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William Shakespeare's Hamlet: Is Revenge Ever Justified?

515 Words3 Pages

Is revenge every justified? No, it is not. In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, seeking revenge had catastrophic consequences. Everyone was faced with the decision to seek revenge, or to make peace with their situations. In “Hamlet” everyone made the wrong choice. In choosing to avenge the crimes committed against them, everyone died. Revenge is unjustifiable because it hurts the revenger seeker, causes dire political disturbance, and creates negative karma. Hamlet is driven mad by the mental anguish of justifying revenge. He knows “ 'tis almost 'gainst [his] conscience” (Hamlet 5.2.304) to commit revenge in the form of murder. For Hamlet, plotting revenge furthered his mental torment, while making peace with the situation could have saved

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