Most writers, like Shakespeare, tend to put imagery into their stories. An example of imagery in Hamlet would be light vs. dark. This can also be known as good vs. evil, bad and good, right and wrong, etc.
Now most stories, of any genre, have a good side and a bad side: light and dark, good and evil. Its enviable not to. In Hamlet the use of good and evil, AKA light vs. dark, is very easy to see. We have Hamlet against Claudius, Hamlet against Laertes, and for a little while we have Hamlet against Gertrude. In most of those cases Hamlet represents good or light imagery and Claudius, Laertes, and even Gertrude represent evil or dark imagery. However obvious these examples are Shakespeare goes deeper than that. The play of Hamlet asks the audience a lot of questions, some are easier and more apparent than others are. One of these questions would be “Is the ghost good or evil?” This is a tough one, Hamlet believes he is right in trying to kill Claudius, yet we don't know if the ghost is of good or evil origin. If the ghost really was evil then there is the possibility that Claudius is innocent, but if the ghost is really the ghost of king Hamlet senior than Hamlet is on the right side.
Another one of these questions would be “Is Laertes right in trying to kill Hamlet, does he have the right?” This question, though more apparent then others, is still a deep question. Polonius, Laertes' father, was obviously killed by Hamlet, yet we know it was an accident, and, as far as everyone else is concerned, Hamlet is mad. So does Laertes really have the right to try and kill Hamlet? In those times the answer would be yes. In the Elizabethan age, when Hamlet was written, a son had the right even the responsibility to kill his father's murderer. Laertes has the right to avenge his father's death, but I don't think that was Laertes' biggest reason. Though Hamlet isn't physically responsible for Ophelia's death he is partly to blame. Ophelia went mad not only because of her father's death, but because the man she loved was the one who killed him. This results in Ophelia's madness and her eventual suicide. So it is possible that Laertes blames Hamlet for her death. This reason is a better one for killing the prince of Denmark.
Shakespeare's use of dark and light imagery helps to shape the characters and the various plots of this play. Just as in real life Shakespeare decides each character's actions based on his own ambitions, reactions, thoughts, and plans. This causes a lot of good and evil sides to form. Thus it is correct to say Shakespeare uses light vs. dark imagery in Hamlet.
