Speculation as to whether Shakespeare's play Hamlet meets the requirements of an Elizabethan revenge tragedy is discussed in this article, with considerable critical commentary. Richard A. Lanham in “Superposed Plays” comments on the minor revenge tragedy within the major revenge tragedy of Hamlet:Now there is no doubt how to read Laertes' play: real revenge tragedy, to be taken – as I tried to imply in my summary – without solemnity. We should enjoy the rants as such. When we receive tears instead of an outburst, as in the case of Laertes mentioned above, apologies for our disappointment are not out of place. We must not be carried away by Laertes' lustful sentiment any more than by Ophelia's obscene puns. We savor it. (88-89) Howard Felperin sees in Hamlet a return to the once extinct revenge game (Felperin 105). Although long defunct, the revenge tragedy was resurrected before the date of Hamlet's composition. The prince has a possible motive for revenge from the beginning: he is dejected by his mother's “hasty marriage” to his uncle. Hamlet's first soliloquy sees the expression of his negative feelings and their growth in intensity; emphasizes the corruption of the world and the fragility of women – an obvious reference to his mother's hasty and incestuous marriage: Shall I remember? why, she clung to him, as if the increase of appetite were increased by what she fed: and yet, within a month - Let me not think - Frailty, thy name is woman! - (1.2) Based on the meeting of the hero and Horatio, AC Bradley in Shakespearean tragedy presents convincing evidence of the depth of the hero's melancholy. He is powerful enough to wreak vengeance: ...... middle of paper ......ves of Eloquence: Literary Rhetoric in the Renaissance. Np: Yale University Press, 1976. Levin, Harry. General introduction. The bank of the Shakespeare River. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974. Mack, Maynard. “Hamlet's World”. Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line n. Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. "Hamlet: a man who thinks before he acts." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardò. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. Np: Paperback books, 1958.