Themes are important ideas in a literary work. Revenge is avenging the wrongful death of someone was a normal practice in Elizabethan times. Hamlet takes it to another level. Hamlet gets so rapped up in seeking vengeance for the death of his father he forgets about other aspects of his life. In his pursuit for revenge he accidentally kills Polonius. This leads to Laertes seeking vengeance against him. Then there is the theme of madness included in Hamlet and with all the killing that has happened who wouldn’t go mad?
The first mentioned of revenge begins in Hamlet with the Ghost says to Hamlet “So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear” (1.5.7). He says that if Hamlet ever had love for his father, he’ll “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.29-31). Hamlet makes a promise to prove his love and do his duty. He asks the Ghost to tell story about the murder, and then the revenge will follow. “Haste me to know’t that I, wish wings as swift, As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge” (1.5.29-31).
The First Players give a speech to Hamlet about the King Priam. The killer, Pyrrhus swings his sword at the King and misses but the King still falls. At the same moment the tower falls after Pyrrhus listens to the fall he commences to kill Priam. Even though “Vengeance” is revenge Pyrrhus and Hamlet’s motivation is different. Pyrrhus was a Greek and King Priam was a Trojan. The Greeks waged war against the Trojans because Trojan Paris stole Menelaus wife Helen. Which makes Pyrrhus revenge less personal. All this makes Hamlet question himself as to why he has not carried out his revenge. Hamlet calls himself a coward as he has come to the realization that he has been talking more than doing.
When Laertes returns from France he states that “both the worlds I give to negligence, Let come what comes; only I’ll be revenged, most thoroughly for my father (4.5.135-137). Laertes is so determined to carry out his revenge even if that means that...