Hamlet Theme Essay

Hamlet Themes
In his play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare invites his audience into a multi–layered tragedy that
encapsulates many motives, deaths, and moments of deceit. Shakespeare utilizes a variety of themes
to communicate important insights and to give emphasis to various important messages of the play.
Hamlet encapsulates many themes, such as revenge, appearance versus reality, sanity versus
insanity, decay and corruption, family dynamic, and gender, that all mingle together throughout the
plot to emphasis the main ideas. Throughout the scenes, the reader meets Prince Hamlet, the son of
the late King Hamlet. Prince Hamlet returns home for his father's funeral when he realizes that his
mother has already remarried his uncle, Claudius. It is not too long after all of this information is
revealed to Prince Hamlet that his late father's ghost arrives in the castle and asks him to avenge his
death on the murderer, Prince Hamlet's uncle. This unravels a plethora of twists and turns that
strategically accentuate each theme to a different degree. Throughout Hamlet, by William
Shakespeare, it is evident that revenge is the most significant theme to the play as it is strongly
emphasized in many instances throughout the plot, most significantly, Hamlet's journey to kill
Claudius and Laertes' drive to seek vengeance on Hamlet, his father's murderer. To explain, in the
play, revenge is very prominent and crucial in many aspects of the play. The theme itself, as
portrayed in Hamlet,
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

Hamlet Theme Essay
In the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, the theme of revenge is overwhelming and and
that is why this theme is very interesting for me to explore. Many characters attempt to lure their
enemies to their death as payback. In our society, revenge is often brought out by anger and often
based on the principle of "eye for an eye" but in Hamlet, that idea is not very successful and
Shakespere is almost trying to teach the audience that revenge is often best when it i well planned.
The main characters Laertes, Fortinbras, and Hamlet, all seek revenge for the deaths of their fathers.
In the play, the Ghost says "Take revenge for his horrible murder, that crime against nature."(Hamlet
act 2). There are three main revenge plots within the play and each one is conceived by each of the
main characters. The first plot belongs to Hamlet and he wants to avenge the killing of his father by
killing his uncle Claudius. Everyone believed that Hamlet's father King Hamlet died accidentally but
when his ghost appears and tells that it was his brother Claudius who killed him, Hamlet...show more
content...
reacts swiftly and recklessly. He returns to Elsinore threatening to overthrow Claudius if he does
not explain the death of Polonius. When Claudius tells Laertes that Hamlet is responsible, Laertes
swears he will have his revenge; "Only I'll be revenged. Most thoroughly for my father" (IV, v,
133–134). He immediately agrees to take part in the King's plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes conspires
with the King to deceive Hamlet and challenge him to a fencing match, where Laertes will kill
Hamlet with a poison–tipped rapier. For good measure, Claudius also prepares a cup filled with
poison ready for Hamlet, if Laertes' sword fails to achieve its goal. King Claudius and Laertes' plan
to exterminate Hamlet works, but it comes along with their deaths as well, which reinforces the
theme of

Hamlet Theme Analysis
The Tragedy of Hamlet: Understanding the Themes William Shakespeare is well known for his
type of work called tragedies. The Tragedy of Hamlet happens to be one of his most well–known.
With many different attempts until the early 1600s, Shakespeare finally made his final edit of this
play which happens to be the one we read/see today (Braunmuller 3). This beloved plot captures the
audience with its sense of the impossibility of certainty, mystery of death, view on women, and its
complexity of action. In this play, Hamlet is constantly beside himself wondering what is real and
what is fake. He thinks he sees his father in the form of a ghost which makes him wonder, "Are
ghosts actually real?" "Is this ghost who it actually says it is?" The actions that we expect from
Hamlet in the play, are postponed at times to show us that he is trying to get the information
himself about what he is trying to do in terms of what to believe. This is what separates the play,
Hamlet, from all of the other plays about revenge out there. The ghost in this play also raises
questions for the audience about how the ghost actually knew about its own death (Hamlet:
Themes, motifs, and symbols par. 1). This play is not mostly about avenging Hamlet's father's
death, it is about how Hamlet deals with the issues he is dealing with internally (Theme of Revenge
par. 1). The fact that his father comes to see him and that he can actually talk to him, doesn't help
Hamlet's case any by
Annese 2 trying to

