The Theme of Revenge in Hamlet In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, thoughts of revenge are introduced at the beginning of the play. At the end of the first act, Hamlet encounters the ghost of his deceased father. He is taken to see it by Horace and Marcellus, who saw the ghost "last night" (Shakespeare 1.2.190). During this exchange of words between the Ghost and Hamlet, the Ghost says to Hamlet, "[s]o it is you who will take revenge, when you will listen." (Shakespeare 1.5.5). He is telling Hamlet to listen carefully to what he has to say. He then tells Hamlet to "[r]avenge his disgusting and unnatural murder" (Shakespeare 1.5.23). When Hamlet discovers that it was his uncle Claudius who killed his father, he plots against him to avenge his father's death. "And this man was called to kill. It's almost as if Jesus was asked to play the role of Napoleon." ..."(Bloom 12). According to Hazelton Spencer, revenge is "Hamlet's sacred duty" and must be accepted by the reader as such (Bloom 13). Hamlet has been entrusted by his father with the task of avenging his death , however he chooses. Most readers, critics, and commentators agree that it was Hamlet's duty to kill and that he was indeed late in doing so (Bloom 12). weakness and a disaster, involving, as it did, many unintended deaths, including his own" (Bloom 12). Some have also said that he delayed killing his uncle so long the play would be in five acts (Bloom 20). Not he killed his father's murderer because the play would end too quickly. Some critics, in a sense, partially agree. Edward E. Foster points out that “if Hamlet should simply proceed to play the role he was entrusted, the comedy would be just another… medium of paper… and it would become another". comedy character. Hamlet shows Shakespeare's true genius. Works Cited Bloom, Harold Modern Critical Interpretations Of Hamlet New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Carlyle, (First Name not found). Binghamton, NC: Vail Balloon Press, 1967. Charney, Maurice, New York, Columbia University Press, 1993. Evans, Gareth Lloyd: Introduction to the Works of Shakespeare Dent & Sons Ltd, 1982. Magill, Frank N. Masterplots, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1995.Shakespeare, William Hamlet, NY: Garden City Books, 1936Wadsworth, Frank W. "Shakespeare, William 1987 edition.Wright, William Aldis. Text of the Cambridge edition Garden City, NY: Garden City Books, 1936.