloquy (3.1.57). Fear of violence is shown to overweight the desire for revenge, 

At its core, Hamlet is a cautionary tale used to warn us of the traumas brought on by seeking revenge. Shakespeare is cautioning that venturing into the unforgiving throes of violence with a vendetta in mind, will only leave one broken and desolate. Our hero, Hamlet, would have likely lived a good life if he had decided to forgive and forget; instead, he tragically died along with his loved ones. One must learn from the mistakes of others, even if they are fictitious, and choose peace over violence.