Theme of Revenge in "Hamlet" Essay
"If you seek revenge, dig two graves." This ancient Chinese proverb explains the mood in Hamlet,
a play, written by Shakespeare. The theme of revenge is seen throughout the play as each character
extracts one form or another of revenge from a person who has wronged them. In the play the
characters Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all desire revenge for a lost father; however, their
motivations for murder differ. Hamlet is unlike the other two characters in the way that he uses
reason and logic before he acts and decides to kill his uncle, Claudius, because he is aware of the
consequences. For example, when Hamlet is trying to determine how he can prove Claudius the
murderer, after conversing with the players about the play, following...show more content...
Laertes does not think about his actions or reason through them as Hamlet does, but reacts
indecisively and quickly to his father's death with no concern for the results. For instance, when
Laertes finds out about his father's death, when he barges into the castle Elsinore, and demands to
see the king, when Claudius convinces Laertes that he did not kill Polonius, answering Claudius'
question whether Laertes would kill even a friend to avenge his father, Laertes answers, "None but
his enemies." (IV, v, 165) The fact that Laertes would kill his own friend to avenge his father shows
that he does not care for the consequences that would follow murdering your friend. He is hot
headed and does not stop to think, so he does not realize he is being manipulated. Another instance,
following the discussion between Claudius and Laertes aforementioned, Claudius starts to flatter
Laertes into killing Hamlet for him, as Claudius questions Laertes commitment to avenging his
father, Laertes declares, " To cut his throat i' th' church." (IV, vii, 144) Laertes confesses with this
line that he does not believe in the consequences of the after life. He has no regards for the eternal
condemnation that taking a life results in. Fortinbras is the in between man of the three characters
involved in revenge, because although he is quick to react, he reasons through his decisions later on.
To exemplify this, in the after Claudius hearing of Fortinbras impending attack,

Hamlet is a play based on the theme of revenge. The common expression, an eye for an eye, is
overly explicit in Hamlet. In the play, the relationship between father and son is an underlying
achiever for each of the characters revenge. It is a common human trait for each son to feel
exasperated over the death of his father. Revenge establishes hatred and urge the men to take actions
without seeing sanity. Hamlet feels vacant knowing there is a solution to his father's death and
because there is no justice system to let Hamlet acknowledge the truth about his father's death, he
must take it into his own hands. Fortinbras is an inexperienced and wistful man that will stop for
nothing to get revenge on the characters that killed his father....show more content...
The itch for revenge is what led to the fencing match in the last scene of the movie. "I dare
damnation. To this point I stand, That both the worlds I give to negligence, Let come what comes,
only I'll be revenged Most thoroughly for my father" ( IV.V.151
–154). The fencing scene was a
bloody scene with a bloody ending and ultimately leading to death. Furthermore, Laertes ability to
act rashly and his determination was a reason that convinced him to fight Hamlet. Laertes is one of
the characters with the most determination to fight for what he believed in. Pursuing this further,
Hamlet also wanted to seek revenge on some of the other characters. In Hamlet, Shakespeare,
focuses on a young avenger who, though in the fullness of his physical and mental vigor, has fewer
resources of personal experience and social standing to call upon and is assailed by self–doubt and
self–blame. Most significant is the Ghost's insistence for Hamlet not "taint" his mind in the course
of taking revenge, it is necessary to achieve a moral resolution to the problem of Claudius' crimes
and fully vindicate the honor of both father and son. "Sleeping within my orchard, My customs
always of the afternoon, upon my secure hour thy uncle stole With juice of cursed hebona in a vial
And in the porcheof my ears did pour The leprous distilment, whose effect Holds such an enmity
with blood of man That

