hamlet revenge thesis statement

Our process
Testimonials

Great Examples of Hamlet Thesis Statements

Do you need to write a paper on Hamlet? Are you confused and don’t know how to come up with a thesis statement? Read this article and get some more insight into the ways how to write a successful thesis on this popular piece of art!

Hamlet is one of the most famous tragedies created by William Shakespeare. This classic play is extremely important for the English literature. Most students have written an essay on this tragedy at least once during their studies. It is an essential part of their requirements to complete a degree. If you do a profound research, your thesis on Hamlet can break some new grounds and exert an impact on your readers.

One can find a number of topics covered in Hamlet. The most important ones are duality, revenge, and confusion. Meanwhile, the central theme of the tragedy is mourning. All of the themes are eternal: people faced these issues in the times of Shakespeare and we still encounter them in the present days. Therefore, it is not as hard as it may seem to choose a thesis on Hamlet. If you are creative enough, you can come up with an original and interesting thesis statement. All you need to do is to study the tragedy thoroughly to get your opinion regarding it.

Calculate the cost of essay

Your Hamlet thesis statement can be related to any of the major topics of the play, including mourning, duality, revenge, and others. Further in this article, you will find several good examples of thesis statements on Hamlet. You can use them as a guide to understand the point and create your own thesis statement.

Thesis Statement Samples

Example 1:The Theme of Revenge in Hamlet “Hamlet is a sorrowful hero who is madly looking for vengeance for his beloved father’s demise, murders everyone who stands on his way, and eventually manages to take revenge by killing King Claudius, the man who murdered his father.”
Example 2:The Theme of Tragedy in Hamlet

“Hamlet’s melancholy, blemish, bogus madness and inability to take action on his desire to seek vengeance for his father’s killing – it all result into his unavoidable but tragic collapse.”

Example 3:The Theme of Hunger for Power in Hamlet

“William Shakespeare, in his famous tragedy Hamlet, tells about Claudius – an antagonist and an egocentric man who is seeking power by all means. He murders his brother and marries Queen Gertrude, his brother’s widow to attain the power he desires so much.”

Limited Time OFFER!

Get 19% OFF

What do you think about these thesis statements? Hopefully, they will help you understand how a good thesis on Hamlet should look like and come up with your own excellent statement! If you are creative and original, you will succeed with your paper.

Hamlet and Revenge

vasiliki/Getty Images

Shakespeare's Life and World
Best Sellers
Classic Literature
Plays & Drama
Short Stories
Children's Books
M.A., Theater Studies, Warwick University
B.A., Drama and English, DeMontfort University

What is arguably Shakespeare 's greatest play, "Hamlet," is often understood to be a revenge tragedy, but it is quite an odd one at that. It is a play driven by a protagonist who spends most of the play contemplating revenge rather than exacting it.

Hamlet’s inability to avenge the murder of his father drives the plot and leads to the deaths of most of the major characters , including Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Gertrude, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. And Hamlet himself is tortured by his indecision and his inability to kill his father's murderer, Claudius, throughout the play.

When he finally does exact his revenge and kills Claudius, it is too late for him to derive any satisfaction from it; Laertes has struck him with a poisoned foil and Hamlet dies shortly after. Take a closer look at the theme of revenge in Hamlet.

Action and Inaction in Hamlet

To highlight Hamlet’s inability to take action, Shakespeare includes other characters capable of taking resolute and headstrong revenge as required. Fortinbras travels many miles to take his revenge and ultimately succeeds in conquering Denmark; Laertes plots to kill Hamlet to avenge the death of his father, Polonius.

Compared to these characters, Hamlet’s revenge is ineffectual. Once he decides to take action, he delays any action until the end of the play. It should be noted that this delay is not uncommon in Elizabethan revenge tragedies. What makes "Hamlet" different from other contemporary works is the way in which Shakespeare uses the delay to build Hamlet’s emotional and psychological complexity. The revenge itself ends up being almost an afterthought, and in many ways, is anticlimactic.

