This essay examines the intertwined themes of justice and revenge in Sophocles' Antigone and Shakespeare's Hamlet. Both protagonists defy corrupt political authority in pursuit of a higher moral order — Antigone by honoring divine and familial law over Creon's decrees, and Hamlet by exposing and punishing his uncle's usurpation of the throne. The paper argues that both plays present the state as a potential instigator of injustice, situate their heroes within a spiritually ordered universe that supersedes human law, and treat revenge as a dangerous yet necessary instrument for restoring genuine justice. Ultimately, both Antigone and Hamlet emerge as tragic heroes whose sacrifices expose political corruption and affirm the existence of a universal ethical order.
Justice and revenge are the prevailing themes in both Sophocles' Antigone and Shakespeare's Hamlet. In Sophocles' play, the title character and protagonist defies her uncle Creon's edicts against burying her brother Polynices. The core issue in Antigone is the difference between universal ethical law and the arbitrary law and order enforced by a corrupt state. Antigone is not motivated so much by revenge as she is by the pursuit of social order and moral righteousness.
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, a similar theme related to justice and revenge plays out. Hamlet knows that his uncle Claudius killed his father in order to usurp the throne. The prince then devotes his attention to exposing the crime and exacting revenge — taking the law into his own hands, much as Antigone does. Hamlet may be more consumed with pure vengefulness than Antigone, whose motives are more spiritual in nature. However, Hamlet's campaign for revenge is motivated by the same overarching ethical concern: there is a universal law and order superior to that of the state.
Both Antigone and Hamlet show that the state can be a source or instigator of injustice, and both plays demonstrate that revenge is a treacherous and dangerous occupation, one that leads to certain tragedy. Ultimately, both works treat revenge as a dangerous but necessary means of thwarting unjust and corrupt political power.
Both Sophocles and Shakespeare show in their plays that the state can be a source or instigator of injustice. In both works, civic governments are exposed as inherently corrupt due to the nature of their political participants. Creon is king only because Eteocles abused his power and usurped Polynices, leading to their mutual fratricide. Were it not for this initiating act of power abuse, Antigone would not have had to thwart state power at all. The state was innately corrupt by the time Creon assumed the throne, proving the inadequacy of human leadership.
Antigone enters the scene ready to reassert the power of genuine justice, law, and order. Her conscience will not rest so long as justice is not served for her brother. As Hamilton puts it, "Antigone appears as the very embodiment of justice in the polis…her act of disobedience in fact reconciles the values of genos and polis" (87). Here, genos refers to the eternal laws of kinship that define social order in ancient Greece, whereas the polis refers to the laws of the state. Hamilton continues: "Kreon, on the other hand, is simply wrong and tyrannical" (87). Antigone is thus presented as an instrument of democracy — a person willing to stand up, speak out, and revolt against tyrannical regimes. A position of authority in the human realm is only legitimate insofar as it serves the public with justice and ethics. When justice and ethics are not served, that authority becomes illegitimate.
A similar theme of unjust, corrupt government — and a nearly parallel plot — runs through Shakespeare's Hamlet. Claudius stole power from his brother, just as Eteocles did from Polynices. As a result, an unjust and corrupt king assumed the throne. Hamlet does not view Claudius' leadership as legitimate. His campaign of revenge is rooted in this awareness and is executed with the same purpose as Antigone's: to reassert genuine justice and order.
Hamlet and Antigone are both driven by an internally rather than externally driven sense of justice. Both protagonists are also motivated more by a spiritual order of justice than a legalistic one. This theme of spiritual order is occasionally more overt in Sophocles' play than in Shakespeare's, because Antigone tells Creon directly that the laws of mortals are overridden by the laws of the gods. Yet Hamlet also frequently invokes the spiritual realm, and spiritual matters are central to both plays. As Fernie points out, "Shakespeare moves beyond a play of compulsive rivalry and revenge to one of deep spiritual enlightenment" (184). Hamlet actively questions the moral and spiritual order upon which his kingdom is built. Indeed, it is a supernatural entity — the ghost of his father — that instigates Hamlet's spiritual quest. The inclusion of an immortal spirit as a key catalytic character underscores Shakespeare's intention. Hamlet states, "For this same lord, / I do repent…I must be their scourge and minister" (Act III, Scene 4). Here, Hamlet clearly sees himself cast in the unfortunate role of champion of spiritual justice.
Antigone is perhaps even more directly concerned with spiritual matters than with mundane law. The realm of human society is comparatively petty when set against a higher law and order. Antigone states outright to Creon: "I did not believe that your edicts were so powerful that you, a mortal, could override the gods' unwritten and unshakable customs" (lines 454–455). Therefore, both Hamlet and Antigone perceive the immortal, undying laws of universal ethical truth as far superior to — and more important than — the often-unjust laws upheld by human governments. This tension between natural or divine law and positive human law is one of the most enduring concerns in Western literature and philosophy.
"Tragic consequences of pursuing justice through revenge"
Both plays treat revenge as a dangerous but necessary means of thwarting unjust and corrupt political power. Revenge is what causes great psychological turmoil to Hamlet, which serves as an ancillary theme in Shakespeare's play. Yet Shakespeare is not saying that the quest for justice is ill-conceived — only that the avenger of justice must take care not to become too consumed or obsessed with revenge at the expense of restoring social order. Antigone is not as vengeful as her Danish counterpart. Motivated by a personal sense of righteousness, justice, and social order, Antigone does direct her ire at Creon, but in the process she also sabotages her own potential for happiness as well as that of those around her.
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