Reason In Hamlet Research Paper

Reason plays the role of advancing the plot, especially when hamlet devises a plan to reassure the predication of his father’s ghost. Hamlet speaking to himself devises a plan, “For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organ. I’ll have these players play

”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

This quotation displays how Hamlet used his rationality in making the decision to either kill Claudius or not. Hamlet thought carefully about what would happen if Claudius died. If Claudius died, he would go to heaven while Hamlet's father would still be in between. That would not be revenging his father death, that would only make Claudius go to

The Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet, entertains the title character's split between head and heart, and accordingly, the arduous struggle he must endure in order to reconcile the two. It is a difficult struggle that is generated by the necessity to unite the two internal counterparts of human consciousness, head (logic and reason) and heart (passions and emotions). From the very beginning of the play, Hamlet is split against himself in a state of entrapment, which is spawned by the unbearable situation with his family. Throughout much of the play, Hamlet attempts to rationally think his way through his situation. His emotions, however, are far too strong for him to adhere to reason alone. Accordingly, his

murder in a rash mood. It is not seen by Gertrude. It tries to urge

Hamlet doesn’t think it would be just to kill Claudius now because it would be basically sending him “to heaven” which Hamlet does not want. He wants to take what he perceives as the nobler path of catching Claudius in sin and send him to eternal damnation, where Hamlet’s father supposedly roams. To what seems like noble justice to Hamlet leads him to continuously postpone his revenge. Hamlet is not interested in making himself king, rather he is more interested in killing Claudius the, truthfully, unchristian way. Hamlet does not want Claudius to repent and absolve of his sins. Although Hamlet calls Claudius a “villain”, it makes the reader ponder if the executioner of the villain is always the “hero”. So far in the play, Hamlet does not show any characteristics of a traditional hero as he broods and shows temper tantrums. Using his false sense of righteousness, Hamlet waits for the right chance to exact his noble “revenge”.

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:

Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his father's murderer. In the play Hamlet by William

"Reason is how we discover the truth in nature, without relying on the senses,” said by Descartes. It seems as if Descartes believes that reason is rational, objective thought whereas senses are subjective thoughts. Neither are objective, as humans even our most rational thoughts are subjective and bias to who we are as individual people. Even if reason tells people that the sky is red, our senses say otherwise and no amount of reason can persuade what one can see right in front of them. I would have to, therefore, disagree with Descartes, reason varies from individual to individual and also depending on situations and circumstances. This quote does relate to today’s morals and humanity specifically in the justice system. In the court system the United States relies on some level of “reasonable” doubt. Jurors use reasonings to analyze facts and determine a verdict without relying on their senses, despite not being at the scene of a crime or incident. Descartes quote came to mind at the very beginning of Bohannan’s story. Bohannan was given Hamlet by a friend to read while in Africa due to the primitive setting and maybe with some “meditation” Bohannan could discover the true meaning. After completing Bohannan’s story, coming back to this is humorous. Bohannan’s friend was hoping that meditation, deep thought, and reasoning would help Bohannan come to an accurate interpretation of Hamlet, but when Bohannan relied on the senses to listen to the elders while storytelling she

• 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.

Many critics question Hamlet’s sanity, and the question still remains unanswered. Is his personal search for revenge driving him crazy, or the fact that he has to put up a different façade for numerous occasions to conceal his own doubt? Hamlet’s motives throughout the play seem uncertain, is he driven by anger to seek revenge, or is it a part of his mixed emotions in result of his fathers death and the corruption of Denmark? Shakespeare seems to suggest that Hamlet is intending to act on his impulse to avenge his fathers murder by killing Claudius, yet he also seems to be combatting some sort of bigger confusion within himself.

Hamlet gets caught up again in his religious education when he has the chance to murder Claudius when he is praying. Hamlet remarks that he can’t send him to heaven after what he is done, he remarks in an aside “A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven” (Shakespeare 3.3.76-8). Claudius is only praying because Hamlet needed proof of the Ghost’s validity, and the prayer is actual confirmation of his dastardly sins. Hamlet should be able to understand that if he is just trying to save his soul, God wouldn’t find favor with him and Hamlet would be justified in carrying out his revenge. However, if Claudius were truly repentant, Hamlet should accept his teachings and be able to understand if Claudius

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.

Shakespeare writes in a way that is difficult to understand for anyone that speaks the modern language. His story Hamlet is understood through the emotions felt by his characters. Hamlet is the main character who is conflicted with revenge and conspiring friendships. Hamlet returns home from Germany for his father’s funeral only to find far more troubling things. Hamlet is a conflicted character but that doesn’t stop him from knowing what he wants. Revenge is the main cause of his confliction but with great reason, which is important to understand about this play because it helps explain all the betrayal and tragedy.

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.