Hamlet seeks revenge for his father's murder, which was committed by his uncle Claudius. While his desire for revenge is understandable, it drives him mad and leads to tragedy. The story explores themes of revenge, love, betrayal and the complex emotions of the characters. In the end, Hamlet fulfills his plot against Claudius but also loses his mother, Ophelia and his own life, demonstrating that vengeance often breeds more violence and pain.

1. Reader Response on Hamlet
By: Ma. Cristina D. Panganoran
Hamlet is a representation of people who put justice in their own hands to get
their revenge. Most people may think these types of people are crazy and they seem to
see a crack on the chair that no one else would notice, but what they stand for
sometimes can be true but it becomes wrong to the point of longing for murder because
bloodshed begets bloodshed. Revenge, humor, jealousy, deceit, love, hate, anger - we
can relate to all of the emotions and all of the characters that the famous Shakespeare
has given to us. The need for revenge causes Hamlet's tragedy. He wanted to retaliate
and seek justice for the acts of others. I felt sorry for the man for all he wanted was for
Queen Gertrude to at least look into the death of his father, the king. And for Claudius,
his uncle, to be punished for the murderous act he committed.
For me the movie was worth watching and Hamlet made me laugh when he was
acting like a lunatic, and sometimes childlike, I felt sorry for him in the end because
even though he had fulfilled his plot against Claudius, he still lost his beloved mother,
Ophelia, and his own life. Speaking of Ophelia, I found her to be a very fragile and
charming girl. Queen Gertrude for me was like a woman who can’t live without her
man and I just felt she was pathetic for being like that; she couldn’t even last at least
longer than two months before moving on since she even promised not to marry
another man to her late husband as the play mocked both her and Claudius. Polonius
for me is a social climber he wants to get close to the royal family where his daughter
would be the prince’s bride and soon to be future queen and his son as the king’s
favorite right swordsman. Since he is only but a chamberlain in the kingdom, he must
have wanted to have a higher position as an aristocrat.
Truly vengeance can lead to obsession and with the obsession comes the
madness. The tragic ending was already inevitable when Hamlet turned to vengeance. I
love the flow of the story; the only thing I didn’t like is the unjust treatment towards
crimes of royalty. They always get away with their wrong doings but God is truly wise
because he has smitten them all in the end. No one wins in a battle of bloodshed. The
pain of losing a loved one brings about hatred and this hatred gives birth to people like
Hamlet. I wish that Hamlet just let it go and waited until God judged Claudius but I
guess if he did that then Hamlet wouldn’t be a famous play anymore.