"Revenge is a dish best served cold."This statement means that revenge is something that should be accomplished after time has passed so that it has more of an impact.This statement is true because taking revenge on someone when they least expect it is much more hurtful than taking action at the same time of the situation.There are many literary works that prove this statement to be true. Two of these works are The Crucible by Arthur Miller and Macbeth by Williams Shakespears.
In The Crucible the antagonist Abigail Williams has her revenge against the protagonist wife, Elizabeth Proctor. The major revenge Abigail has agaimst Elizabeth was when she accused Elizabeth of witchcraft by the means of a doll. Abigail had elizabeth jailed for performing witchcraft on her when she fainted at her dinner table,with a pin stuck in her belly. a doll was found at Elizabeth's housewith a pin in it's belly. Abigail played the revenge against Elizabeth after seven months of leaving the Proctor's household. She wanted to get back at her for firing her and breaking up of her affair with Proctor and she waited until time had passed so that it would be more painful and sudden.
In the play Macbeth, the main character was told by witches that oneday he would be king of Scotland.Macbeth contemplate murdering the king so he could be the king and crowned king of Scotland. The king's son fled Scotland to England to protect their lives from Macbeth.after months Macduff decided he would give Macbeth a payback for what he did. When Macbeth king for along time Macduff and the king's son rolled into Scotland and started a battle against Macbeth. With revenge that Macbeth didn't expect, Macduff murdered Macbeth the same way, Macbeth murdered the king in order to give the throne back to the rightful king. This was a revenge that was served after several months of peace.
In conclusion it has been stated and proven that"Revenge is a dish best served cold." It is something that should be accomplished when time is long passed. The two plays "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller and "Macbeth" by Williams Shakespear both show that revenge is much more hurtful when it is served cold.