Essay Sample on Hamlet's Revenge: War, Murder, and Family in Denmark

Introduction

The Burden of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a play whose setting is in demark depicting Prince Hamlet's scheme to revenge against his uncle Claudius for murdering his father and marrying his mother. All this happen at a time when there is a raging war between the kingdom of Denmark and Norway led by Norwegian prince Fortinbras (Shakespeare 10). Although Hamlet did not have any intentions to revenge his father's death because he was not aware that Claudius was the one who killed his father, he was not comfortable with the marriage between his uncle and mother. Hamlet develops the zeal to avenge his father's death following the revelation by his ghostly father that Claudius murdered him, and it was upon the request of his father that he avenges his death. Even though the words of his ghost father do not convince him, the search for the truth leads to death including Claudius and his mother. The decision by Prince Hamlet to avenge his father's death can be best understood through looking at the motivation behind the revenge, his drive and what he seeks to accomplish by killing his uncle, Claudius.

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At the beginning of the play, Hamlet does not have any intentions of committing murder but is heavily burdened by the fact that he does not have the attention of his father. As the play progresses, his intentions are changed by his friend Horatio who tells him about the ghost they have been observing (Lund 20). Hamlet eventually decides to speak to the ghost, and this becomes the first motivation to avenge his father's death. The ghost narrates the story of the serpent that seduces Eve and causes death to Adam. This is a biblical reference to the situation of old Hamlet being killed by King Claudius who ends up marrying Gertrude. According to Shakespeare, after the ghost confirms that he is Hamlet's father, he tells Hamlet "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (37). This changed his perception of his uncle whom he once knew as a good man, and now refers to him as murderous and full of tricks. His ghost father tells it gives him a plan on how to avenge his death. It is through the plan that he realizes that Claudius was able to kill his father through tricks and from now on he swears not to believe the words of his uncle.

The marriage between Claudius and his mother, Gertrude also motivates him. He refers to her mother as "frailty thy woman" implying that the two were seducing each other even before the king died. Hamlet hatred for her mother is further brought in the play of Hecuba watching her husband Priam die which relates to the situation where her mother watches the king die. The act strengths his desire to kill Claudius because he feels that by marrying her mother it was one of the reasons why he killed his (father Singh 200). The decision by his mother to marry someone who killed her husband also confirms the speculation. Thus, due to all this, Hamlet becomes imprisoned in the obligation to revenge the death of his father. Although divided between his strong Christian faith and tradition, he surely settles on the decision to kill Claudius as the only means to honor his father.

They are characters who also play a part in his motivation to kill Claudius. His encounter and conversation with characters within the play strengthen his motivation. It through the conversation that he realizes that Claudius had manipulated all of them to hide the acts he committed against the king, old Hamlet. One of the characters that lie to him is Ophelia when asking Ophelia about where her father was, she says "at the house my load" (117). It was not true because her father was watching the conversation that two were having. The incidence makes him not to trust the character because she is loyal to her father and Claudius. Ophelia's act and other characters that lie to him because of their loyalty to King Claudius further enhance his belief in the word of his ghost father, and this plays a significant part in motivating his decision to avenge his father death.

Hamlets mission to avenge his father seeks to honor his father. His seeks to free himself from the power that his father has over him. On various when he attempts to kill Claudius and he fails because he keeps on contemplating whether he should kill his uncle or not. The power of his father over him is evident when he appears to him reminding him that he should avenge his death. Hamlet eventually decides to kill his uncle to relieve himself of the burdening of having to follow his father's demand. According to Shakespeare, when Hamlet is watching his uncle pray, he speaks to himself saying "now might I does it pat, now he is praying...A villain kills my father; and for that...I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven" (80). The scene confirms his quest to accomplish vengeance because he seeks to honor the request of his father. Hamlet feels that as the only son of him the father he is under the obligation to avenge his death.

The belief that justice can arise by killing Claudius to avenge his father's death is what drives him. Despite all the other factors which motivate him to kill his father, the spirit to avenge his father's death as the only solace drives him to kill even after failing to do so in certain occasions when he had the chance to kill Claudius (Singh 201). He did go ahead with killing Claudius because he was not sure if it was the right thing to do, which was further, strengthened by his Christian beliefs. After failing to establish the best way to revenge for the death of his father, the only solution that he remained with was to kill his uncle. The drive for vengeance is strengthened by when he learned that Claudius had manipulated all the characters to cover for his deeds.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the decision by Hamlet to kill his uncle is brought out in his motivation and drive to seek vengeance. His father's ghost is what sets the stage for Hamlet's entire plans to kill his uncle. The characters that are manipulated by his uncle make him believe that his ghost father was right. He learns that his uncle was treacherous and it contributed to his ability to murder the old Hamlet. The decision by his mother to get married by his uncle justified that Claudius killed his father, and it made him go on with the plans to kill his uncle. Although he fails to kill his uncle at various occasions, his father appears to him and asks him that he revenges on his behalf, and being his father's only son he decides to kill Claudius.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Hamlet, prince of Denmark. Wellington, 1703.

Lund, Mary Ann. "Being Dead in Shakespearean Tragedy." Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Mortality and its Timings. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2017. 17-31.

Singh, Sandhya Kumari. "Hamlet-A Revenge Story." International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences 5.6 (2016): 200-201.