Indeed, the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy is Hamlet's debate with himself about what to do and whether it will matter. Though the piece begins with his pondering suicide, Hamlet's desire to avenge his father becomes clearer as this speech continues. It's worth considering this soliloquy in its entirety.

To be, or not to be- that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them. 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 wish'd. 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. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th' unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would these fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death- The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn No traveler returns- puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action.- Soft you now! The fair Ophelia!- Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins rememb'red.

Over the course of this eloquent musing on the nature of self and death and what actions he should take, Hamlet remains paralyzed by indecision.

How Hamlet's Revenge is Delayed

Hamlet’s revenge is delayed in three significant ways. First, he must establish Claudius’ guilt, which he does in Act 3, Scene 2 by presenting the murder of his father in a play. When Claudius storms out during the performance, Hamlet becomes convinced of his guilt.

Hamlet then considers his revenge at length, in contrast to the rash actions of Fortinbras and Laertes. For example, Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius in Act 3, Scene 3. He draws his sword but is concerned that Claudius will go to heaven if killed while praying.

After killing Polonius, Hamlet is sent to England making it impossible for him to gain access to Claudius and carry out his revenge. During his trip, becomes more headstrong in his desire for revenge.

Although he does ultimately kill Claudius in the final scene of the play , it's not due to any scheme or plan by Hamlet, rather, it is Claudius’ plan to kill Hamlet that backfires.

Hamlet Plot Summary
Hamlet Themes
'Hamlet' Overview
'Hamlet' Themes and Literary Devices
Death as a Theme in Hamlet
'Hamlet' Summary
A Scene-by-Scene Breakdown of 'Hamlet'
'Hamlet' Characters: Descriptions and Analysis
'Hamlet' Quotes Explained
Hamlet Character Analysis
The Prevalent Social and Emotional Themes in the Play "Hamlet"
A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet,' Act 3
'Hamlet' Act 1 Summary, Scene by Scene
What Is a Soliloquy? Literary Definition and Examples
'To Be, or Not to Be:' Exploring Shakespeare's Legendary Quote
Tragic Flaw: Literary Definition and Examples

The Theme of Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Research Paper

Introduction, theme of revenge, works cited.

There is hardly a single play in the world that is as well-known and popular as Hamlet. One might enjoy it or hate it, but either way, one will definitely find something strangely attractive about it. Perhaps, the given effect owes much to the palette of emotions that Shakespeare uses in his play; it has something for everyone, starting with the pain of losing a father to the dilemma between betraying a friend and being killed, which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have to deal with.

The most powerful emotion that makes the play work, however, is the desire of taking revenge. Viewed from several perspectives in Hamlet , it was and still is one of the most complicated feelings to deal with. Exploring the many ways of how revenge shapes the lead characters’ lives, Shakespeare offers a unique journey into the troubled mind of the protagonist, showing how tragic and at the same enthralling vengeance can be.

The idea of revenge has always been controversial, allowing both to feel sorry for the leading character and at the same way to see him/her as an outsider crossing the line between good and evil. As a wise man, Shakespeare knows it and uses the given idea not only as a plot device, but also as a perfect foil for the character development.

Therefore, Shakespeare allows for viewing revenge as both the drastic measure that signifies Hamlet’s gradual descent into madness and as dispensed justice. Therefore, the double-sidedness of the argument adds controversy to the leading character, bringing the torture that Hamlet goes through into the light.

The plot of the play is known worldwide; a power-hungry brother of the monarch of Denmark kills the latter, marries the widow and plots to kill the monarch’s only son, Hamlet. The latter, after seeing his father’s ghost and learning the truth, feels that he is taken over by revenge and sets up a performance that copies Claudius’s, the murderer’s, plan and results in a tragic denouement and the untimely death of Hamlet and the rest of the characters.

Therefore, the story is basic enough; however, one more element at times seems to be on par with the leading characters of the play. To be more exact, the emotion of revenge that seizes Hamlet nearly becomes an independent being. Setting the theme for the entire story, it turns Hamlet into a three-dimensional character and creates a moral dilemma mentioned above, i.e., the explanation – though not a moral justification – for Hamlet’s actions.

