On one level it helps develop the reader’s understanding of some of the play’s key themes. The first of these is revenge. At this point in the play, after Hamlet has earlier been told by his father’s ghost that he was murdered by his brother, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, Hamlet has taken no significant action to claim that revenge the ghost has demanded. He believes he has established grounds for taking the appropriate revenge, yet
The play was about Iago a character that is jealous of others who are getting what he wants and his plot to have revenge. He messed with innocent bystanders just to get his revenge and in the end he ended up hurt, alone, and more importantly without what he wanted in the first place. Hamlet was based on revenge and betrayal. Hamlet’s father was killed by his brother who went on marring Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet is given this knowledge by his father’s ghost and sets out to have revenge.
Hamlet decided to make a revenge of his father. He pretended that he is crazy. Hamlet still wasn’t sure about the soul of his father. Therefore prince Hamlet made a play that king was murdered. He could understand the situation by observing Claudius with this play.
When the Ghost and Hamlet finish their dialog Hamlet agrees to seek revenge against Claudius, but still doesn’t act. As the story goes, Horatio and Hamlet decided to test the King conscience with the re-act of the play of the king Hamlet death, so that way Hamlet could tell if the Claudius was guilty by his reaction, so after the performance the prince find Claudius kneeling alone praying. “Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying.
The struggle to act upon his father’s murder is a key factor in Hamlet’s disillusionment with the world. The Elizabethan period was a time that demanded revenge and this is even true in our present time to some extent. An eye for an eye approach was considered socially correct which Hamlet initially suggests ‘May sweep to my revenge’. Since Claudius has become the new king, he is considered a false king and imposter to the throne by Hamlet and this leads to the collapse of the natural hierachy that was in place. He states ‘tis an unweeded garden’ alluding to the fact that a false king leads to corruption which finally leads to the collapse of the hierarchy.
Taking revenge is an action of a resentful person who wishes to cause harm on someone for wrong done to oneself. It is up to the person taking revenge on how they will take action and when they will do it. In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Hamlet plans on taking revenge of his father’s death by killing Claudius, his father’s murderer and successor to the throne. Although the passionate Hamlet wants to take revenge of his father’s murder, Hamlet ends up taking a lot of time before he takes any physical action. Hamlet’s delay of his revenge is caused by Hamlet’s testing of the ghost, his frustration with his mother, and his act of antic disposition.
Freud notes that "Hamlet is able to do anything—except take vengeance on the man who did away with his father and took that father's place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized." In addition to Hamlet's oedipal anxiety, his delay in obtaining revenge as commanded by the ghost is also a source of psychoanalytical study. C. L. Barber and Richard P. Wheeler (1986) introduce their analysis of Hamlet by reviewing Freud's views on individual and social development. The critics assert that the psychological framework of Hamlet is informed by Hamlet's efforts to "cope with the desecration of his heritage." While they argue that Hamlet's problems cannot be simply reduced to the Oedipus complex, Barber and Wheeler state that an understanding of Hamlet "must be consistent with the presence of that complex, for the Freudian explanation clearly works."
No character is spared from this deception, and therefore, it stands as a key theme in the play, “Hamlet”. Behind everything else in this play, there is a constant awareness of the murderous nature of the king. He breached his brotherly trust by killing his brother, and deceived his country by lying about the “rank” deed. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown”. The murder was driven by lust for the queen and also a desire for power, two factors which remain with the king until the final moments in the play.
We can't truly say that he deceived Gertrude or not because we still don't know if she knows about Claudius killing the king or not because that is part of her own deception , but we know that he deceived the people and Hamlet himself (before he talks to the ghost). This next quote comes from the ghost of the king convicting Claudius of the murder ,"If thou didst ever thy dear father love- revenge his foul and most unnatural murder(p.57, act1,scene5 ,lines29-31). This quote proves that Claudius actually did commit the murder. This next quote is from Claudius himself after the funeral and the wedding giving a speach about the death of the king and the whole deal with Fortinbras,"To our most valiant brother-so much for him(p.21,
The demised king commissioned Hamlet to execute revenge against Claudius. Hamlet willingly accepted. As the plot advances, one tragic event follows another, all of which resulted directly or indirectly due to some form of treachery. The story depicts episodes of deep passion motivated by raft, jealousy and sadness over death and lost love. To name a few of the convoluted incidents, Hamlet was alienated from his beloved girlfriend, Ophelia.