Revenge
An eye for an eye is predominantly seen in Hamlet, the lack of understanding and the impulsive attitude of Hamlet gives the play another dimension altogether. Revenge is not a good thing to pursue but Hamlet chose to do so and together with his impulsive nature, cost him dearly. Three major families involved in the play got ruthlessly slaughtered, namely: the family of Polonius, family of king Fortinbras and lastly the family of Hamlet. This play gives an indication of how people act senselessly when they lose their near and dear ones. The eldest sons of all three families got involved in the vicious process of revenge and all the three paid a very hefty price for the same. Hamlet hogs the limelight and he is the one who slaughters people in the play, his impulsive and revengeful nature is easily the highlight of the play. There is an evident lack of thought in the major characters of the play, there are many major characters who take drastic steps without even giving it a thought and this is seen to have serious repercussion in the play. The downfall of all the tree families in the play happens for one common reason and that is to avenge the death of their near and dear ones and this factor is a big enough factor to conclude that Hamlet is a revenge based tragedy.
Aristotle was a genius and he set some guidelines for a play to be a tragedy. He believed that the presence of a tragic hero is a must for any tragedy; he also believed that the tragic hero suffers excessively in a tragedy. Hamlet is one such tragedy in which the character of Hamlet suffers excessively because of his tragic flaw.
Hamlet is a tragedy and in a tragedy the tragic hero suffers from a tragic flaw. The tragic flaw in Hamlet is the impulsive nature of Hamlet. Hamlet fails to act when he thinks, the whole process of acting upon a decision never happens in Hamlet and the same is the tragic flaw in Hamlet. One thing which stands out in the play is the ability of Shakespeare to manipulate the language; this has been very effectively done in the play. The play is based upon revenge; Hamlet takes revenge for his father’s death in the play. Revenge is a very dangerous motive but a very powerful one.
Shakespeare is a household name; he was a creative genius and produced more masterpieces than one. His popularity knows no bounds, even till date people hold the highest regards for his work. His work constitutes a part of the syllabus in major Universities and colleges. Hamlet is one of his masterpieces, Hamlet is a tragedy and in a tragedy the tragic hero suffers from a tragic flaw. The tragic flaw in Hamlet is the impulsive nature of Hamlet. Hamlet fails to act when he thinks, the whole process of acing upon a decision never happens in Hamlet and the same is the tragic flaw in Hamlet. One thing which stands out in the play is the ability of Shakespeare to manipulate the language; this has been very effectively done in the play. The play is based upon revenge; Hamlet takes revenge of his father’s death in the play. Revenge is a very dangerous motive but a very powerful one. This paper will throw light upon three different stories and the theme of life portrayed in those three stories.
Delay in Avenging the Death of his Father
Hamlet is a very intriguing play and the play is based around the story of revenge which gets delayed. Claudius is the protagonist in the play and Hamlet plays the role of a tragic hero in the play. He gets many chances to kill Claudius but he delays avenging the death of his father, Hamlet gets possibly the finest opportunity when Claudius is seen to be praying in the play but Hamlet does not kill him there, this prolonging of revenge shapes up the play very well and it is easily the highlight of the play. The impulsive nature of Hamlet is another very interesting aspect of the play. Had Hamlet killed Claudius earlier in the play, the play would have lost its charm, the delay in Hamlet’s revenge is one of the biggest factors that intrigues the readers.
Let’s now take into consideration the character of Hamlet, as discussed earlier, it can be easily made out that Hamlet was an impulsive person. His Father was the king of Denmark and he was killed by Claudius, who has now become the king by marrying Hamlet’s mother. A ghost tells Hamlet that his father was murdered by King Claudius and this allegation was later proved. Based on this assumption that Claudius killed his father, Hamlet decides to take revenge of the death of his father. Hamlet’s rash actions go on to decide his fate. In the sense that he succeeds in killing King Claudius but prior to this Hamlet ends up killing an innocent old man by the name Polonius. Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius while he was praying; this causes an unnecessary delay and only goes on to make the readers believe that the actions of Hamlet were very Impulsive. To conclude with the character of Hamlet it can be said that since revenge was his sole aim, no one could have predicted the future and there are risks involved when a person seeks revenge, so it is fair to say that the death of Hamlet was not surprising as a reader and he pretty much deserved it. This is purely based on the fact that anything can happen when one seeks revenge.
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Hamlet, 2 May 2009). Marcellus speaks this line the word rotten goes to show the atmosphere in Denmark. The atmosphere is very bad because of the crime committed by Claudius. He killed Hamlet to come to the throne and this is exactly what shapes up the play and it is also the plot of the play.
Hamlet is a revenge play in which Hamlet takes a revenge of his father’s murder which was committed by Claudius who came to the throne after killing Hamlet’s father. The play is an amazing play which became very popular because of the plot and the unseen events which take place in the play.
