William Shakespeare s Hamlet As A Revenge Tragedy

William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet was written as a revenge tragedy. This play was written by Shakespeare between 1599 and 1602; no one is exactly certain about the date Hamlet was written (Hunt 2). The protagonist of this play is a prince named Hamlet; he is a prince of Denmark. Hamlet’s father was killed by his uncle Claudius, who became king afterwards. Not only did Claudius become king of Denmark, he took Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, as his wife. This play is the longest of all Shakespeare’s plays and remains to date one of the most influential tragedies in English literature. In fact, this play seems to have been one of the most popular plays during Shakespeare’s lifetime. In addition, this play has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been defined as â€Å"the planet’s most filmed story after the fairytale Cinderella† (Perez 17). It’s easy to see why this play was so successful, and continue s to be such because people tend to be curious about revenge and tragedy. Our lives seem to revolve around tragedy and revenge. There are millions of people who think about revenge and countless others who have experienced personal tragedy. Thus, it is easy to relate to this play because times change but the problems of old seem to always stay the same. However, one basic theme that runs throughout Hamlet is conscience. Hamlet’s conscience creates the plot of this play in such a way that it defines the very essence of Hamlet and its characters. In theShow MoreRelatedRevenge Conventions In Hamlet Essay1182 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare that very closely follows the dramatic conventions of revenge in Elizabethan theater. All revenge tragedies originally stemmed from the Greeks, who wrote and performed the first plays. 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