Revenge plays a critical role in Shakespeare's Hamlet, as Hamlet and Laertes both seek revenge on each other for their father's deaths. Hamlet is a revenge tragedy. Revenge causes you to act blindly through anger, rather than through reason. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye, but this principle is not always an clever theory to live by. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their fathers. They all acted on emotion, and this led to the downfall of two, and the rise to power of one. Since the Heads of the three major families were each murdered, the eldest sons of these families swore vengeance, and two of the three sons died while exacting their acts of vengeance, revenge is a major theme in the Tragedy of Hamlet. .
There were three major families in the Tragedy of Hamlet. These were the family of King Fortinbras, the family of Polonius, and the family of King Hamlet. The heads of each of these families are all slaughtered within the play. Every one of the three eldest sons had one thing in common:- they all wanted revenge for a slaughtered father. In the time in which this play is set, avenging the death of your father was part of your honour, and had to be done. All of the three sons swore vengeance, and then acted towards getting revenge for the deaths of their fathers. Young Fortinbras was deeply enraged by the death of his father, and he wanted revenge against Denmark because of this occurrence. Fortinbras wanted to, by force, regain the lands that had been lost by his father to Denmark.
Laertes found out about his father's death, and immediately returned.
home. He confronted the King and accused him of the murder of his father. Claudius told Laertes that Hamlet was responsible for his father's death. He then decides to kill Hamlet to avenge the death of his father. He and Claudius concoct a plot to kill Hamlet. Hamlet dies of wounds from the poisoned tipped sword Laertes used.
