"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." (I, v, 25). The dead king's ghost touches upon one of the major themes conveyed through Hamlet; which is revenge. The craving for revenge is a debilitating force, and the pursuit of it can infect the most intelligent of all man. Once tainted by this infectious disease, no man can be cured of it. Through the use of two foil characters, William Shakespeare projected that the desire for revenge is an unavoidable power moving the mind closer towards destruction.
From the beginning of the play, Hamlet has vowed to get swift vengeance. Although, his procrastination slowly eats away at him, like a virus. "Of thinking too precisely on th' event ---"(IV, iv, 41), Hamlet realizes that; the more he debates over it, the harder it is to complete the task at hand. He is emotionally enraged from the constant remembrance of his father's murder. The more people think on the topic the less time there is to act on it and things don’t get done. In the stress of powerful emotion, Hamlet dips into a state of madness. "Bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain! O, vengeance!" (II, ii, 536-38). When Hamlet notices the Player beginning to cry, he realizes the degrading power of revenge. Hamlet try’s to push aside his inner feelings of revenge, but it only makes it harder for him to hold on to any rational thought. Hamlet is paralyzed by an interpersonal battle resulting from over evaluation of his situation. Every time he has an opportunity to act, he counteracts with a doubt or reason for inaction. In his own words, ". . . the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought," (III, I, 84-85). It becomes clear that when Hamlet thinks he has finally made a decision, thinking about it causes him to change his mind or simply put it off. If Hamlet was a man of action and didn’t procrastinate as much as he did, Polonius, Ophelia, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, Gertrude, Laertes, and himself may have lived. I know from experience that putting things off leads nowhere but down a hole, and the thought process is handicapped (Constant thought of failing English and the fear of taking night-school). The constant reflection of revenge led Hamlet down his own hole and made it impossible for him to become mentally sound.
Hamlet’s foil character, Laertes, loses all coherent thought when he learns of his father’s death and demands revenge. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes acts first and questions later in his heightened state of emotion. “Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged / Most thoroughly for my fathers” (IV, v, 134-35). Laertes easily disregards his own safety to claim the life of his offender. His aspiration for murderous revenge expeditiously clouded his mind. This helps to show that people in society act on passion and emotion before taking time to think about the ramifications. Even when Hamlet asks for Laertes’ “pardon” (V, ii, 199), Laertes “stand{s} aloof, and will{s} no reconcilement” (V, ii, 220). In his blind rage, he wouldn’t listen to Hamlet’s explanation and apology. In life, people’s actions are misled by emotion whether it’s fine or awful. All Laertes had to do was forgive Hamlet and both of them would have achieved a sense of revenge, when they revealed the Kings treacheries to the state of Denmark. Once Laertes’ “foul practice / Hath turned itself on {him}” (V, ii, 290-91), it’s clear to him that the desire for revenge has tainted his judgment. Shakespeare helps society to see that no matter what emotion you act on there will always be consequences. Although, it’s too late for Laertes to change his actions because the need for vengeance swung back and poisoned him like a double bladed sword. Eventfully, revenge has struck again, diseasing any rational thought Laertes may have had. His corrupted plan for revenge resulted in the death of Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, and himself.
Despite all man’s intelligences, the longing for revenge still corrupts our minds. The desire for an unquenchable need for revenge sparks a chain reaction that soon engulfs everything and everyone. The overall effect of one man’s desire for revenge led to another mans quest for vengeance, showing that the need for revenge is a never ending circle that absorbs all lucid thought. “But let this same be presently performed, / Even while men’ minds are wild, lest more mischance / On plots and errors happen.” (V, ii, 366-680). At the end of the play Horatio states that revenge will not relieve a person’s pain, it will only spread like a virus and cause more.
