Sweet Revenge (Paper On Revenge In Hamlet)

Sweet Revenge

Revenge is a natural instinct in the human mind. Humans want to get back at people that have done them wrong and most of the time this is done quickly and rashly, without actually doing much harm. Revenge cannot be something done on an impulse. It needs to be planned in order to be successful. In William Shakespeare's revenge play Hamlet, Hamlet delays his revenge because he wants to be able to absolutely prove Claudius's guilt in killing the King.

The first point in the play were the reader sees Hamlet delay his revenge is the scene in which Hamlet meets his father's ghost who tells him of Claudius's involvement in his death. During the conversation between the two, Hamlet appears very determined to revenge his father's death. "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings...may sweep to my revenge." (I, v, 34-35) This seems as though it would be the normal response for a father and son relationship, so why does Hamlet not run to Claudius and kill him after hearing this? Because Hamlet is not a rash character, instead he thinks things through. After thinking about it, Hamlet is not certain whether or not the ghost is truly his father. Hamlet wants to be positive that what he has learned of Claudius is true before he kills him, protecting himself against killing an innocent person. This leads us to an excellent plan and another point in the play were the reader sees hamlet delay his revenge

Another great opportunity for Hamlet to revenge his father's death seems as though it would be after the play put on by the players. Hamlet's plan of hiring the players to act out exactly how he suspected Claudius killed his father worked perfectly. "O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for a thousand pound."(III, ii, 301) So now here is Hamlet with more proof of Claudius's involvement in his father's death and yet again he delays his revenge. This time he delays not because of uncertainty but because of what people would think. Hamlet has enough evidence for himself, but is this enough evidence for the other people? It would not look all that great if he killed the King and could not prove to the people that the King killed