Hamlet Good vs Evil Essay

In the opening scenes of the play, the Ghost of Hamlet's late father reveals to him the true means by which King Hamlet died. The Ghost tells Hamlet that his father's death was caused by Claudius pouring poison into his ear. He exhorts Hamlet to avenge the murder. Hamlet's initial response is to act on the Ghost's exhortation quickly. Hamlet says; "Haste me to know't that I with wings as swift…May sweep to my revenge." Yet by the end of the same scene, his reluctance to

Hamlet delayed seeking his revenge many times until the very end. He is first delayed because he doesn't know if he can trust the word of the ghost. Later after the play he had the chance to kill King Claudius while he was vulnerable but decided not to. Also he was religious and may have believed taking his revenge would send him to hell. These three points have a big part in why Hamlet procrastinated in taking his revenge.

Throughout the play, Hamlet displays indecisiveness and a tendency to over think. Despite having every desire and intention to kill his uncle, Hamlet procrastinates to the point where he is loathing himself for taking so long. Had Hamlet take the first opportunity to kill Claudius, the play would be a great deal shorter. If I were placed in a similar situation, I believe that my fury caused by someone murdering my father would be enough motivation to avenge him as soon as humanely possible. Consequently, I see Hamlet as an individual who gets so hung up in executing every task perfectly that it

Shakespeare's Hamlet is truly a great play to analyze. It is also unique in that a play based on revenge we don't see any action until the end. Hamlet has immediate suspicion and proof of his fathers murder and does not act. This poses the question, why does it take so long for Hamlet to kill Claudius? Hamlet's apparent indecisiveness to act is due to his constant habit of over thinking in addition to several conscious and subconscious distractions.

What should Hamlet do? Explain the moral theories of each philosopher: Plato, Aristotle and Augustine. For each, determine the right thing for Hamlet to do. Then, assess the prince's actions from the perspective of each recommendation.

In this revenge tragedy, which is a play in which the plot typically centers on a spectacular attempt to avenge the murder of a family member, Hamlet’s call to adventure is when the ghost, whom he believes to be the ghost of his recently deceased father, beseeches Hamlet that he avenge his death (Charters and Charters 1251). At first looking at the ghost, he questions the authority of him and contemplates that the apparition is just the devil tempting him:

The characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet are not clearly divided between “good guys” and “bad guys”. Like in the real world, people are defined by their actions. Even someone who is usually a good person can be corrupted by outside influences into committing an evil act. This is ultimately what makes Hamlet into a revenge tragedy resulting in the death of almost every major character. Evil in Hamlet begins with a single act then spreads and grows through a desire for revenge.

Hamlet struggles a great deal throughout the play with his sense of morals and what is right and wrong. Hamlet does not want to act too hastily and assume that the ghost is real as an unnecessary murder would be wrong and would result in Hamlet going to hell. Consequently, Hamlet makes a strategic scheme to see if the King is really guilty of murder; which shows beyond a doubt his uncertainty. He would not go to all the trouble of making a plan if he did believe the ghost in the beginning. If Hamlet would have taken action upon the ghost’s original communication with him then, he would have had the chance to take revenge.

   The legendary drama, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare is a play illustrating the theme of virtue vs. villainy. The 17th century tragedy is plagued with treachery and deceit as it opens with the news of a foul murder in the kingdom of Denmark. Prince Hamlet, by word of his late father's ghost, is informed that his uncle Claudius is to blame for his father's sudden demise. Prince Hamlet's mission is to uncover the secrets surrounding the murder and to avenge his father's death. Thus, the insidious web of disease and corruption is formed. The relationship between disease leading to the greater corruption of Denmark plays a significant role in the lives of the principle players.

Since the dawn of time, man has struggled fiercely over the internal conflict within himself between doing what is right for oneself as opposed to doing what is right for society in general. It is what I refer to as the good vs. evil complex. The play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare somewhere between 1599 and 1603, presents a plethora of characters that are faced with the challenge of not allowing self-interest to reign supreme.

All throughout the work Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, readers scour the text in search of an answer to the question: “Is Hamlet good or evil?” From the first meeting with the apparition, readers are able to identify King Claudius, for example, as a purely evil character early on with the discovery of his selfishness and greed. Being said, it is difficult for the reader to distinguish whether Hamlet is evil for wanting to kill Claudius, or that he is simply being heroic by setting out to destroy the villain of the story. Hamlet's constant fluctuation between morals that continues throughout the play, displays strong elements of both good and evil, proving that he truly is a morally ambiguous character and cannot simply be defined as one or

In The Tragedy of Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet is a villain. One may say that the summoning of Prince Hamlet to avenge his death was a noble cause. However, in reality the apparition of King Hamlet exposed flaws possessed by his son, and indirectly instigated the deaths of all who he cared for. In Macbeth, the protagonist was not always a villain. However, when presented with a choice in the form of an encounter with three witches, he allows his greed of gaining the throne to influence his decision.

Here, Hamlet shows despite his need to revenge for his father, he is held back from his constant thought of his actions as well as his moral considerations. It’s been clearly stated that Hamlet has a strong sense of heaven and hell; that he won’t kill his uncle while praying, because he thinks he might go to heaven. Hamlet himself doesn’t want to kill his uncle without being assured that he is guilty. This is why, by the end of the play, Claudius' death is something we applaud, regretting only that he was not killed sooner. The reason of this delay is because of Hamlets’ moral triumph. His morality often keeps him from acting; it makes him mull around in his uncertainty and anxiety, instead of just acting and bringing his struggle to an end.

But why did he wait until his breaking point to do something? Perhaps Hamlet is not sure, even in his immense experience and understanding, whether justice should be left in his hands; despite the ghost's admonitions that it should. I agree with the belief that it is difficult, in a deceitful world, to tell a good man from a criminal. His morals guide him to be absolutely sure of his uncle's guilt, and not have a hasty emotional reaction.

In additional, Hamlet always hesitated when he wanted to do something, which also caused his tragic fate. If he was determined enough, he should’ve grabbed the best chances to do certain things. For example: in Act 3 Scene 3, “now might I do it pat, now ‘ a is a-praying. And now I’ll do it.” He had an opportunity to kill Claudius when he was doing confession. He should be more determining when he came on his decision. However, Hamlet gave up and just let the chances go when no one was around Claudius. After, there were no more opportunities for Hamlet to revenge