The ghost's command for Hamlet to seek retribution against Claudius is essential for development of the rest of the play. It initiates the idea of justice in the form of revenge, the belief that sin must be returned with reprimand. Claudius has committed a sin by killing his own brother, and now, to restore stability to the kingdom, the sin must be punished. The idea of revenge disturbs and drives characters throughout the play, and ultimately leads them to act on their thoughts, which usually results in killing someone. Not only does revenge play a vital role in the development of Hamlet himself, but also in Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, and Laertes, son of Polonius. The commonality between Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes, is that they all seek revenge for the murder of their fathers. As the play goes on, each young man chooses his own path towards vengeance, although it is heavily influenced by others around them. Hamlet is influenced by his father's ghost, Laertes by Claudius, and Fortinbras by his uncle.
Out of these three main characters seeking retribution, Hamlet is the hardest to influence. Although he is extremely sad about father's death, Hamlet does not think of or even consider revenge until he is greeted with his father's spirit who tells him he must kill Claudius to achieve justice. Although murder was an acceptable form of revenge in Hamlet's time, he is unsure about killing Claudius. Nonetheless, he promises the ghost that he will prove his love as a son and carry out the duty of retribution.
Although Hamlet promises the ghost of his father that he will seek revenge against Claudius, it takes a while before he actually does so. Hamlet has a flaw that threatens his course of revenge. His flaw is that he thinks too much which makes it hard for him to make decisions. As a result, he loses his ability to act; he is basically stuck in thought. Hamlet eventually comes disgusted with the disrespect he has shown his father and proclaims, "why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, that I, the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, must like a whore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab" (II.ii.594-598). This brings us to believe that the only reason why Hamlet is going through with his act of revenge is because of the ghost's request. Moreover, if this is the main motivation for revenge it makes sense that Hamlet is hesitant to kill Claudius because he does not know for sure if Claudius killed his father, he is just going by the word of the ghost. To see whether the ghost is telling the truth or not, Hamlet develops a plan to provide evidence of King Claudius' guilt. Hamlet instructs his actors to perform a play, which re-enacts a murder similar to his father in which someone is murdered by the pouring of poison down their ear. Then based on Claudius' response to the play, Hamlet could determine if Claudius indeed killed his father. Hamlet says, "I'll have these players play something like the murder of my father before mine uncle. I'll observe his looks; I'll tent him to the quick"(II.ii.607-609). After seeing Claudius' reaction to the play, Hamlet is completely sure of the King's guilt, and decides he will go through with killing the king.
Hamlet has a stronger sense of right and wrong than Fortinbras or Laertes, therefore, he is the one who gave the most thought as to how he would seek revenge. Even after Hamlet decides to kill Claudius, he still wonders how seeking revenge will affect him as well as others. In Hamlet's "to be, or not to be" he says, "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all"(III.i.83). By conscience, Hamlet is referring his own thoughts and emotions. He is saying that his conscience is in complete chaos and his world is falling apart. Although Hamlet fears the consequences of murdering Claudius, he is more influenced by the demands of the ghost, and that is why he continues with the plan. Another way in which Hamlet displays that he is strategizing his revenge is when he sees Claudius praying. At this moment, Hamlet has the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius without anyone finding out, but he doesn't do it because he believes that if he kills Claudius while praying, the king will go to heaven. Hamlet knows that sending the king to heaven will not avenge his father's death, and therefore he lets the chance to kill, pass him by. Hamlet wants to ensure that Claudius will go to hell when he is slain. In one attempt to kill the king, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius when he is hiding behind the curtain instead of King Claudius. Even after all the careful consideration Hamlet gave to planning his revenge, it seems as if his planning was no help because he still made the fatal mistake of killing Polonius. This event leads further to the development of revenge within the play because now Laertes wants revenge on Prince Hamlet for killing his father. In addition, he also believes that Hamlet is responsible for the death of his sister Ophelia.
Although Hamlet kills for revenge, he does not kill for revenge alone and that's what makes him the hero in this play. Hamlet delays his act of revenge until it is known for certain that Claudius is someone so evil that his removal from society is something that everyone would benefit from. Hamlet's hesitation to act after he accidentally kills Polonius contributes to his heroic feature. However, when Hamlet kills Claudius it is different that the murder of the man behind the curtain. Not only did Claudius kill King Hamlet but he has also tried to kill prince Hamlet. In addition, Claudius is the one encouraging Laertes to seek revenge by murdering Prince Hamlet. Lastly, Claudius even let Gertrude drink the cup of poison just so he wouldn't have to admit that he was involve in the scheme to kill Hamlet. Claudius is nothing but evil, and by Hamlet killing him he is removing someone that was corrupting the society as a whole. Hamlet's murder of Claudius is more than just revenge; it is needed for society to continue.
