To Revenge or Not to Revenge? (for Brit Lit)

Revenge is not a new concept; the first murder—when Cain killed Abel—might be construed as revenge. The former brother killed the latter because he had found greater favor with God. In the same way, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, considers men that potentially “hath the primal eldest curse upon 't” (Hamlet III, iii, 38) because it is all about revenge taken by three sons avenging their fathers, with players ranging from Fortinbras, to Hamlet, and Laertes. Oddly enough, the effects of these revenges and the reactions them are not at all what one might expect.

The play’s first revenger, Fortinbras, has both the first and final word. At the beginning of the play, he is forming an army in order to attack Denmark (I, i, 81-107), despite the fact that the target of his revenge—King Hamlet—is dead (I, ii, 17-39). It is obvious that Claudio does not feel that Fortinbras has a valid reason for taking revenge upon him or Denmark, he dismisses his claims almost casually, proclaiming: “So much for him” (I, ii, 25). Horatio describes him as being: “of unimprovèd mettle hot and full” (i, 95). Even Fortinbras’ uncle rebukes him and makes him “vow.../To give th’ assay of arms against” Denmark (II, ii, 70-71). This form of revenge is clearly looked down upon: King Hamlet’s actions were legal and Fortinbras has no real claim (I, i, 86-95).

This, however, does not stop him from not only getting back what his father lost but presumably claiming all of Denmark for himself in the end. In an odd twist of fate, Hamlet dies proclaiming: “I do prophesy the election lights / On Fortinbras. He has my dying voice” (V, ii, 353-354). In the end not only is Fortinbras’ revenge served, it is presumably not fought against because Fortinbras has “some rights of memory in this kingdom” (390). If Shakespeare’s message comes directly from the mouths of his characters, in this instance he does not seem to disapprove of revenge, even when it just happens to show up at the right time, with all of the players already dead by other hands, in a place it was not supposed to be. Perhaps Fortinbras’ hands are cleaner than the other two sons’, however: he was not the individual who actually performed the act of revenge, he merely benefited from others’ actions.

Hamlet’s first reaction to the ghost seems to be that he trusts its report and will obey its command (I, v, 104-112), but two months later he still has yet to take revenge on Claudio (III, ii, 122). The stigma against revenge is a Christian one, yet Hamlet does not apparently believe in the concept of Heaven and is wondering what exactly does happen after death when he muses:

To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to—'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep.
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life. (III, i, 62-71)

Conversely, the difference between the play’s other revengers and Hamlet is that he does not simply want Claudio to die: he wants him to go to Hell (which is also quite a contradiction, if he does not actually believe in Heaven). He stays his hand, saying:

Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying.
And now I'll do 't. And so he goes to heaven.
And so am I revenged.—That would be scanned.
A villain kills my father, and, for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven.
Oh, this is hire and salary, not revenge. (III, iii, 73-79)

Hamlet is meant to be the play’s protagonist, its hero, and yet his heart is the darkest of the three revengers. He does not merely wish to be executioner, but judge and jury as well. Simply put, he wants to play the part of God. But staying his hand in this moment turns out to be his damnation. If he would have struck in this instance, Claudio would have gone to Hell because he has not truly repented, moreover Polonius, Ophelia, and Gertrude would not have died as a direct result of his actions. So, in this instance, Shakespeare seems to be saying that a quick revenge would have been the right choice to make.

Despite Polonius’ distasteful action, few would argue that eavesdropping should be punishable by death. As a result, Laertes revenge seems the most justified in many ways, though in many ways he is misled. When he storms the castle, Claudius soothes him, asking: “If you desire to know the certainty / Of your dear father's death, is 't writ in your revenge, / That, swoopstake, you will draw both friend and foe?” (IV, v, 140-142). He does not stand in the way of Laertes revenge (far from it); in fact he flatters him and encourages it (IV, vii, 70-138). Perhaps Claudius is not the best judge to turn to when discerning morality, but he is only trying to assuage the anger and sorrow of his queen and his people (11-24), therefore he must feel as if he can judge their reactions and what he will obtain in the bargain.

It is therefore the ultimate irony that Claudius endorses his own death. To Gertrude he soothes: “There's such divinity doth hedge a king / That treason can but peep to what it would / Acts little of his will” (IV, v, 123-125), while he was the original perpetrator against King Hamlet. To Laertes he promises: “If by direct or by collateral hand / They find us touched, we will our kingdom give, / Our crown, our life, and all that we can ours, / To you in satisfaction” (204-207). It is Claudius’ actions that provoked Hamlet’s murder of Polonius and therefore Hamlet’s revenge upon Claudius that atones for said crime. Laertes ultimately repents of his revenge, declares Claudius “justly served”, forgives Hamlet, and asks Hamlet to forgive him (V, ii, 322-326).

Hamlet is a tangled web of lies and deceit. It is difficult to judge whether Shakespeare was endorsing or censuring the actions of his protagonist and supporting players when he wrapped it up with what one is tempted to label “poetic justice.” He seems sympathetic of their plight in many ways, but brings all of it to a bloody end. It is hard to see any good coming of this situation, but since the reader cannot rewrite the play so Hamlet halts Claudius’ prayers, perhaps this is the best ending that he could give.