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Bound To Revenge: Multiple Revenge Tragedies In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Deirdra M. Shupe

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper will examine the notion of revenge, beginning with a history of the revenge tragedy genre (including its roots in the works of Seneca) as well as how the term was used to depict retribution during the Renaissance. A brief explanation of the differences between the different versions of Hamlet and why they are relevant to revenge accompanies the historical background. Using Shakespeare s Hamlet as one of the most famous examples of the genre, this thesis also explains multiple revenge tragedies occurring in the play and the common threads that unify them into a single piece of drama …