Theme Of Violence In Hamlet

In William Shakespeare’s well known play Hamlet, there are several acts of violence that often keep the readers on their toes constantly wondering what will happen next. It all begins with the death of King Hamlet and comes to an end with no royal family in control of the castle, Elsinore, in Denmark. Each character has their own unique motive for self gain throughout the play, but Hamlet has a strong drive for the dangerous game of revenge. Hamlet wants to earn justice for his father who had his kingdom, wife, and crown all stolen out from underneath him when his life is innocently taken by his greedy uncle. “To be or not to be?” is the question Hamlet often asks himself along his journey of revenge, where many emotional encounters and obstacles continue to test him. Violence arises when Polonius dies, Ophelia drowns herself, and the killing of Claudius after the intense fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. These violent decisions all relate back to Hamlet’s scheme of how he plans to retaliate for the death of his father, whether he uses mental or physical sources of violence. Shakespeare creates violence throughout the plot to contribute to the overall meaning of the play. Each of these violent segments have the readers asking questions to figure out what the purpose and reasonings are behind all of these heartless acts of brutality that take place during the play. To be or not to be is what Hamlet asks himself as he gets his strategies of revenge set into