The revenge theme gets the plot of the story off the ground, helping the readers view Hamlet as both a victim and a villain, bringing the XXII-century audience to the prehistoric eye-for-an-eye idea of justice: “Hamlet, in fact, is not represented at this point as a virtuous character” (Gottschalk 156). In fact, Kastan points out that Hamlet “is never quite as ‘apt’ as a revenger” (Kastan 112).

Shakespeare seemed to have conducted research on personality and how it influences human behavior at various levels. This play has focused mainly on the theme of death that has been propagated by the desire to seek revenge by different characters.

It is necessary to state that while reading this book an audience may be persuaded to think that the main theme is death but this is not the case. This play has focused on death through its major cause and not in its entirety. Therefore, this book presents death as an effect and not a cause as some readers may believe.

The story begins with the scene of a Ghost that speaks to Hamlet and informs him that the present king killed it. Apparently, this Ghost is the spirit of Hamlet’s father who was the previous king of this land before he was killed. It reveals to Hamlet that Claudius was responsible for its death and thus he should seek revenge to fulfill his father’s wish. Old Hamlet is very angry because his brother killed him to become the King of Elsinore.

Therefore, it can be concluded that Hamlet’s revenge mission is motivated by the need to seek justice and expose the evil deeds of his mother, as well as bring back the honor to his father’s name (Skulsky 78). Naturally, it is expected that when a husband or wife dies the other partner should at least wait for sometime before getting married. However, in this case the opposite happens when Gertrude rushes to marry Claudius even before the burial ceremony is over.

On the other hand, it cannot be denied that the idea of revenge that seizes Hamlet’s mind is self-destructive. Even though the audience would probably be happy to see the main antagonists of the play, i.e., Claudius and Gertrude, being punished and finally getting what they deserved, the ending does feel devastating, which must signify the fact that vengeance is a pointless end in itself; once it has been achieved, there is nothing left to live for.

It is necessary to state that Hamlet is seeking revenge just to prove that he is not a coward. His emotions betray him and he does not see why he should kill Claudius apart from the fact that he killed and took his late father’s wife (Shakespeare). However, after the First Player expresses his concern about Queen Hecuba’s misfortune Hamlet is convinced that this character is more concerned about his father’s death than he ought to be (Riley, McAllister and Symons). This challenges him to evaluate whether or not he should kill Claudius.

On the other hand, King Claudius uses underhand ways to seek revenge against his enemies. He convinces Laertes that Hamlet is to blame for his sister’s madness and that he should seek immediate revenge (Shakespeare). However, Laertes is not convinced that Hamlet deserves to die even though he is later persuaded to kill him. His anger is not sufficient to warrant his vengeance against Hamlet and he finally tells him about his plans. However, Hamlet manages to persuade him to stop his plans and together they plan to kill the king.

Revenge has other effects on the characters apart from causing death and suffering to victims. First, it changes their perception towards life and other people (Gottschalk). Gertrude learns that all men are ruthless due to what she witnesses in her surrounding and vows never to get married again. Secondly, Hamlet is not persuaded to kill King Claudius but since this will be a show of brevity and loyalty he decides to do it just to make his father happy and prove that he is not a coward.

Gottschalk, Paul. “Hamlet and the Scanning of Revenge.” Shakespeare Quarterly 24.2 (1973): 155–170. Print.

Kastan, David Scott. “’His Semblable in His Mirror’: Hamlet and the Imitation of Revenge.” Shakespeare Studies 19.14 (1987): 111–124. Print.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark . n. d. Web. < http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html >.

Skulsky, Harold. “Revenge, Honor and Conscience in ‘Hamlet’.” PMLA 85.1 (1970): 78–87.

Riley, Dick, Pam McAllister and Julian Symons. “Hamlet. Young Prince Takes Revenge on Murderous Uncle.” The Bedside, Bathtub and Armchair Companion to Shakespeare . London, UK: Continuum, 2001. 255–259. Print.

Summary & Analysis
Genre & Literary Analysis
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Essay Samples
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, August 27). The Theme of Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-theme-of-revenge-in-shakespeares-hamlet/

"The Theme of Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet." IvyPanda , 27 Aug. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-theme-of-revenge-in-shakespeares-hamlet/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'The Theme of Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet'. 27 August.