Hamlet is a very complex play where many themes are mixed together at the same time and those
themes are essential to the development of the play. The issue of death, both physical and emotional
is very common throughout the play. The famous 'To be or not to be' soliloquy, where Hamlet not
only questions life and death, but many of life's other uncertainties as well. The most essential theme
in Hamlet is revenge. Revenge is a scary emotion, which causes people to act blindly and without
any reason at all. Revenge is a theme that is shown throughout the play; with it being with two of the
main characters in the play. In the very begin of the play it is introduced by the appearance of
Hamlet's father in the first scene, which automatically...show more content...
Hamlet was thinking that it was Claudius, stabbing his dagger right through the rug. This causes
much grief and sadness for many people. During this period of time Hamlet treats his girlfriend
Ophelia like a piece of crap, calling her a whore and denying her his love. This with her father's
death causes her to go mad and eventually commit suicide. This was a particularly sad death
because Ophelia was just an innocent bystander in a cruel plot for revenge. Laertes believes that
it was the king that killed his father; but the king quickly puts Laertes on Hamlets trail and pushes
him to avenge his father's murder. From this point on, Hamlet and Laertes become the main
characters in the play two characters driven by revenge. Meanwhile, after all the trouble and pain
Hamlet has brought he is still talking about all his plans for revenge. Hamlet realizes his acts of
revenge so far have been through word rather than deed, "O, vengeance! Why, what an ass am I!
This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and
hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words, And fall a–cursing, like a very drab, A
stallion! Fie upon't! foh!" (Act 2 Scene 2 Line 581) Despite this, Hamlet continues only to speak
about his plans for revenge, and never puts any of his ideas in to practice until the last scene. At one
stage Hamlet had a perfect chance to kill

Hamlet Theme Of Hamlet
Hamlet is an interesting play with many themes like revenge, death, and many more. The theme
that is chosen is acting and have been seen through many parts of the play. It is like a person who is
nice to you, but gossip behind your back. This is what you call a "Two Faced" person or a "Snake"
in modern term. In the play, "Hamlet", it implies that acting emphasizes that people are not always
what they seem to be. Throughout the play, Hamlet acts if he is going "mad", Claudius acts that he's
"king–material", and Laertes acts "sincere" towards hamlet.
Ever since the start of the play, Hamlet is going mad to be seen as "crazy". He is talking with
Horatio and Marcellus about his experience with his ghost figure father. The ghost comes out
telling them to swear of his appearance, a secret. Hamlet then states that he will put on an "antic
disposition" after he has sworn (Act 1, Scene 5, pg 67, line 191–192). This means that he will start
acting odd or strange. This is start of Hamlet's strange acts across the play. Afterwards, his next
strange act is when he is talking to polonius "For if the sun breeds maggots in a dead dog, being a
god kissing carrion–Have you a daughter?" (Act 2, Scene 2, pg 95, line 197–199). He compares
himself as the sun who can breed maggots with a dead dog, and compares the dead dog as ophelia.
By breed maggots, he means to be able to produce life with ophelia. As Polonius hears and sees
many strange things Hamlet is saying, he states aside that "Though

Themes in Hamlet Essay
Themes in Hamlet
Within the Shakespearean tragic drama Hamlet there are a number of themes. Literary critics find it
difficult to agree on the ranking of the themes. This essay will present the themes as they are
illustrated in the play – and let the reader prioritize them.
Michael Neill in "None Can Escape Death, the 'Undiscovered Country'" interprets the main theme of
the play as a "prolonged meditation on death":
How we respond to the ending of Hamlet – both as revenge drama and as psychological study –
depends in part on how we respond to [the most important underlying theme] of the play – that is, to
Hamlet as a prolonged meditation on death. The play is virtually framed by two encounters with the
dead:...show more content...
What is the central, unifying action of Hamlet? Revenge. (43–44)
R.A. Foakes in "The Play's Courtly Setting" explains the burden of revenge which the protagonist
must carry for the duration of the play:
Perhaps the most terrible feature of his recognition of corruption everywhere is his recognition of it
in himself too; where others deceive he must deceive too, where others act he must put on an antic
disposition, where the inmost desires and passions of others must be revealed, so must his own
passions be roused. And where there is no legal punishment for his father's death, he must stoop,
driven by the universal wrong, and "being thus be–netted round with villainies", to revenge. He must
share the corruption of others in spite of his nobility, and recognize in himself the common features,
"we are arrant knaves all." (53)
Marchette Chute in "The Story Told in Hamlet" describes the opening scene of the drama, which
introduces the theme of supernatural influence on the present:
The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being
changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the
bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete
armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet's

