Revenge has many different sides

Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all have one reason to seek revenge in the play Hamlet.

All three characters seek revenge on the murderer of their fathers. Each individual has the same

motive but they have different characteristics that separate them from each other. Each of the

characters have different means of action. If one seeks revenge them must be able to focus on the

outside world before they gain retaliation.

Fortinbras is an example of someone who, looks beyond his own desires. Fortinbras does

not use deceit and helps his own country before he tries to help himself. His subtleness is a factor

that plays into his success. In Act V Scene II, Fortinbras walks into Elsinore unharmed and takes

the crown off of the deceased King’s head. It is ironic that all the commotion in the kingdom that

originated from revenge made everything worse for the nobles of Denmark. By staying out of

trouble Fortinbras is successful. The reason that Fortinbras lives in Norway and not Denmark is

to prove a theme. It shows how conflict causes trouble. There is an obvious difference between

the final situation of Hamlet and Fortinbras.

Hamlet ended up in the worst of situations because he was the most involved with his

plot for revenge. When Hamlet seeks revenge he is searching for improvement for his own life,

unlike Fortinbras. When he learns his Father was killed by Claudius he seeks immediate

vengeance. Hamlet is characterized as indecisive, as portrayed in Act Three Scene One in his “to

be or not to be” soliloquy. This is a contributing factor to his failure to commit murder and gain

satisfaction. During his revenge seeking stretch he kills most of the people around him. Ophelia’s

madness is a direct result of Hamlet’s poor decision making. The symbolic flowers that she

presents to people are a repercussion of Hamlet making her insane. Hamlet is given a symbolic
rose (Act 4 Scene 5) to represent the love that Ophelia has for Hamlet. As another ramification,

Gertrude dies in Hamlet’s arms. Hamlet was not purposeful in his actions. His behavior stretched

out the period that the craziness lasted in Elsinore.

Laertes is similar to Hamlet because they both acted rash, and wanted revenge quickly.

After Polonius was murdered Laertes had one emotion on his mind, that being anger. His actions

combined with Hamlet’s actions led to the catastrophic ending of Elsinore. In Act 5 Scene 2)

Laertes says “I am justly killed with mine own treachery.” This hyperbole sums up the reason for

the destruction of Elsinore. Laertes is characterized as obedient, when he listens to his fathers

words. Unlike Hamlet, this helps him to achieve things that Hamlet could not including the

revenge of his father. Hamlet and Laertes have similar personalities and at the same time they are

extremely different. Their similarities play out in the ending situation in the play. Laertes

decisions lead to his mortality and the destruction of Elsinore.

Evidently Hamlet