The Responsibility Of Vengeance In William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Why this extract is enthralling to me: This particular scene caught my attention because Hamlet brutally stabbed Polonius with a sword while in the midst of yelling at his own mother. Not too long before this scene, Hamlet was down on himself for not doing anything in order to avenge his father’s death; however, in this scene, he accomplished two different tasks to further his vengeance. The first task is undergoing a harsh conversation with his mother to enlighten her about what his father-uncle did, and the second task is brutally murdering a close worker of the king and queen. This scene, therefore, is important to restage because it shows the first steps that Hamlet took is avenging his father.

Scene’s Significance to the Play: This scene is a crucial part of Hamlet. Shakespeare illustrates the passion of Hamlet’s anger and the obliviousness of the queen his mother in the argument that is displayed in act i scene iv. If this scene was omitted, then the audience

Therefore, when he hears the eavesdropper and kills him, he thinks that it is the killer of his father. This foreshadows the future events that Hamlet will undergo to avenge his father. The open door ultimately provides a symbolic relationship to the thoughts of Hamlet; he is on the edge of whether or not he should take revenge on the killer of his father. When he fully enters the room to talk to his mother, the door is closed which symbolizes that his locked up inner thoughts are now being shared with his mother and only with her. The death of Polonius foretells future events that his mother may or may not be aware of before the time it happens. Finally, this scene provides a fascinating moment in which Hamlet takes first action in the vengeance of his father’s