Themes Of Hamlet Essay
THEMES
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Asthe main theme
of this play emanates from the appearance of the King Hamlet's ghost to his son, narrating him the
circumstances of his death, and that his anticipation from his son to take revenge from Claudius for
his death.
KEYWORDS : fundamental , King Hamlet's ghost , circumstances.
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF CERTAINTY What separates Hamlet from other revenge plays (and
may be from every play written before it)is that the action we expect to see, particularly from
Hamlet himself, is continually postponed while Hamlet tries to obtain more certain knowledge about
what he is doing. This play poses many questions that other plays would simply take...show more
content...
Shakespeare first uses the revenge theme to create conflict between Hamlet and Claudius. In Act
I, Hamlet is visited by the Ghost of his father, who makes Hamlet aware of his murderous death
completed his brother. The ghost says this to Hamlet regarding Claudius, "Revenge his foul and
most unnatural murder"(Shakespeare, Hamlet, I , v, 25).this is where Hamlet is first introduced to
the revenge plot between himself and Claudius. Hamlet wants to insure that the ghost really was
his dead father before he kills Claudius. Hamlet wants to entrap the king by making him admit his
actions. To do this Hamlet has people act out the death of his father in front of Claudius and
declares him Guilty by his reactions to the play, "o good Horatio, I'll take the ghosts word for a
thousand pound'' (iii, ii,281–282) . Hamlet affirms that Claudius' guilt to Horatio and now realizes
that he must continue on revenge plot. Hamlet's desire to get revenge for his father is the driving
force to the development of the play. While Hamlet takes the length of the play to take actions,
laertes, upon hearing of his father's murder, reacts swiftly and recklessly. He returns to Elsinore
threatening to overthrow Claudius if he does not explain the death of Polonius. When Claudius tells
which reinforces the theme of vengeance. While Hamlet and laertes are at opposing

Hamlet Theme Family Essay
Grace 1
Kayla Grace
October 29, 2012
Unit 2: Family
797 words
Hamlet: Family Relationships The theme, family, in The Tragedy of Hamlet is major theme with
lots of major points. This play is notorious for how it dwells on the issue of incest. In
Shakespeare's time, incest was a sin against God and the state. Queen Elizabeth I asked the Church
of England to come up with a list of rules about marriage, basically a list of relatives who couldn't
marry, including in–laws. Also another focus is how politics can impact the dynamics of family. The
values brought on by a parent are vital in developing a characters values and sense of purpose.
Although Hamlet shows all distress about his mother's marriage is Claudius, his relationship...show
more content...
(III.iv.57–60) In contrast to "a mildewed ear / blasting his wholesome brother" (III.iv.65–66)
comparing King Hamlet to Claudius. Polonius's relationship with his children is far worse that
Hamlets relationship with his biological parents. In the first act, Laertes warns Ophelia not to fall
for Hamlet because he simply cannot marry outside of royalty. Polonius overheard their
conversation and chipped in, "Tender yourself more dearly, / or you'll tender me a fool".
(I.iii.107–109) As an unmarried daughter, Ophelia has no choice but to be obedient to her father.
This means that Polonius is free to force Ophelia to break up with Hamlet. He's also free to use his
daughter as bait to spy on
Grace 3
Prince Hamlet. His over controlling self eventually drives her mad and ends her life in suicide.
This just shows that father's often use their daughters to negotiate strategic political alliances.
Polonius's relationship with Laertes is worse than his relationship with Ophelia. His desire to
dominate over his son is just the start of a line of examples. He asks Reynaldo to defame his son.
He is more obsessed with his image and fame than his son's. Once Polonius was murdered, Laertes
still wanted to avenge his fathers death, which shows this relationship was only one–sided. To top off
all of these

