Reoccurring Themes In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, is a tragic story about the struggles of a prince named Hamlet who seeks to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is so determined to sabotage his uncle, who has taken his father’s crown and is responsible for the crime, that Hamlet himself increasingly becomes insane. Family bonds and friendships are broken as death begins to claim their loved ones and vengeance becomes the primary mindset of the characters. As the play progresses, three prominent themes of death, revenge, and madness drive the plot to its wretched end. Death is the most obvious and reoccurring theme displayed in Hamlet beginning with the death of King Hamlet. This is the first significant event in the play that serves as a motive for Hamlet to develop a vengeful mindset toward Claudius and to experience an overall character change. He becomes very distant toward his family and his actions

Hamlet’s first plan of revenge included a play called The Mousetrap, which was shown for Hamlet to confirm Claudius’ guilt. Once his speculations are reassured by Claudius’ reaction, his plans continue in serving justice to his father. Hamlet’s determination to seek revenge on Claudius is what primarily disrupts the peace in the kingdom and steers the plot to its drastic end. In the same way, the death of Laertes’ family causes him to lash out and seek vengeance toward Hamlet. The death Laertes’ father, Polonius, causes him to return home, demanding answers for the crime. Once he is aware that Hamlet has killed him, he wants Hamlet to pay for what he has done. Then, immediately after, Laertes’ sister Ophelia dies which convinces him it is due to Hamlet’s insults and actions. He quickly puts together a plan with Claudius to fight Hamlet as a way of revenge. Laertes seeking vengeance on Hamlet is what drives the plot to its final scene, where the rest of the characters are killed and the kingdom