Hamlet: Vengeance Is . . . Everybody's What is revenge? According to Merriam Webster, revenge is an act or instance of retaliating in order to get even. William Shakespeare's Hamlet provides a good definition for revenge that one may easily understand by studying the characters of Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras. The most obvious case of revenge is Hamlet killing Claudius to avenge the new king's murder of the prince's father. Hamlet definitely embodies the characteristics of revenge because he is committing an act of retaliation to get even. However, Hamlet takes the entire play to execute his vengeance. Hamlet represent