The Theme of Hamlet
John Doe
English 2 H
April 1, 2015
Hamlet Theme Essay The themes of Appearance vs. Reality are very prominent in the play
Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Throught the story many characters act in a deceitful manner in
an attempt to seem like an innocent pawn in the game of life, when in reality they are the most
corrupt characters in the play. Polonius an excellent example of appearance vs. reality. Throught
the story Polonius seems to be a loyal servant to the kingdom, serving the previous and current king
as a personal adviser. To the average citizen in the kingdom Polonius seems to be just as loyal of an
adviser to King Claudius, but Hamlet exposes Polonius to be a deceitful man, who by supporting the
new king has betrayed his...show more content...
Ophelia comments on Hamlets madness during act 2 by saying "My lord, as I was sewing in my
closet, Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd,
Ungarter'd, and down–gyved to his ancle; Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other; And with
a look so piteous in purport As if he had been loosed out of hell To speak of horrors,–he comes
before me." (Hamlet Act 2, scene 1, 77–84) By saying this about Hamlet Ophelia lets the audience
understand how insane Hamlets appears to be to the kingdom and how his excuse of "love sickness"
is the perfect alibi to trick his fellow members of the kingdom and manipulate them into "getting
what he wants" through his "illness"
Shakespeare has the theme of Appearance vs. Reality affect almost every character in Hamlet. The
concept can be used to reflect the actions and thoughts of every single character in the story no
matter how influential. Whether it be Polonius acting as if he has been loyal to Claudius his whole
life, Gertrude marrying her husbands brother Claudius almost immediately after his death or even
Hamlet himself acting lovesick as an alibi for his "madness" to fool his fellow royalty; The theme of
looking one way on the outside but thinking another on the inside it not an uncommon occurrence in
the play Hamlet by William

Hamlet Theme In Hamlet
In the play Hamlet there are many themes that were brought to our attention; Madness, Revenge,
Mortality, Religion, Incest, Family, and Death. In this essay we will be discussing two of these
themes that we found intriguing, the two themes are Death, and Revenge.
(2.2.487–488) In Act 2 Hamlet asks for a speech, and the First Player delivers a description of the
killing of old, white haired King Priam. Pyrrhus (The Killer), swings his sword at King Priam, and
misses, but King Priam ends up falling to the ground anyway. At that moment a tower crashes to the
ground. For an instant, with his sword held above Priam's head, Pyrrhus listens to the rumble of the
falling tower, but "after Pyrrhus' pause, / Aroused vengeance sets him new a–work." In this is scene
Vengeance is Revenge but Pyrrhus does not represent the same kind of emotions that Hamlet has
backing his intentions for revenge. The First Player weeps as he tells Hamlet the story of Queen
Hecuba's grief for her husband. Hamlet thinks to himself that the First Player feels more strongly for
Queen Hecuba then Hamlet does for his father. Hamlet begins to unravel and realize that he's still
talking rather than taking action.
O, vengeance! Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words, And
fall a–cursing, like a very drab, A stallion! Fie upon't! foh! (2.2.581–587).
Hamlet decides that instead of taking revenge he will see if the ghost is telling the truth or not.
He says that he wants to take revenge but does not have the heart in him to do it. This helps to
develop the play because we see that Hamlet is reluctant to take revenge for his father because he
doesn't really know the truth of what happened. After the death of Hamlet's father Hamlet is
obsessed with the idea of death. He ponders both the spiritual aftermath of death, embodied in the
ghost, and the physical remainders of the dead, such as by Yorick's skull and the decaying corpses
in the cemetery. The question of his own death plagues Hamlet as well, as he repeatedly
contemplates whether or not suicide is a morally legitimate action in an unbearably painful world.

Hamlet Theme Essay

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from Custom Paper Services

More from Custom Paper Services (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Hamlet Theme Essay