Theme in Hamlet
“What separates Hamlet from other revenge plays (and maybe from every play written before it) is that the action we expect to see, particularly from Hamlet himself, is continually postponed while Hamlet tries to obtain more certain knowledge about what he is doing. This play poses many questions that other plays would simply take for granted. Can we have certain knowledge about ghosts? Is the ghost what it appears to be, or is it really a misleading fiend? “(Spark Notes, 2 May 2009). The theme of Hamlet is very different and very intriguing too, this play brings to light the insanity of many characters and the same makes it theme extremely intriguing. The word choice of Shakespeare is extraordinary, his way of using words is really unique and the same makes his presence felt even to date.
Revenge in the Cask of Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe is undoubtedly one of the best American writers. Poe has several problems in his life and it reflects in his stories and the same also reflects in The Cask of Amontillado. This short story deals with revenge and the plot of the story also sees its main characters seek revenge against each other. Montresor and Fortunato are the two most important characters of the story and Montresor seeks revenge on Fortunato for an insult. The character of Fortunato displays pride in the story and ultimately as seen in innumerable stories proves fatal for him and leads to his downfall. This paper will throw light upon the short story “The Cask of Amontillado”. The characteristics of the story will be comprehensively presented in this paper.
Main characters hide their feelings
In this story the main characters time and again hide their feelings from the readers and the same builds suspense as the stories progress. “When Montresor decides that it is time to seek revenge for the “thousand injuries of Fortunato,” he does not make his feelings known. (The Cast of Amontillado, 2 May 2009). The above points also make both these stories interesting and fun to read. There is a lot to learn from this story for the reader for instance one can learn that pride leads to the downfall of a person and hence every one must keep a check on pride to ensure growth and prosperity. There are many more things that a reader can learn from these short stories.
Revenge Plot
In Cask of Amontillado, Montresor plans to take revenge on Fortunato and the readers get to learn that revenge is a very powerful motive but a dangerous one so we must take revenge on anyone no matter what that person has done to us. Montresor has shown extra ordinary planning to seek revenge on Fortunato, Poe has chosen this plot to tell the readers that revenge is something that must never be pursued and this is what the readers can learn from this short story. Even though the story is completely fictitious, it can be applied in the real world and there must be a lesson that should be learnt from it. The lesson of not to seek revenge against any one come what may. Poe is a master at developing curiosity among the readers and the story begins very abruptly and the same develops a lot of curiosity among the readers. Poe mastered the art of arresting the readers with the first few lines of his stories and this short story is no different. It begins with a very striking quote that immediately arrests the attention of the readers. Montresor’s pride shapes up the whole story and it is found that to satisfy his wounded pride he ends up plotting against Fortunato and ultimately this leads to the death of Fortunato. The lesson is in front of all the readers to learn, we must forget everything that creates a drive to seek revenge in our minds. We get a very good message from the story that must be implemented in real life to proper.
Theme of Cask of Amontillado
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a powerful tale of revenge. Montresor, the sinister narrator of this tale, pledges revenge upon Fortunato for an insult. Montresor intends to seek vengeance in support of his family motto: “Nemo me impune lacessit.”(“No one assails me with impunity.”) On the coat of arms, which bears this motto, appears ” [a] huge human foot d’or, in a field of azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are embedded in the heel.” (Theme, 2 May 2009). The words used by the author are very complicated and at one point create and anxiety in the minds of the readers. This short story is very well crafted and the theme is very interesting. The traits of major characters are also very interesting to study. To conclude it is very fair to say that this short story brings to light how revenge can change the intention of people, they become unpredictable and erratic in order to accomplish their mission.
Theme of A Good man is Hard to Find
The character of Misfit is the most important and the most destructive character in the story. The story again outlines the destructive theme; Misfit’s aggressive nature is outlined in the story. He murders a family in the story very ruthlessly. This story largely outlines the theme of Grace in Christianity. “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is the title story of O’Connor’s first short story collection, and, therefore, often serves as an introduction to the rest of her fiction. The story is enjoyable for its humorous portrayal of a family embarking on a vacation; O’Connor has been unforgiving in her portrayal of these characters—they are not likable. However, in creating characters that elicit little sympathy from readers, O’Connor has carefully set the premise for her main argument: that grace is for everyone, even those who seem loathsome.” (A Good man is hard to find, 2 May 2009). All these three stories are revenge based and outline the aggressive nature of human beings.
References
A Good man is hard to find. In E Notes. Web.
Claudius. In Shakespeare. 2009. Web.
Hamlet. In Spark Notes. 2009. Web.
Hamlet. In Spark Notes. 2009. Web.
Quotes from Hamlet. In Literary Quotations. 2009. Web.
The Cast of Amontillado. In Book Rags. 2009. Web.
Theme. In Edgar Alan Poe. 2009. Web.