All revenge tragedies stemmed from the Greeks, after this came Seneca who was very influential to Elizabethan playwrights, it was here that Shakespeare got some of his influence for Hamlet. Hamlet is at heart a regular take on the theme of revenge tragedy, but while it keeps mostly true to the formula that Kyd created it takes the theme onto new plateaus. In the play by William Shakespeare, he gives the audience somewhat straightforward take on the theme of a revenge tragedy, the standard skeleton of what other playwrights used and fleshes it out by having every action performed for a reason and also by employing multifaceted characters, especially the play's protagonist.

As with all genres, there are certain conventions which define it from others and these will appear in every play considered to be a typical revenge tragedy. There will be the appearance of a ghost, to get the revenger to go through with the deed. Appearing also will usually be forbidden sexuality, family honour, violent and sexual imagery and in the end, the downfall of the protagonist concluding with their death. In Hamlet, these aspects are visible and act as the bare bones for which Shakespeare works with. Shakespeare uses the practice of a ghost in a revenge tragedy after Horatio confesses to Hamlet that he has seen his father walking the battlements at night, once Hamlet is alone he says to the audience “My father‘s spirit - in arms - all is not well”. The phrase “all is not well” here is Shakespeare implying that the ghost has some unfinished business and the fact that the ghost is appearing in full battle armour is suggestive of his need for vengeance, the ghost is preparing for a battle but only Hamlet can fight it for him. Shakespeare further uses the ghost to convey the theme of retribution upon its meeting with Hamlet, the ghost tells to Hamlet of his murder and that he must “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder”. Here Shakespeare has used the words “foul” and “unnatural” are observable as they are suggesting that Hamlet father was not meant to die this way, that is was purely down to Claudius’ iniquitous act. Another feature which Shakespeare has used from customs of a revenge tragedy is that of sexual imagery. In the closet scene, Hamlet goes on a tirade against his mother, telling her how he truly perceives her and says of her sexual relationship with Claudius as being “in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed Stewed in corruption,”. Here Shakespeare has Hamlet describe the bed they share as greasy, which is reflective of the slimy way Claudius got into the bed, by killing his brother. A word which is noticeable here would be the word “Stewed” which appears ambiguously as not only did it mean to bathe in sweat but in Elizabethan times brothels were referred to as `stews`. Shakespeare has cleverly used this tactic in which Hamlet is really calling his mother a whore for jumping into bed with Claudius. Shakespeare also uses the convention of violent imagery after Hamlet has used the play to confirm Claudius’ guilt, he speaks of his plans for Claudius saying “Now I could drink hot blood”. Shakespeare has allready made it so that these words sound unusual coming from Hamlet, so by saying this Shakespeare is having Hamlet say something in this aggressive nature to get him in the correct frame of mind to go through with it, to force a reaction out of himself. The key word which Shakespeare has directly put down here is the word “Now”, conveying that Hamlet could not perform such an act unless he had the proper motives, that he could not commit an evil deed just for the sake of it. Even though these features are apparent in Hamlet, these are merely the starting blocks with which Shakespeare has worked with and added too to create the play. There are three main assets in Hamlet which diverge it from other revenge tragedies, the first of which being that the dramatic action in the play is not cheap, Shakespeare never has someone die just for the sake of it. An example of Shakespeare declining to use cheap dramatic action occurs after he has Hamlet kill Polonius, mistaking him for Claudius. Hamlet uncovers Polonius’ body and goes on to say “intruding fool, farewell”. Here Shakespeare has Hamlet be quite rude to the now murdered Polonius and Shakespeare uses the word “intruding” to suggest not only Hamlet’s dislike for Polonius but also his opinion that Polonius was getting in his way. This is also done to now show the change in Hamlet’s character and possibly the beginning of his downfall. Shakespeare makes this never more apparent that when Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius but declines as it would send him to heaven, calling it “hire and salary, not revenge” as Claudius appears to pray. Here Shakespeare shows us that Hamlet wants to avenge his father in the correct way, that it cannot simply be taken. Here Shakespeare has shrewdly used the metaphor of hiring and paying someone for a service and paying them for sending Claudius to heaven if Hamlet were to kill him. As Shakespeare gives Hamlet this perfect opportunity to kill Claudius he shows us an example of Hamlet thinking too much when he should rather be acting. By this stage we are allready aware of Hamlet as a philosopher, thinker and a scholar and when Shakespeare gives him this opportunity to kill Claudius he says of sending him to heaven “That has no relish of salvation in ‘t”. The word “salvation” is of interest here as Shakespeare is using it to suggest Hamlet’s need for revenge, that it would rescue him from the sadness he feels for his father’s death. This is another component which sets Hamlet aside from other plays of the revenge tragedy genre, his own