The Revenge Tragedy

The Revenge Tragedy Tradition

It is useful to approach Hamlet as an example of revenge tragedy. From the 1580s (when Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy was a huge success) to the 1620s, revenge tragedies were very popular with English theatre audiences.

Hamlet as a revenge tragedy

Hamlet has many features of a typical revenge tragedy:
- They are often set in what were seen as corrupt societies led by deceitful rulers. As such, playwrights would often give set the stories in foreign settings to avoid suggesting that the rulers of England were corrupt – such a charge could lead to a writer being jailed.
- The revenge hero is usually a member of the nobility (e.g. a prince) who, in his pursuit of revenge, must use his cunning to deceive those around him and conceal his plans.

Black comedy & entertainment

Revenge tragedies also contain moments of black comedy.
They often contain an entertainment (e.g. a play or some other kind of performance) within the play, usually towards the end of the drama.
Hamlet’s inner play, ‘The Mousetrap’, is therefore typical of the genre.

Narrative & crime

The narrative of revenge tragedies is driven by a medieval honour code which allows acts of vengeance as a form of punishment.
However, the crime at the heart of a revenge tragedy instigates a cycle of violence which will eventually lead to the destruction of all the principal characters.
Hamlet conforms to the genre conventions with the bodies of King, Queen, Prince and Laertes strewn on stage at the end of the play.

Christian codes & State systems

Because all the principal characters suffer at the end of revenge tragedy narratives, people have suggested that revenge tragedies support a Christian moral code and State legal systems which prohibit anyone taking justice into their own hands.

Conflict in revenge tragedies

There is a tension or conflict within every revenge tragedy. Its heroes are often driven to take the law into their own hands because a corrupt society will deny them any form of legal justice but their revenge mission will eventually destroy them.

Bushnell: society in transition

Rebecca Bushnell argues that the fashion for revenge tragedy in Elizabethan and Jacobean England "is a symptom of a society in transition, where traditional forms of authority and the nature of law were being questioned".
Revenge tragedies question the extent to which individuals can challenge authority, whether the Monarch, Church or Law and, as such, reflect the changes happening in society.

1Introduction

1.1Introduction & Background to Hamlet

1.1.1Introduction to Hamlet

1.1.2The Literary Tradition of the Hamlet Story

1.1.3Introduction to the Settings in Hamlet

1.1.4Introduction to Social Issues Raised

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas

2.1.1Act 1, Scene 1

2.1.2Act 1, Scene 2

2.1.3Act 1, Scene 3

2.1.4Act 1, Scenes 4-5

2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas

2.2.1Act 2, Scene 1

2.2.2Act 2, Scene 2

2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas

2.3.1Act 3, Scene 1: Key Events

2.3.2Act 3, Scene 1: Key Ideas

2.3.3Act 3, Scene 2

2.3.4Act 3, Scene 3

2.3.5Act 3, Scene 4

2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas

2.4.1Act 4, Scene 1

2.4.2Act 4, Scenes 2-3

2.4.3Act 4, Scene 4

2.4.4Act 4, Scene 5: Key Events

2.4.5Act 4, Scene 5: Key Ideas

2.4.6Act 4, Scene 6

2.4.7Act 4, Scene 7

2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas

2.5.1Act 5, Scene 1: Key Events

2.5.2Act 5, Scene 2: Key Events

2.5.3Act 5, Scene 2: Key Ideas

3Character Profiles

3.1Hamlet

3.1.1Hamlet's Speech & Mind

3.1.2Hamlet's Heroic Status

3.1.3Hamlet's State of Mind

3.1.4Hamlet's Indecision/Action Taking

3.2Claudius

3.2.1Claudius' Crime

3.2.2Changing Impressions of Claudius

3.3Gertrude

3.3.1Mystery & Hamlet's View of Gertrude

3.3.2Gertrude's Character

3.3.3Gertrude's Relationship with Hamlet

3.4Ophelia

3.4.1Ophelia

3.5Polonius

3.5.1Portrayal of Polonius & Treatment of Ophelia

3.5.2Polonius' Spying & Death

3.6Laertes

3.6.1Laertes' Popularity & Relationship with Ophelia

3.6.2Laertes' Character Traits

4Key Themes

4.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.1.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.2Madness in Hamlet

4.2.1Madness in Hamlet

4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet

4.3.1Guilt in Hamlet

4.3.2Punishment in Hamlet

4.4Settings in Hamlet

4.4.1Physical Settings & Historical Setting of Hamlet

5Writing Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure of Hamlet

5.1.2'Play Within a Play' Structure

5.1.3Play-Acting Motif

5.2Form

5.2.1Soliloquy

5.2.2Comedy

5.3Imagery

5.3.1Imagery of Corruption & Decay

5.3.2Imagery: Healing, Performance & Costume

5.4Language

5.4.1Word Usage & Hendiadys

5.4.2Questions & Classical Allusions

6Context

6.1Social & Historical Context

6.1.1Elizabeth I & Succession

6.1.2Cosmic & Social Hierarchy

6.1.3Renaissance & Emergence of Humanism

6.1.4Regicide

6.1.5The Reformation

6.2Literary Context

6.2.1Seneca Tragedy

6.2.2The Revenge Tragedy

6.3Performance & Textual History

6.3.1Performance History of Hamlet

6.3.2Textual History of Hamlet

7Critical Debates

7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.1.1Introduction to Critical Debates

7.1.218th Century Commentary on Hamlet

7.1.3Romantic Commentary on Hamlet

7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.2.1Freudian Response to Hamlet

7.2.2Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.1Introduction to Feminist Criticism

7.3.2Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.3Presentation of Ophelia

7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet

7.4.1Introduction to Marxist Criticisms

7.4.2Marxist Readings of Hamlet

Jump to other topics