Shakespeare's plays, among other classic literary works, tend to be wrought with the tension of human emotion. The archetypal parallel of love and hate polarizes the characters and highlights the raw details of the plot. More specifically, the irresistible force of revenge lies behind most of the motifs in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. The play opens with the return of Hamlet's father, a surprising encounter, which results in his son learning that his father's death was the result of foul play. By emphasizing this scene as the beginning of the story to be told, Shakespeare is clearly implying that the plot itself will be based on the theme of revenge. Through three different behaviors fueled entirely by revenge, Shakespeare creates a picture in the reader's mind, which foreshadows the future of the story and provides insight into the plot. Even so, although the theme of revenge is the overarching concern of the plot, the parallels drawn between the characters truly enhance the thematic depth of the play as a whole, making the play one of the most infamous and historically the most valuable of Shakespeare. , the setting of Hamlet is one of complete upheaval, the direct result of a series of festering revenges, which dominates the majority of the play. The Kingdom of Denmark faces a very real threat outside of the internal power struggle between Hamlet and his untrustworthy family. The King of Norway, Fortinbras, wishes to take over Denmark in an act purely motivated by revenge. Hamlet's father killed Fortinbras in a battle that took place before the time of the play. It is of course the threat of revenge, which becomes a constant from start to finish. Even outside the immediate family...... middle of paper...... point out the stupidity of allowing yourself to be completely consumed by violent emotions. Shakespeare's extensive use of plot devices allows the story to develop in a captivating manner. . The presence of revenge as one of these plots appears consistently throughout the play, representing the deceptive and suspicious nature of the characters. Tragedy is built on the festering wounds of broken families and vengeful sons. Through the irrational behavior of these characters, Shakespeare foreshadows what can only be a dismal ending. Almost every character dies to avenge the lives of others, throwing their lives away in obsessive and needlessly bloody deaths. These incredible uses of thematic imagery truly support Hamlet as one of the greatest independent works of classical literature and in many ways explain how the text has survived the test of time..