Revenge Flashcards
Unlike Hamlet, Fortinbras is brave and noble
Horatio’s vocal opinion on Fortinbras
“mettle hot and full” (Horatio)
Gertrude’s sin described by the ghost
“damnèd incest” (Ghost)
Let heaven judge your mother, Hamlet
“Leave her to heaven
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge
To prick and sting her” (Ghost)
The ghost’s instructions to Hamlet
“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Ghost)
The Ghost claims that he’s doomed to suffer in Purgatory (often imagined as a fiery place where souls had to “purge” their sins before they could move on to heaven), until young Hamlet avenges his “foul and most unnatural murder” by killing Claudius.
“Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away.” (Ghost)
Hamlet is worried that the ghost might be lying about Old Hamlet’s death in order to lead young Hamlet astray.
Hamlet wants to be sure that Claudius is guilty so he devises a plan to test the ghost’s story. IN SETTING UP THE PLAY
“May be the devil: and the devil hath power” (Hamlet)
After watching one of the traveling players (actors) deliver a moving speech, Hamlet berates himself for his inability to avenge his father’s murder. If an actor can weep for a fictional character, why can’t Hamlet get himself moving for his actual dad?
“O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! […] But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit” (Hamlet)
Once again, Hamlet finds a reason to not kill Claudius.
He says he doesn’t want to murder him while the man is praying because he’s afraid he’ll send Claudius’ soul straight to “heaven.” Revenge, for Hamlet, isn’t simply about killing Claudius —it’s about making sure he suffers in Hell, just like he thinks his father is doing.
“A villain kills my father, and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven” (Hamlet)
What is Hamlet’s mother described to be?
“stain’d”
This is a major turning point for Hamlet. As he watches Fortinbras’ army march across Denmark, he contemplates the fact that so many men will lose their lives fighting for an insignificant and tiny piece of territory
… foreshadows the insignificance of the deaths to come?
“death and danger dare, Even for an eggshell.” (Hamlet)
When Laertes learns that his father’s dead, he returns from France immediately, storms the Danish castle, and promises that he’ll be “revenged.” But Claudius eventually convinces Laertes to pursue a more roundabout path to vengeance. The intricate plot to lure Hamlet into a “friendly” duel.
Do Claudius and Hamlet have more in common than they’d want to admit?
“only I’ll be revenged
Most thoroughly for my father.” (Laertes)
2 QUOTES
Claudius’ harsh opinion on revenge
Revenge is a higher ideal even than the church
“To cut his throat i’ th’ church.” (Laertes)
“Revenge should have no bounds” (Claudius)
Claudius disrupted Hamlet’s succession to the throne of Denmark by taking advantage of Hamlet’s absence and convincing the noble councilmen to elect him king.
So, is Hamlet more concerned with getting the throne than avenging his father?
“Popp’d in between th’ election and my hopes” (Hamlet)
Hamlet’s last line
“The rest is silence” (Hamlet)
Hamlet’s dying words and his “prophesy” that Fortinbras will win the next “election” anticipates the Norwegian prince’s arrival in Denmark and likely succession to the throne. We’re left with a sense that Denmark, as a collective whole, will be in capable hands. Happy ending.
SAVED FROM CORRUPTION BY REVENGE
“On Fortinbras; he has my dying voice” (Hamlet)
