The Tragedy of Hamlet: Revenge, Madness and Mortality

Elizabethan literature refers to works produced during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), and it is one of the greatest eras of English literature. Elizabeth, I led a strong culture that saw notable achievements in the arts and discovery adventures. The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, it is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, it revolves around the story of Prince Hamlet's revenge on his uncle Claudius. This essay is going to discuss some of the main themes in Hamlet's play, they are madness, mortality (death), and revenge.

Revenge is considered the basic theme in Hamlet's play; it is basically known tragic bloody revenge play. Revenge is the main motivation for the sequence of events of the play, it is also the cause that lead to the deaths of the major characters. Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes who come from three different families feel that they need to revenge the deaths of their fathers. Thus, they are willing to take a revenge which bring back the honor of their families. For example, Prince Hamlet; he has eagerness to kill his uncle (the new King) because he poisoned his father, (the former king). Therefore, revenge is considered the issue around which the novel is centered as a major goal they seek to achieve.

Madness is another main theme that resulted from revenge, it is portrayed by several characters in the play. Throughout the play, Hamlet claims that he is mad All people around him are being questioned about his madness, while the purpose the Hamlet wants is to make Claudius suffers for his sin; killing his father. It is very clear from the beginning that Hamlet is not insane, he is sad for his father's death. Then, his mother's marriage of Claudius. Madness is the first step of the plan prepared by Hamlet to revenge. Meanwhile, after his father’s death, Ophelia becomes mad and falls in a great depression, thus her madness leads her to a suicide. Therefore, madness is another main theme that resulted of revenge.

Another basic theme in Hamlet is death, Hamlet was continually talking about suicide, but in fact, he is really concerned in mortality. Throughout the play, Hamlet treated death from a lot of perspectives, he thinks about both the spiritual and physical aftermath of death, which are embodied in the ghost, Yorick’s skull and the decaying corpses in the cemetery. The idea of death is closely related to the themes of spirituality, truth, and uncertainty. Because death is one of consequences of revenge, it is directly related to the theme of revenge and justice. For example, Claudius’s kill of King Hamlet led to initiates Hamlet's need for revenge, and Claudius’s death is the end of that need. Thus, death is the goal that Hamlet pursues to get throughout the play through revenge.

Hamlet is one of the greatest plays by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is characterized by its prominent characters, its complex themes such as, revenge, madness, and death. These themes which have been mentioned above. Revenge was the main motivation which lead to the other themes, death and madness. Accordingly, severe consequences, such as death that was represented in death, and madness represented in grief, are all caused by the desire for revenge, which indicates that evils will lead to destruction.