How far is Hamlet a revenge play?

How far is Hamlet a revenge play?

In what way is Hamlet an unconventional revenge play? 
Ans. Hamlet is generally regarded as a revenge play but it h been raised much above the genre by virtue of its scholarly language the introduction of the universal issues and the complex nature of them. In a revenge tragedy the tragedy is brought about by the pursuit and accomplishment of revenge. The revenge tragedy was greatly influenced by Seneca, the ancient Roman playwright.

 In a Senecan Revenge play some murder is committed and the ghost of the murdered person appears to some relative or friend of his and entrusts him to take revenge. Here revenge is conceived as a sacred duty but the avenger encounters many odds on his way. There is much blood-shed, horrors and imagery of violence.

Shakespeare's Hamlet has almost all the elements of a Senecan Revenge play but his dramatic art has lifted the play much higher than any play written in this tradition. The most important element of a revenge tragedy is the ghost of the dead man which reveals the crime committed, identifies the criminal and enjoins a near relation to avenge the murder. In Hamlet it is the ghost of Hamlet's father who urges the avenger his son Hamlet tö action and the avenger faces many obstacles in achieving his goal. Finally Hamlet is able to avenge his father's murder with much difficulty but he perishes in the encounter.

The revenge motive works not only in Hamlet but also in other characters. Fortinbras seeks revenge on Denmark for the losses faced by his father in a duel with Hamlet's father. Laertes wants to take revenge for the death of his father and the insanity of his sister Ophelia. Hamlet seeks to take revenge on Claudius, the murderer of his father, the usurper of the throne and the seducer of his mother.

In Hamlet we find some melodramatic elements like blood-shed, scenes of horror, madness, etc. but Shakespeare's treatment of the theme is not so crude as that of a conventional Revenge play. He has presented a revenger who is both ruthless and reluctant. He is a man Of indecision in spite of his extraordinary intellectual genius. He thinks, his task is not simply to kill his father's murder but by doing so to rid the world of the evil and restore it to its former peaceful condition.

  The theme of revenge becomes a part of the fundamental conflict of man. Hamlet must participate in life, though he is reluctant. However, in the final scene Hamlet comes to terms with the destiny of man. He is reconciled to the universal pattern of life which death completes. He kills the King when he has himself received his own mortal wounds from Laertes. The two songs avenging their father’s murder punish each other, yet die forgiving each other.

Thus Hamlet is not a pure revenge play, because its artistic excellence , the treatment of the revenge theme, characterization , presenting universal issues and the complex nature of its hero make it much superior to other revenge plays in English Literature. In fact, it is a great tragedy in both its language and technique.