Hamlet (Vol. 35) | Harry Keyishian (essay date 1995)
Harry Keyishian (essay date 1995)
SOURCE: "Problematic Revenge in Hamlet and King Lear," in The Shapes of Revenge: Victimization, Vengeance, and Vindictiveness in Shakespeare, 1995, pp. 53-67.
[In the following excerpt, Keyishian observes that Hamlet is a "good revenger" who succeeds in avenging his father's death while maintaining his moral integrity.]
COMPETING AGENDAS IN HAMLET
One of the most striking aspects of revenge tragedy is its evocation of the protagonist's struggle to marshall his or her moral, psychological, material, and tactical resources—"cause, and will, and strength, and means" (Hamlet, 4.4.45)—to avenge a horrible wrong. Required to fulfill perilous duties they cannot avoid, working as they must outside the law, revengers confront extraordinary challenges that imperil their safety, integrity, and mental stability. They are wrenched from their normal ways of life and thrust by...
[The entire page is 7140 words long]
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