IvyPanda . 2022. "The Theme of Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet." August 27, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-theme-of-revenge-in-shakespeares-hamlet/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Theme of Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet." August 27, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-theme-of-revenge-in-shakespeares-hamlet/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Theme of Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet." August 27, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-theme-of-revenge-in-shakespeares-hamlet/.

Hamlet And Laertes: A Comparison
Hamlet and Laertes in Shakespeare’s "Hamlet"
Hamlet & Laertes: Fathers’ Death Reactions
Gertrude's Character in "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare
Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras: Revenge for the Deaths of Their Fathers
Recurring Theme of Revenge in Hamlet
The Character of Gertrude in ‘Hamlet’
Hamlet: Gertrude’s Complicit Character
Ghosts and Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: Hamlet as a Masculine Character
Trifles: A Play in One Act
William Shakespeare's Othello Summary | Essay Example
The Downfall of Othello
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Heart of Darkness
Tragic Error in the "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles

William Shakespeare

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Every society is defined by its codes of conduct—its rules about how to act and behave. In Hamlet , the codes of conduct are largely defined by religion and an aristocratic code that demands honor—and revenge if honor has been soiled. As the play unfolds and Hamlet (in keeping with his country’s spoken and unspoken) rules) seeks revenge for his father’s murder, he begins to realize just how complicated vengeance, justice, and honor all truly are. As Hamlet plunges deeper and deeper into existential musings, he also begins to wonder about the true meaning of honor—and Shakespeare ultimately suggests that the codes of conduct by which any given society operates are, more often than not, muddy, contradictory, and confused.

As Hamlet begins considering what it would mean to actually get revenge—to actually commit murder—he begins waffling and languishing in indecision and inaction. His inability to act, however, is not necessarily a mark of cowardice or fear—rather, as the play progresses, Hamlet is forced to reckon very seriously with what retribution and violence in the name of retroactively reclaiming “honor” or glory actually accomplishes. This conundrum is felt most profoundly in the middle of Act 3, when Hamlet comes upon Claudius totally alone for the first time in the play. It is the perfect opportunity to kill the man uninterrupted and unseen—but Claudius is on his knees, praying. Hamlet worries that killing Claudius while he prays will mean that Claudius’s soul will go to heaven. Hamlet is ignorant of the fact that Claudius, just moments before, was lamenting that his prayers for absolution are empty because he will not take action to actually repent for the violence he’s done and the pain he’s caused. Hamlet is paralyzed in this moment, unable to reconcile religion with the things he’s been taught about goodness, honor, duty, and vengeance. This moment represents a serious, profound turning point in the play—once Hamlet chooses not to kill Claudius for fear of unwittingly sending his father’s murderer to heaven, thus failing at the concept of revenge entirely, he begins to think differently about the codes, institutions, and social structures which demand unthinking vengeance and religious piety in the same breath. Because the idea of a revenge killing runs counter to the very tenets of Christian goodness and charity at the core of Hamlet’s upbringing—regardless of whether or not he believes them on a personal level—he begins to see the artifice upon which all social codes are built.

The second half of the play charts Hamlet’s descent into a new worldview—one which is very similar to nihilism in its surrender to the randomness of the universe and the difficulty of living within the confines of so many rules and standards at one time. As Hamlet gets even more deeply existential about life and death, appearances versus reality, and even the common courtesies and decencies which define society, he exposes the many hypocrisies which define life for common people and nobility alike. Hamlet resolves to pursue revenge, claiming that his thoughts will be worth nothing if they are anything but “bloody,” but at the same time is exacting and calculating in the vengeances he does secure. He dispatches with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern , charged with bringing him to England for execution, by craftily outwitting them and sending them on to their own deaths. He laments to Horatio that all men, whether they be Alexander the Great or a common court jester, end up in the same ground. Finally, he warns off Horatio’s warning about dueling Laertes by claiming that he wants to leave his fate to God. Hamlet’s devil-may-care attitude and his increasingly reckless choices are the result of realizing that the social and moral codes he’s clung to for so long are inapplicable to his current circumstances—and perhaps more broadly irrelevant.

