“In ‘Hamlet’, revenge is carried out at the expense of justice.” To what extent do you agree with this view?

Shakespeare presents revenge as being the instinctive response towards crime. Upon finding out of his father’s murder, Hamlet asks the ghost for the identity of the killer, so that “with wings as swift/As meditation” he may take “revenge”. The language of ‘meditation’ and ‘swift’ evidences the speed with which Hamlet wishes to carry out revenge – he wants to move quicker than thought itself (^{lang. analysis}) There is no hesitation then – revenge is the default, instinctive response. Furthermore, structurally, this moment occurs at the beginning of the narrative, in act 1 scene 2. This reinforces that Hamlet’s sudden thirst for revenge is an initial, knee-jerk reaction to the beginning of the unfolding events (^{structure analysis}). Indeed, the form of the play reinforces this; theatre as a medium can allow for insight into the protagonist’s head; for example, Hamlet often soliloquises before the audience to allow them to be acquainted with his deepest thoughts and secrets. With this happening directly before the audience’s eyes, the relationship between audience and protagonist becomes intense, and they can, then, see the intensity through which he seeks revenge (^{form analysis}). Therefore, revenge becomes presented as a primal, human response to the crime of King Hamlet’s death, and it becomes clear that revenge is carried out at the expense of justice – it is the dominant, instinctive response to a situation.Despite this (^{multiple interpretations}), there is an extent to which divine justice is maintained over revenge. In act 3, Hamlet enters to find Claudius, who ‘kneels’ as he soliloquises and confesses his sins before God. For an Elizabethan audience this was a crucial moment – the time at which one is allowed to confess their sins before God and cleanse themselves of their wrongdoing was seen as sacrosanct; to allow forgiveness and passing into heaven. The involvement of divine justice in the response to crime and wrongdoing was seen as imperative in the late 16^th and early 17^th centuries (^{contextual analysis}). Indeed, this is communicated through Shakespeare’s use of stage directions: describing Claudius as kneeling illustrates that he is deep in prayer and therefore participating in this process of divine justice. Furthermore, the staging of this moment illustrates that Hamlet has the chance to take revenge – Claudius, in kneeling, is at a lower level to Hamlet. Their power dynamic is established through the staging, then, as Hamlet could easily take Claudius’s life (^{form analysis}). But Hamlet soliloquises, unable to interrupt Claudius’ divine confession. Therefore, although revenge might seem the dominant human response to crime, it is not always victorious at the expense of justice; indeed, divine justice remains triumphant.