How does Hamlet differentiate itself from the traditional structure of the revenge tragedy?

While the conventional revenge tragedy protagonist accepts their role as an avenger early in the play and is determined in their mission to extract revenge, Hamlet is very introspective and spends a displays a large amount of moral consideration. In the internal struggle of Hamlet, we see the conflict between the two views of revenge prevalent in the period-the Roman view that people should stand up against secular injustice and the Christian values of humility and acceptance, the belief that people should have faith in a higher power to administrate justice. Hamlet wonders whether it is right to take revenge and cause further bloodshed or to not extract revenge and allow the corrupt justice system lead by Claudius to continue to reign.

In the play, Shakespeare foregrounds the internal struggle of the protagonist. Although there is an external conflict in the play (between Hamlet and Claudius), the the conflict within Hamlet is the centre of attention. While most revenge tragedies focus on the material obstacles that the revenger must overcome in order to extract revenge, in Hamlet it is the revenger’s conscience that is the main impediment. Hamlet’s hesitation delays action greatly and eventually causes his downfall. From the beginning of the play, Hamlet is in a position to quite easily murder Claudius, this is made clear when Laetres returns to avenge his father and confronts Claudius in a situation where he could have easily killed him. The fact that Hamlet is not hindered by the material obstacles which dominate the plot of most revenge tragedies shift’s the audience’s attention to the characters. 

In many Elizabethan revenge tragedies, the revenger’s sense of right and wrong is obscured, however, they are rarely depicted as being completely uncertain, as Hamlet’s is. For example, in “The Spanish Tragedy”, though Hieronimo, the revenger, sometimes questions the nature of justice, a supernatural chorus repeatedly gives him clear moral guidance. By contrast, whenever the supernatural is present in Hamlet, no definite answers are provided for the revenger, there is never the sense that the interference of the supernatural has removed Hamlet’s responsibility for handling his problems as in the aforementioned play. As Hamlet is not given the moral certainty that most revengers receive, he is much more in control of his own destiny.