In William Shakespeare’s

REFLECTIONS OVER REVENGE CODE IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 'S HAMLET TRAGEDY

2004

REFLECTIONS OVER REVENGE CODE IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 'S HAMLET TRAGEDY

From historical perspective reconsideration of the whole idea of revenge in people 's consciousnesses marked the epoch described in Shakespeare 's classical Hamlet ' tragedy . In the times of feudalism blood revenge became closely interrelated with such concepts as duty , ancestral obligation etc . and its inexecution caused the infamy both of an injured and his family . These ideas have found their reflection in that time literature . In fact , it

was a reality of feudal times when supreme power appeared inefficient in protection its citizens ' rights that called for further avenges and the audience wanted a murder to be punished at least in the plays

The ideas of avenge were artistically described in Hamlet 's soliloquies when he reflects over the idea of a blood revenge , its appropriateness or unreasonableness , morality or evilness , harmfulness or benefit 1 Shakespeare 's Hamlet is moreover a person who struggles for revenge and hesitates whether it 's a moral deed

The very idea of blood revenge became rather popular in Shakespeare 's times that 's why the author thoroughly develops the concept in all his plays including Hamlet 2 . Reading the play one could get a deep insight into the revenge code and traditions of retaliation : Shakespeare tells his readers , for instance , that every son had a certain course of action to obtain vengeance . According to a play the ways to pay back according to that time revenge code were different . The revenge itself was a question of choice and this idea is well illustrated by the examples of three play 's heroes : Hamlet , Fortinbras and Laertes each of whom preferred different ways of their revenges ' execution

Most Shakespeare 's critics believe that revenge is a primary motive of Hamlet 's ' protagonists including Hamlet himself , his uncle Claudius Laertes and Fortinbras . They say that the very idea of vengeance described in the so-called revenge code ' was regulating the lives of notables in the medieval times (though as well as their literature prototypes ) 3 . The revenge code that served the fundament for most Shakespeare 's plays was , in fact , a set of rules that were necessary for his protagonists to seek justice and avenge evil through a cycle of bloody acts . Hamlet 's monologue in the Fourth Act brilliantly illustrates his ideas of a revenge code through description of his anguishes throughout the play

The principles of a revenge code have found their reflection in the medieval literature , especially in Shakespeare 's plays 4 . Some critical reflections must be given in order to develop the idea . In the times of Hamlet blood revenge and revenge code as the resolute principles of vengeance in Europe was considered to be not only a deed of a justice but also a dominance of power upon a weakness . The predestination of a weak one was to remain unrevenged and it was apparently worse than a death and this thesis is...