"Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, is a revenge tragedy set in Denmark, which was written around 1600. It closely follows the dramatic conventions of revenge in Elizabethan theatre. Revenge tragedies originally stemmed from the Greeks, who wrote and performed the first plays. After the Greeks came Seneca who was very influential to all Elizabethan tragedy writers. Seneca, set all of the ideas and the norms for all revenge play writers in the Renaissance era including William Shakespeare.
The recent death of King Hamlet is a great loss to his son Prince Hamlet and his unhappiness is not helped by his mother's "o"er hasty" marriage to his uncle Claudius. Hamlet was obviously very fond of his father. "A was a goodly king.".
One of Hamlet's most significant themes is the one about revenge. Throughout the play there are three central plots for revenge. Hamlet vows revenge on his uncle, Claudius. Laertes vows revenge on Hamlet. Fortinbras vows revenge on King Hamlet. There is also another minor revenge plot during the play within a play where Priam seeks revenge for his father's murder. All three characters endure the death of their father, which shows a common bond between Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes.
The theme of war runs alongside Hamlet's revenge plot as the army of Norway led by Fortinbras invades and conquers Poland before repeating this with Denmark. Fortinbras himself is driven by his desire for revenge for his father's death. With Fortinbras being a soldier he is more active than Hamlet in seeking his revenge immediately, but has respect for Hamlet and shows his by giving him a soldiers funeral. "Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage". Fortinbras and Hamlet contrast each other in their emotions and actions. While both princes have lost their fathers and seek revenge, Fortinbras immediately pursues revenge while Hamlet procrastinates.
Hamlet himself has been a student at the university of Wittenberg.
