Revenge…Not So Satisfying

Shakespeare’s Hamlet describes a man who seeks revenge on his uncle. His Uncle, King Claudius, kills Hamlet’s father in hopes of taking over the throne. Hamlet is haunted by his father’s ghost, who reveals to him that his brother, Claudius, was his murderer. Hamlet is torn between the idea that the spirit who appears to him is the ghost of his father and the possibility that it may be an evil spirit trying to deceive him. Hamlet has a hard time coping with the fact that his father’s brother may have been the cause of his death. He decides that he will arrange for a play to be performed in front of his uncle which reinacts the killing of his father by Claudius. If Claudius’s expression reveals a sense of guilt and understanding, Hamlet would know that his uncle was the true killer of his father and he must take action. However, whenever he comes across the opportunity to take revenge on his uncle, he makes up some sort of excuse as to why that time is not right. At one point, he sees that his uncle is praying and does not want to kill him then because his sins would be forgiven and he would go straight to Heaven.

This constant worrying about taking revenge on his uncle takes a serious toll on Hamlet’s physical and mental state. The idea of revenge begins to eat him alive and he is unable to focus his attention on anything else. Hamlet eventually loses track of his desire to take revenge on his uncle and ends up harming innocent people (for instance, Polonius, who he kills by blindly stabbing behind a bed curtain).

Hamlet’s display of being eaten alive by a desire for revenge can serve as an example to all people. When trying to get back at others by hurting them, you end up simply hurting yourself. For example, in fights, there is a decided “winner.” But in the end, through fighting, both people have gotten hurt, no matter who the “winner” is.  Taking revenge makes you just as bad as the original offender.

 

 

“In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.” – Francis Bacon