inaction. In Hamlet, Shakespeare shows us an extremely cautious character, who rarely acts impulsively, if at all. A good example of this is after the ghost of Hamlet’s father first appears to Hamlet and instead of going off to kill Claudius, he has to be sure of his guilt. To be sure of this Shakespeare cunningly makes Hamlet have a ensemble of actors perform a play not to dissimilar to the murder of his father and will gage his reaction to it, declaring “the play‘s the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King”. Here Shakespeare's use of rhyme adds to the flow of the speech and also the use of the word “catch” in which Shakespeare conveys Hamlet laying out a trap for Claudius and seeing whether he will fall for it. Shakespeare further uses the device of Hamlet’s inaction to great effect when Hamlet begins to berate himself for his inability to stop thinking and go forward and commit the act of revenge. This is shown after Shakespeare makes Hamlet witness Fortinbras’ army marching on through to Poland and Shakespeare then has Hamlet go on to question his honour for not taking revenge on his father when the army is prepared to lay down their lives for the sake of a piece of land. Hamlet then goes on to demand action from himself stating “My thoughts be bloody, or nothing worth”. In this Shakespeare has Hamlet issue himself an ultimatum, saying that he must act now and using the word “bloody” to convey Hamlet’s attempt to make his thoughts or it will all be worth nothing. This is not the first instance in which Shakespeare has Hamlet persecute himself, after an player comes to the palace and Hamlet has him perform a speech, in which he cries, Hamlet goes onto criticize his inaction, stating what the player would do if he had “the motive and cue for passion That I have? He would drown the stage in tears”. Here Shakespeare’s use of the word “drown” needs attention as it is a metaphorical way of suggesting that the player would cry greatly on stage, with Shakespeare having Hamlet convey that his motives are strong enough to require a stronger reaction. Shakespeare also puts across Hamlet’s inaction upon his return to Denmark and having him present at the funeral of Ophelia. Shakespeare then has him go onto leap into her grave, challenging her brothers love by claiming that his is more, he then claims that “I loved Ophelia”. Here Shakespeare shows us the extreme to which Hamlet will not act, waiting until it is too late to confess his love for Ophelia. Also the word which requires attention is “loved”, in which Shakespeare has Hamlet confess his love for Ophelia in the past tense, as if now that she is gone he does not love her anymore. The third and perhaps greatest reason for Hamlet being so much more than a typical revenge tragedy is the complexity of its protagonist, Hamlet. We are not given a bloodthirsty careless individual which the genre usually requires but instead Shakespeare gives us a philosophic good natured character, confronted with the greatest of moral dilemmas. Shakespeare shows us this side of Hamlet when he speaks to the audience, not knowing he is being spied on by Claudius and Polonius. In this soliloquy, Shakespeare expresses Hamlet’s disillusioned state of mind by having him question life, beginning to philosophise about death when he asks “To be, or not to be” in which he questions whether to live or die. Shakespeare has here made Hamlet put out an idea and then retract it in the same sentence, this is mirroring Hamlet’s undeceive nature as well as illustrating Hamlet’s jaded state of mind. A further way in which Shakespeare illustrates Hamlet’s confused mindset is after Claudius’ guilt has been proven and he declares “I‘ll take the ghosts word for a thousand pound”. Here Shakespeare exemplifies that Hamlet is certain of Claudius’ guilt and the word which sticks out here is “take”, this Shakespeare has Hamlet say as if what the ghost told was an offer and if Hamlet can take vengeance for it, he will be absolved of the sadness he feels for his death. Another take on the idea that Hamlet’s character is more than an archetypical avenger is that his depression precedes the ghosts appearance. Before Shakespeare even lets Hamlet know of his father’s murder, he makes it clear to the audience at the beginning of the play directly after the funeral of his father that Hamlet is allready on the verge of suicide by having him declare “How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world”. Here Shakespeare has Hamlet exclaim something heavily loaded with irony, that of a prince having nothing. The word which is palpable in this proclamation is the word “uses”, in which Shakespeare puts across Hamlet’s take on the world, that it is something which can be utilized or used. Also in the scene before Shakespeare has Hamlet meet with the ghost we glimpse into one of the other characters in the play, Gertrude. She sees her son as overly mourning the death of his father and tells him to “cast thy nighted colour off,” in which Shakespeare has her tell Hamlet to stop being so dark natured in his grief with the use of the word “cast” which Shakespeare uses to show Gertrude’s lack of genuine concern for Hamlets feelings if she feels that he can simply cast aside such feelings of grief.

It is these features and reasons why Hamlet is by all means a revenge tragedy but at the same time it takes the genre onto a new level with the character of Hamlet being one of the most intricate and profound in dramatic history. Shakespeare has taken influence from Seneca and taken the formula which Kyd created for a revenge tragedy and used that as a starting point, with which he has fleshed out and made into world renowned play and a timeless classic.