Hamlet: the methods of revenge In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, two of the character's fathers are brutally murdered. The first character murdered is King Hamlet who is supposed to be avenged by his son, Prince Hamlet. The second murder is Polonius who should be avenged by his son Laertes. Both Prince Hamlet and Laertes seek revenge for the death of their fathers, however each will use different methods to carry out their actions. Prince Hamlet has an encounter with the dead ghost of his father, King Hamlet. King Hamlet's ghost reveals to his son, his murder by his brother Claudius. Hamlet is told by his father that he needs to be avenged with the death of his brother Claudius. By this time Claudius has already ascended the throne and married Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude. Hamlet decides to take a passive approach to avenge his father. Hamlet first decides to behave abnormally, which doesn't do much beyond warning his uncle who may know he killed his father. Later in the play a group of actors come to perform a play, and Hamlet has them reenact his father's murder in front of his uncle Claudius. The actor's murder scene makes Hamlet question the fact that he has not yet done anything to avenge his father. Hamlet says, "But I have a pigeon's liver and am devoid of gall / To make oppression bitter, else / before this / I would have fattened all the kites in the land / With this slave's offal. Cursed, obscene villain! ( Act II scene 2 page 84 line 577-580). During the play Hamlet observes his uncle Claudius to see his reaction when the actors perform the crime scene, his uncle has a fit of rage and runs out of the room, where Hamlet tells him chases. When Hamlet reaches his uncle, his uncle is on his knees praying, and Hamlet draws his sword and prepares to kill him. But suddenly Hamlet changes his mind because if he kills his uncle while he prays he will go to heaven, and Hamlet wants him to go to hell.So Hamlet postpones his uncle's execution.The next confrontation does not occur until the end of the book, when Hamlet flees from his uncle's sick murder attempt on his life..