Essay On Why Does Hamlet To Kill Claudius

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the main character continually delays acting out his duty of avenging his father's murder. This essay will discuss how Hamlet's nature and morals (which are intensified by difficult events) prevent him from carrying out the task.

  In the first three acts of the play Hamlet, King Claudius go through a subtle, but defined change in character.  Claudius role in the play begins as the newly corrinated king of Denmark.  The former king, King Hamlet, was poisoned by his brother, Claudius, while he was asleep.  Claudius, however, made it known to everyone that the king died of a snakebite in the garden, and thus no one knew of the murder that had just taken place making his murder the perfect crime.  The only problem that Claudius must deal with now is his conscience.

Therefore, the theme of procrastination in Hamlet is the cause of delay in taking the revenge of Hamlet’s father’s murder. However, the theme of long delays and seeking alternative to revenge such as in the form of suicide while c considering it less sinful as compare to revenge from the aspect of the Christian theology also discloses that Hamlet is sensible and even in the times of emotional instability, he does not fall beneath what is humanlike behavior. On the contrary, Titus does not show such emotional savvy while expression grave concern and shows eagerness to avenge the murder (Burwick 24).

It is ironic that Hamlet doesn’t kill the King whilst he is praying because before Hamlet enters Claudius reveals in his soliloquy how useless he feels that his prayer of repentance is:

• This scene of dramatic irony showcases Hamlet`s hatred for Claudius. He does not kill Claudius when he is praying because he doesn’t want him to go to heaven. Hamlet wants to wait until Claudius commits a sin to kill him, so that he will go to hell.

However, to me, this shows that Hamlet’s character is very indecisive and fickle minded. Hamlet didn’t want to kill Claudius before because he believed that Claudius would go to heaven because Claudius had prayed. However, in Scene 4 he acts immediately not even

Now Hamlet uses a rational “now he is praying; And now I'll do't./ And so he goes to heaven;/ And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd:/ A villain kills my father; and for that,/ I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ To heaven”(p.79). Hamlet uses this “logic” to further justify his inconsistency between his actions and his motive. Finally, during the last scene, Hamlet encounters yet another chance to avenge his father’s, and now also his mother’s murders after his fencing match against Laertes. Claudius tries to kill Hamlet by poisoning him, and poisons Gertrude instead; this is the final breaking point of Hamlet. After the death of his mother Hamlet, can no longer hold back and strikes his foil through Claudius’s heart. Then, he forces the poisoned wine down his throat. This occurrence yet again shows Hamlet’s indecisive character. He plans out the vengeance of his father’s death so many times perfectly, but kills Claudius without a plan and everyone witnesses the murder.

One reason Hamlet is not going through with killing Claudius is that Claudius is praying. Hamlet believes that since Claudius is praying, he will go to heaven. Hamlet wants him to go to hell instead. According to Hamlet, allowing Claudius to go to heaven is not revenge for his father's death. Hamlet says,

Hamlet lets his religion somewhat get in the way when he gets his first chance to kill Claudius. “A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this villain send to heaven,” (III. iii. 76- 79). Here is when hamlet decides to wait because Claudius is kneeled down praying. He did not want to kill him because his soul would go to heaven because he has just repented. “When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed, at game a- swearing, or about some act that has no relish of salvation in’t- then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, and that his soul may be as damn’d and black as hell, whereto it goes” (III. iii. 89- 92). Hamlet wanted to get Claudius good a sinful like he did his father. He wanted him to go to hell. Here is when you see a different side of hamlet that may seem a bit devious, but when he changes his mind he seems to go back to his original character.

”Thus conscience does not make cowards of us all;/ And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought;/ And enterprises of great pith and moment,/ With this regard, their currents turn away,/ And lose the name of action.” Hamlet here combines some themes of this play: death and life, the connection between thought and action. In act five scene five, he goes into Claudius’ room to kill him. Like the last time he went to kill him, he was on his knees praying. Why send him to Heaven when he should go to Hell? His father wasn’t given a chance to repent his sins before he was murdered, so why should King Claudius? Hamlet thinks about this for a minute, and decides to wait for a more reasonable

Shakespeare's drama Hamlet has become a central piece of literature of Western culture. It is the story of a prince named Hamlet, who lost his father. Soon after that he has to confront multiple obstacles and devises a series of situations to defend the new king's royalty. Furthermore, he had to prove that King Claudius, who was the prince's uncle, had killed Hamlet's father. This story has remained among the most popular and the most controversial plays around the world. It generates controversy for all the doubts that this play leaves with the readers. One of the most questioning situations in the play is the delay of Hamlet in avenging Claudius' for his father's death. As a reader this

Hamlet feels the moment of death is important and has to come at the right time. Hamlet had one well known opportunity to kill Claudius, but his hesitation came in when he realized he was praying. According to Karl S Guthke hamlet did not kill Claudius while he was praying because if he was to have stabbed him in the back at that moment he would go straight to heaven no matter how sinful his life was. ( Guthke 91) Hamlet shows how important the moment of death is when he says “that he will wait until lust and sin come back, and when his soul would be at the door of hell.” (Kilgore)He is constantly putting it off, because he is not ready, because he has not done thinking about it. Hamlet says he will not kill him now, he wants to find a moment that when killed he will be sent to hell.(Shakespeare)

Hamlet believes that when people do evil things they are sent to hell. A person that lived a righteous life they go to Heaven. This thought may had put fear into Hamlet. Evelynoconner states that “yet despite being suicidal, he does not kill himself because he fears divine retribution (that he’ll burn in hell forever)." Hamlet hated his life and the current situation he was in that he thought about ending his own life but was too scared about what would happen to him in the afterlife. In the book he says “To grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death”. (Hamlet. Act 3 Scene 1. Lines 85-86). So if the thought of his religion made him hesitate to end his own life what would make it any different to end Claudius’s? In the end Hamlet realized after he was sent to England that he had no choice anymore. Claudius sent him there to be killed. That’s when Hamlet realized that it was either him or Claudius. Hamlets religion had a big role in why he delayed killing

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main character continually delays acting out his duty of avenging his father’s murder. This essay will discuss how Hamlet’s nature and morals (which are intensified by difficult events) prevent him from carrying out the task.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is laden with tragedy from the start, and this adversity is reflected in the title character. Being informed of his father’s murder and the appalling circumstances surrounding the crime, Hamlet is given the emotionally taxing task of avenging his death. It is clear that having to complete this grim undertaking takes its toll on Hamlet emotionally. Beginning as a seemingly contemplative and sensitive character, we observe Hamlet grow increasingly depressed and deranged as the play wears on. Hamlet is so determined to make his father proud that he allows the job on hand to completely consume him. We realize that Hamlet has a tendency to mull and ponder excessively, which causes the notorious delays of action