The Cycle of Evil in Hamlet In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare illustrates how revenge can devastate the mind. Revenge, in simple terms, is an act of inflicting damage or injury in exchange for a wrong. [Obvious?] Both Hamlet and Laertes vowed to seek revenge for their fathers' murders. By doing so, they were not fixing what was once wrong, but were instead returning the same evil that had been inflicted upon them. Revenge is not good or sweet when in reality it is evil that keeps repeating itself. William Shakespeare helps bring this point to the forefront by using King Hamlet's ghost as a foil to Hamlet. The Ghost is used to give Hamlet someone to talk to to understand him more. Both of these characters express their revulsion at Gertrude's marriage to Claudius. [It is necessary to cite the text here, especially for the Ghost.] Furthermore, both King Hamlet and Hamlet were brought to their deaths at the hands of poison, although King Hamlet had poison poured into his ear by Claudius while he slept. On the other hand, Hamlet was poisoned with the tip of Laertes' rapier during their duel. The Ghost presents two different perspectives of Hamlet. First, Hamlet can be seen as a loyal son. Hamlet is ready to avenge his father's murder before the murderer's identity is established. [Is it?] After the Ghost reveals that Claudius is his murderer, he asks Hamlet not to punish Gertrude in seeking revenge against Claudius. Hamlet does not take revenge on Claudius until his mother dies after drinking the poison in the cup originally intended for Hamlet to drink. [Ergo, does he take revenge on his father or his mother?] On the other hand, Hamlet does not necessarily fulfill his father's wishes. Although unintentional, Hamlet "punishes" Gertrude by killing Polonius before her eyes. Thus the evil deeds would continue to repeat themselves. [I don't see the repetition here. What "bad deeds" are you referring to?] Another character used as a foil to Hamlet was Laertes. Both Hamlet and Laertes had endured the loss of their fathers at the hands of a murderer. Both characters sought revenge for these murders. Laertes immediately wanted to kill Hamlet for his crime, expressing how he would cut his throat in the church.