Revenge and Justice in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

William Shakespeare's Hamlet is one of the most important works that revolves around vengeance and never goes out of style. Revenge is a tool for Shakespeare to use in many of his tragedies; however, in this specific work, his revenge creates a chain in the play and constitutes a big part of it. "Private revenge acts were understood at the time to be actions taken by an individual in response to a wrong committed on themselves or their family group," according to Lavery. Also, as Francis Bacon states in his work "On Revenge," "REVENGE is a kind of wild justice [...]" (sic), and the real purpose behind revenge is the thirst for justice. Thus, in this play, Hamlet’s desire for revenge becomes understandable for the reader or the audience. On the other hand, as much as he wants revenge, he wants to be sure of his actions. As a tragic hero, Hamlet spends a lot of time thinking and plotting rather than acting because of his doubtful nature, which pushes him into overthinking. So, it can be stated that the reason why Hamlet waits so long before taking his revenge in the play is his need to be sure of the crime and that justice is served.

There are three main revenge stories in the play, and the three heroes of these stories all have different motives and approaches to the matter of vengeance. These are Fortinbras, Laertes, and the main characters of the play Hamlet. While Fortinbras’ revenge is not connected with Hamlet’s and only serves as an example to show Hamlet what one would do to avenge their father’s honor and fire his desire for revenge, it still exists and is worth discussing. Hamlet, when he sees Fortinbras’ army on its way to take back the lands that were taken from his father, states:

HAMLET. Sith I have a cause, will, strength, and means

To do’t. Examples as gross as earth exhort me.

Witness this army of such mass and charge,

Led by a delicate and tender prince,

Whose spirit with divine ambition puffed

Makes mouth at the invisible event,

Exposing what is mortal and unsure

To all that fortune, death and danger dare,

Even for an eggshell. Rightly to be great

Is not to stir without great argument,

But greatly to find quarrel in a straw

When honor’s at the stake. […] (Shakespeare, 4.4.45-56)

Fortinbras is ready to sacrifice everyone for a useless piece of land for his and his family’s honor, and upon seeing this, Hamlet questions why he still did not act and was lingering. He decides to be more determined and violent by saying:

HAMLET. […] Oh from this time forth,

My thoughts are bloody or be nothing worth. (4.4.65-66)

Even when he decides to get to his revenge plan, he mentions "thoughts," not actions. This creates a line between Fortinbras and Hamlet. Laertes, who, as a result of Hamlet’s revenge plans and a mistake made by him, loses his father, is a character that shares the same motive with Hamlet, too. He, on the other hand, does not regard himself as a man of action in the same way that Hamlet does, as evidenced by the following lines:

CLAUDIUS. […] what would you undertake 

To show yourself in deed your father’s son

More than in words?

LAERTES. To cut his throat i’th’church. (4.7.122-125)

Instead of him, Claudius assumes the mission of plotting revenge. This also creates a contrast between them, however: "All three men feel like they have no choice, that it is a question of ‘when’ rather ‘if they shall get their revenge" (McQuillan). So, all of these men seek revenge and justice as a traditional mission, but the only one who uses a lot of his time to calculate everything is Hamlet, who, unlike others, is a man of thought.

Hamlet continuously delays his revenge plans because he has doubtfulness as a personality trait, even though he occasionally shows that he is eager to take revenge in the play, for example, when he first encounters the Ghost, by saying:

HAMLET. Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift

As meditation or the thoughts of love 

May sweep to my revenge. (1.5.29-31)

He is not able to act before being completely sure of his uncle’s crime. He needs solid proof instead of a ghost’s unreliable words. For this reason, he arranges the play "The Mousetrap" to reveal Claudius’ guilt and conscience. After the play is performed, he is convinced that his uncle is the murderer of his father and that the ghost, whom he mistook for the devil, was not lying. As a result, he plans to take action.

Even after catching Claudius off guard and being in a position to kill him after the play, Hamlet hesitates to kill him. As it was mentioned above, revenge was not only practiced in the Elizabethan Era. It was a way, though violent, to serve justice. Hamlet, even when he is sure that Claudius is an offender, cannot kill him because he needs the proper conditions to properly provide justice. He is praying when he finds Claudius in a vulnerable situation. Hamlet dictates:

HAMLET. Now might I do it pat, now a is a-praying, 

And now I’ll do’t – and so a goes to heaven,

And so am I revenged. That would be scanned.

A villain kills my father, and for that,

I his sole son do this same villain send

To heaven.

Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge. (3.3.73-79)

"If Hamlet took Claudius’ life at this point, then Hamlet would have his revenge, but justice would not have been served" (McQuillan). For Hamlet, an act of revenge is proper if it brings justice along. As a result, unlike Laertes, who is willing to kill Hamlet even in the church, Hamlet wishes for the murderer to be in an unholy environment for he to suffer eternally and in equal pain. Hamlet, as do many Elizabethan men, chases after justice while seeking revenge.

In conclusion, as an Elizabethan playwright, William Shakespeare uses his times' values and opinions on revenge, family honor, and justice to tell the story of Hamlet and his instincts of thinking, calculating, and plotting. Even though he shares the same motives with the other revenge-seekers in the play, Fortinbras and Laertes, he differs from them in his need for true action and proper justice. First, he wants to be sure that Claudius is guilty. Second, he wishes for his vengeance to bring Claudius the same consequences as Hamlet's father's murder, namely, eternal pain and suffering. Thus, it takes him a long time to kill Claudius.