Hamlet is a deeply subversive text—one that asks hard, uncomfortable questions about the value of human life, the indifference of the universe, and the construction of society, culture, and common decency. As Hamlet pursues his society’s ingrained ideals of honor, he discovers that perhaps honor means something very different than what he’s been raised to believe it does—and confronts the full weight of society’s arbitrary, outdated expectations and demands.

Religion, Honor, and Revenge ThemeTracker

Religion, Honor, and Revenge Quotes in Hamlet

Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

This above all—to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

O, villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!

O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.

What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form, in moving how express and admirable; in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

The play’s the thing, Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

We defy augury. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Explain the Theme of Revenge in Hamlet

Back to: Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Table of Contents

Introduction

Revenge is an action taken in return for an injury. In “The Tragedy of Hamlet”, Shakespeare deeply explores the theme of revenge. In the play, before the ghost reveals itself to those sentinels, Hamlet seems inactive. The knowledge of betrayal fills him with actions. The same goes for Laertes and Fortinbras.

These three characters are developed under their insuppressible urge for vengeance. Hamlet is a philosophical observer who in the beginning is crushed by the fact that after the death of his father, his mother is married to his uncle now but he is yet to be revengeful.

Only when the ghost reveals the betrayal which resulted in the death of Hamlet’s father and asks to “ revenge his foul and most unnatural murder ”, Hamlet gains a completely new way to channel his earlier disgust and mourning. In front of the ghost he swears that “ the time is out of joint ” but he “ was born to set it right! ”.

Through the character of hamlet, the theme of revenge can be studied philosophically. Betrayal precedes revenge. Hamlet alongside the death of his father also avenges for the betrayal by his two friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when he forges the very letter to the King of England in which Claudius had ordered the execution of Hamlet.

Hamlet shows us the moral thoughts and principles of existence which goes behind the choices he makes. Hamlet fights within. In him, revenge is first exercised in words. Inaction drains him. He cries out, “ what an a-ss am I!… prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, must like a wh-ore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab .”

Laertes and Hamlet

Laertes is against Hamlet since he knew about his affairs with his sister Ophelia. He is introduced in the play already with certain spite against Hamlet. Before leaving for France, he asks Ophelia to doubt Hamlet’s will. During his stay in France, Polonius mistaken for Claudius is stabbed by Hamlet and dies.

Laertes is enraged by this news. Under Claudius’ provocation, he swears revenge which is doubled after knowing that Ophelia has drowned herself. His way to seek revenge is an active way when Hamlet’s revenge is first worked out in his thoughts.

Fortinbras since the beginning of the play is determined to get the lands back from the kingdom of Denmark. He wants to avenge what Hamlet’s father did when he was the king. In a cunning way, he gets his army closer to the capital.

Different Dimensions of Revenge

Through his smooth victory in the end, Shakespeare might be showing us the smoothest way of revenge. Collectively, the theme of revenge is explored in its many dimensions.

Claudius manages to get Laertes and Hamlet in a fencing match but the fate worked differently and Gertrude is killed by mistake when she sips wine supposedly poisoned for Hamlet. Laertes dies in the fight but he amends with Hamlet right before dying.

Revengefulness can also have a consoling end. But it is Hamlet in whom revenge works out in an entirely different way. He can’t simply kill Claudius without questioning the morals of the time and place i.e. he didn’t kill Claudius when he saw him in a praying position. Revenge and its various implications is one of the prime thematic concerns of the whole play.

Customer Reviews

To describe something in great detail to the readers, the writers will do my essay to appeal to the senses of the readers and try their best to give them a live experience of the given subject.

You get wide range of high quality services from our professional team

Andre Cardoso

Can I pay after you write my essay for me?

10 question spreadsheets are priced at just .39! Along with your finished paper, our essay writers provide detailed calculations or reasoning behind the answers so that you can attempt the task yourself in the future.

Article Sample

bee movie script
hills like white elephants
rosewood movie
albert bandura
young goodman brown

How it Works
Top Writers