As mentioned during the paper, Hamlet has been one of the most important plays written by Shakespeare. The main character experiences different states, from sanity to madness or even the idea of committing suicide but there is one strong feeling that makes our hero continue: revenge. This seed was planted by the ghost of the former King of Denmark, his own father that apart from telling him how he was killed by the hand of his own brother asks Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius. This inquiry leads the Prince the pursuit of vengeance during the entire play. As the tragedy continues, the reader could notice that revenge is an important topic and might consider that it is a revenge tragedy. It requires certain themes like the revenge of a father for a son, a ghost that involves on it or a play within the play. Other elements might be hesitation of the hero, insanity, suicide, a villain or long soliloquies.The main plot of this play is Hamlets revenge towards his Claudius. The beginning of it occurs when the ghost of Hamlets father appears and tells him "So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear" (1.5). Whereas Hamlet is not convinced of doing it, the ghost describes how he was murdered and insists "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (1.5). In these quotations, the reader can spot one of the features of a revenge play: the revenge of a son for a father and a specter involved on it.

As the storyline continues, the lector can see how Hamlet tries to accomplish his task. He wanted to be sure that Claudius indeed killed his father. He needed a proof:

The plays the thing

Wherein Ill catch the conscience of the king (2.2) He decided to obtain it by representing his fathers death on a story called The Murder of Gonzago - he certainly could achieve his purpose (3.2). In 3.3, Hamlet finally has the opportunity to conclude his journey when he sees Claudius in his chamber praying but, after performing a soliloquy, he decides not doing it because I, his sole son, do this same villain end, to heaven. O, this is hire and salary, not revenge (3.3)So Hamlet preferred killing Claudius in another circumstances

When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed,At gaming, swearing, or about some act. (3.3)

Taking into consideration these quotations, the reader can also find another instance of a revenge play: the hesitation of the hero. When the play is about to finish, Hamlet stabs Claudius (5.2) and obliges him to drink the poisoned wine. The revenge is fulfilled and the hero also dies.To conclude, Hamlet is an important play which is considered the apotheosis of the revenge tragedy. It has some important features of it as a personal revenge that could be prompted by a ghost, moments of hesitation, an insane character and long soliloquies. Having these features on its plot, it could be said that Hamlet is a Revenge Play.Bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenge_play Kyd, Thomas. The Spanish Tragedy.

The Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy