Message In Hamlet About Guilt And Revenge example essay topic

In Hamlet there are buried many strong messages and suggestions. The reader of this play may look only at the surface of the words written, but would miss all the haunting messages of life and living without any faults. Throughout this play the ideas of guilt and vengeful thoughts pull at the words and actions of Hamlet and his uncle Claudius. These themes of the character's thoughts have an underlying message that Shakespeare hopes readers and listeners will pick up. Shakespeare repeats the theme in many of these character's lines to make his point to the audience. Shakespeare uses the words and thoughts of the two main characters to show that guilt and vengeful thoughts control people once they are allowed entrance to the human body and mind Hamlet is the first poor soul who lets vengeful thoughts enter him.

All to soon his father's ghost comes to warn him of his uncle's doings. Hamlet, before knowing the truth, begins his plot with a hurried promise that he, "with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to (his) revenge". The ghost leads him to the truth when it remembers, "sleeping in my orchard, a serpent stung me... ". and goes on to tell him who the "serpent" was. The quick prince becomes fully aware of the vengeance he must seek. He begins to be possessed by the spirit's unrest at having been murdered. The spirit's warning has him speaking, "but wild and whirling words... ". to Horatio and Marcellus.

This happens so soon after talking to the spirit that it must be placed on the shoulders of hamlet's promise of revenge for the spirit. Shaken by the portent of his over hasty words Hamlet becomes so confused it is easy for the idea of taking revenge for his father's death to become imbedded in his mind as the best star to guide him. The question of vengeance against the King is brought up numerous times, forcing many speeches from our "prophetic soul" as he stumbles within his thoughts and actions to take the revenge the ghost has so long waited for. Revenge is the one idea leading to his rash action towards Polonium and smart remarks against both the King and Queen.

Alas, it also leads to his untimely demise. As the play proceeds Claudius begins to feel the audacity of what he has done to his brother. He begins to feel the guilt rise towards his skin wanting to break out onto the world. He begins to be afraid. His words and actions slowly tell his decline into a deep pit of guilt.

This guilt is what makes him afraid. He is afraid of what he has done and what the consequences from his nephew may be if he ever finds out. Claudius knows that his "offense is rank, it smells to heaven; it hath the primal eldest curse upon't, a brother's murder". He realizes in his act three soliloquy that he is, "still possessed of those effects for which (he) did the murder", and will never be able to repent enough to save his "limed soul".

A hint of the King's guilt is shown only to the other characters the one time that he realizes someone else knows his secret. This one time is at the play. The guilt takes over his actions in his command to send Hamlet to England, to his death. This feeling again comes to control him as Hamlet slips from England's strangling grasp back into Denmark to exact his final revenge. While the King plots with Laertes guilt obliges him with the wicked idea of trying to get rid of Hamlet once again.

The poison sword is backed up with poison wine so as to finish the job fully. The fear of his guilt builds in the King to the point where he is willing to try anything to get rid of the one person who could spoil every one of his plans. Guilt controls his decisions in life, making him live in fear of what Hamlet and God may do to him. The feeling of guilt and vengeful thoughts are what quickened the death of the two main characters in this play. After seeing this, one must ask what did Shakespeare want to convey with this message?

What did this playwright want to show the audience that was so important? In the real world, Shakespeare said that we are still players on the stage in a melodrama called life. He wrote his plays for the world in hopes that if one only listened, then one would hear rustling messages in the leaves of his verses. This message in Hamlet about guilt and revenge must make us believe not in our own selfish feelings, but in the revealing of these feelings to friends and family. This revelation put into the play Hamlet would make a much different ending maybe even a happier one.

Do we in this much-changed age want to live our own small tragedies or would we like the happier ending? This must be asked if only to spark the warm fire near which we all could sit someday and smile together to know we " ve beat guilt and revenge.