Shakespeare shows revenge as a compelling power for evil when it rules the actions of someone like Laertes, or like Hamlet when he kills Polonius. As Laertes and Hamlet soon find out, unanticipated and catastrophic consequences happen as a direct result of revenge. Hamlet is not a hero throughout most of the play. Instead, he becomes a hero by delaying his plot for revenge until it appears that the revenge will do well to more than just himself. Throughout this play, Shakespeare teaches us that retribution alone is by no means a sufficient foundation for taking action. There must also be some intervening and objective purpose valuable to society all together.
Laertes seeks revenge on Prince Hamlet for killing his father Polonius. Laertes is the character who puts the least amount of thought into his revenge plot and is the without difficulty influenced. When he confronts Claudius about his father's death, Claudius tells him that it was Hamlet who murdered his father. In response, Laertes promises to slay Hamlet by saying, "Let come what comes, only I'll be revenged most thoroughly for my father,"(IV.v.135-136). In addition, it is clear that the king is pushing Laertes toward revenge when he tells him that it would be okay to kill Hamlet in a church because revenge should have no bounds. Obviously, all the king is worried about is getting Hamlet killed so he can keep the crown and live a happy life with Gertrude. Claudius even comes up with a plan on how to make sure that Hamlet will die by setting up a duel in which Laertes and Hamlet would fight and the tip of Laertes sword would be dipped in poison. Furthermore, the king is so determined to kill hamlet that he even sets up a cup of poisoned wine for hamlet to drink in case the poisoned sword does not work. Although in the end it is Laertes who ends up murdering Hamlet, much of the responsibility can be attributed to Claudius since he is the one who heavily encouraged Laertes to take action against hamlet. As a result, Laertes ends up fencing with Hamlet with the poisoned sword.
Throughout the swordfight both Laertes and Hamlet are injured. Laertes succeeds in his quest for revenge since he is able to murder Hamlet, yet he himself ends up dying due to the fact that he acted on complete impulse and was easily influenced by King Claudius. There is no doubt that Laertes was very ambitious in his desire for retribution and he would have probably sought revenge regardless of influence by Claudius. However, if he chose not to follow Claudius' advice, there is a chance that he could have lived. While Hamlet is dying, he attack Claudius and makes him drink the venom which was originally intended to kill Hamlet. As a result, Hamlet succeeded in avenging the death of his father. However, just like Laertes, he dies after achieving his revenge.
Fortinbras, son of the slain King of Norway, is the first to seek revenge yet does so in a different way than Hamlet and Laertes. Fortinbras wants revenge because King Hamlet, although now dead, is the one who killed his father. Horatio, a friend of Hamlet's, said, "As it doth well appear unto our state, but to recover of us by strong hand and terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands so by his father lost" (I.i.101-104). This means that Fortinbras originally plans to regain the land of Denmark through force and violence. Fortunately, King Claudius, the new King of Denmark, is able to intervene and convinces Fortinbras' uncle to prevent the attack. When his uncle hears of the message, he immediately forbids Fortinbras to carry through with the attack. After taking the advice of his uncle, Fortinbras additionally "makes vow before his uncle never more to have th' assay of arms against your majesty," (II.ii.70-71). This is what ultimately saves Fortinbras from ending up like Hamlet and Laertes. He follows the advice of his uncle and does not seek revenge with violence, and in the end he is greatly rewarded. Perhaps if Laertes and Hamlet had someone to guide them in the right direction, they could have saved themselves from death.
Overall, the reason that Fortinbras came out on top while Hamlet and Laertes died seeking their revenge can be largely attributed to the people who influenced them. The ghost of Hamlet's father caused Hamlet's death by advising Hamlet to seek revenge. Before his encounter with his father, Hamlet was not contemplating retribution. During his attempt to avenge his fathers' death, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius which leads to Laertes' desire for revenge. Laertes is guided by Claudius in acting out his plan of retribution, bur in the end this leads both of them to death. Laertes did not think his sword would be used against him. In the end, the fate of these three characters was determined not only by their feelings, but by those who were guiding them as well. Hamlet and Laertes were the two who carried out their revenge successfully, but died in the process. On the other hand, Fortinbras was able to overcome his need for retribution due to his strength as a person as well as of the advice received from his uncle. By listening to his uncle and choosing not to attack Denmark, Fortinbras avoided death and eventually became the new king of Denmark
