The Effects of Hamlet's Indecisiveness in William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet

In this play “Hamlet” written by William Shakespeare, there are many soliloquies that are said by Hamlet to depict various meanings of his thoughts, feelings, and actions that are inside of him. More specifically the soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 1, in lines 57-91 starts off with the famous saying known as “To be, or not to be”. Throughout this soliloquy, Hamlet is asking himself the question of whether it is better to live or not to live. In life, we are faced with many situations where we feel the need to give up our life and not face the problems. Only by facing all the troubles, will a person become stronger and more courageous to handle anything in life. By believing in one’s self, can man have the courage to follow what they think is right. Killing yourself or giving up is never a solution in life. This soliloquy reveals Hamlet’s fearful personality by showing that his decision-making process is slow and that he fears risks or uncertainty. These character traits are depicted thoroughly by Hamlet throughout the play.

Based on the play of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, suicide is the most prevalent and important themes in Hamlet. Hamlet always asks himself for the reason to stay alive. Even though he always thinks that there is no reason for him to stay alive, however he always chooses to stay. The first reason Hamlet seems to contemplate suicide is because his life is contaminated by sins and revenge. The other reason he is thinking about suicide is because he is young and immature. Young adults usually look for escapes when they become angry with things. There are many instances where Hamlet contemplating suicide and he treats the idea of suicide morally, religiously, and aesthetically, with particular attention to Hamlet’s two important statements about suicide: the “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy (I.ii.129–158) and the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy (III.i.56–88).

In the play Hamlet, Hamlet is described as daring, brave, loyal, and intelligent. However, he is always consumed by his own thoughts, this being his tragic flaw. There are numerous times Hamlet does not act when he should, like his inability to act on his father's murder, his mother's marriage, and his uncle's assuming of the throne.

Hamlet thinks he understands how action should be taken. He considers factors such as rationality, spirituality, emotion, ethics, and so on in his actions. These constant considerations of ideas just added to his problem of over thinking and questing himself. "He is particularly drawn to difficult questions or questions that cannot be answered with any certainty" (Phillips). Sometimes it seems that he doesn't believe any action can be taken in a controlled manner. If he takes a bold and decisive action, like Claudius did in killing the King and marrying Gertrude, it will yield results but he will be plagued by guilt. If he resolves himself to revenge and remains completely focused, like Laertes, he will be easily manipulated. These characters show the complexity of action Hamlet considers. When Hamlet does act it is a blind explosion of emotion and violence.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular character struggles to engage in his desired plan of revenge. Hamlet shows throughout the play that he is inconsistent, indecisive, and unsure of himself, as well as his actions. The play focuses on Hamlet’s revenge; however, he continuously fails to happen at opportunistic moments. Throughout the play, Hamlet insists that he intends to avenge his father’s death through the murder of Claudius, but Hamlet fails to act on occasion because of his indecisive personality.

Hamlet’s determination and addiction for revenge is confirmed when he is willing to sacrifice his entrance to heaven by separating from his values and beliefs. Initially, Hamlet wishes “that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!” He is contemplating suicide as a result of his father’s death and his mother’s haste in remarrying to his father’s brother, Claudius. However, Hamlet brushes off this idea as an option by saying, “Or that the Everlasting had not fixed his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! Oh, God, God” This portrays the religious beliefs of Hamlet at the time. He wishes suicide was not a sin. However, since it is, he cannot commit it. Similarly, Hamlet also shows his beliefs and values when the Ghost shares his story and then commands Hamlet to avenge his death.

Next, in one of the most famous soliloquies in the English language, Hamlet again contemplates the subject of suicide, but he does not do so on impulses of emotion. Instead, his contemplation is based on reason. “To be or not to be, that is the question: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer outrageous fortune…or end them. To die, to sleep- no more- and by a sleep to say we end the heartache…’Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time…who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler

As the play progresses, Hamlet’s actions tell he actively attempts to escape his self-proclaimed fate. Suspicions rise that Hamlet tests his free-will when he is inactive to plot the murder of his father. Instead, he develops a play to prove that the King is guilty, yet the play’s only effect is such, which does not bring Claudius closer to death. Finally, Hamlet has a chance to assassinate Claudius, but hesitates, believing that since the King is praying, he will go to heaven. This thought process and decision making demonstrates his attempt at free will. Hamlet’s assignment is solely to kill Claudius, yet his own thoughts get in the way, needing Claudius to waste away in hell and not heaven. In addition, when Claudius wishes to send Hamlet to England, he enthusiastically responds “For England!” (4.3.52), accepting being sent away, even though his mission is to kill Claudius, who resides in Denmark. In that instance, Hamlet is content with being shipped away, as he hopes to prolong his fate, hoping free-will will win over.

Hamlets contemplation of ending his life shows an inward conflict within himself. In his first soliloquy, he debates whether he should commit suicide. "To be, or not to be- / that is the question: / whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them" (3.1. lines 64-68 Shakespeare). He questions why he should live with all of this chaos but overcomes this internal conflict because he acknowledges that in his religion suicide is a sin. “O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, / or that the everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst (self-slaughter). O God! God!” (1.2. lines 133-136 Shakespeare). This soliloquy signifies the reality of Hamlet s internal conflict and also shows the reality of his external conflict with the society he is surrounded by. This declamation establishes

Hamlet was so obsessed with his lack of action and the worthlessness of life that he contemplates suicide asking, "For who could bear the whips and scorns of time" ( III. i. 69-70). He believes he would be foolish to suffer through his life when he will simply be

With Hamlet’s tragic flaw being his inability to act, he is plagued throughout the play by his immense intelligence and philosophical nature, which causes him to overanalyze each situation, rendering him unable to carry out any action in response. This is evident in the play by the frequent delay of acting out his father’s revenge due to the uncertainty of the evidence pertaining to his uncle’s crime. Hamlet’s inability to act creates a discourse between hamlet and his consciousness, generating an abundance of stress, which causes him to become increasingly frustrated as the play progresses. This frustration leads to him at moments in the play to behave in a rash and impulsive way or acting in an inappropriate manner, contradicting his methodical and reserved disposition. It is the consequences of these “inappropriate” actions that resurfaces at the plays end, to haunt the character, as Hamlet’s inability to act while using his renowned logic and intelligence ultimately leads to his eventual demise at the plays conclusion, due to his inability to act both “effectively” and “appropriately” in critical situations.

In Act 1 Scene 5, the ghost of King Hamlet appears to let Hamlet face the reality that Claudius is the murderer of his father and that his mother also has a hand in the conspiracy so his rage is justified. According to psychologist Sigmund Freud, a Greek emperor by the name Oedipus developed a strong sexual desire for his mother. This lead Oedipus into viewing his father as a rival for the love of his mother. Therefore, Oedipus had his father slain in order to be alone with his mother. Similarly, Hamlet also suffers from the Oedipus complex, where Claudius is the competitor for his mother Gertrude’s love. In fact, Hamlet is so enraged at the sight of Gertrude with Claudius that he angrily yells, “How dare she sleep with that man [!]” (Line 17). Here Hamlet is left shaken when witnessing Gertrude with someone else, so he quickly becomes extremely protective of her.

It is clear that the death of his father and his mother 's remarriage has taken an enormous mental toll on him and that he desires death to free himself of the burden laid upon him by the ghost. He romanticizes it, saying that suicide is the brave and courageous option akin to “[taking] arms” against troubles. However, he can’t commit to the idea of death, saying “To sleep, perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub / For in that sleep of death what dreams may come” (III, i, 66-67). He craves death, which would allow him to escape all the “natural shock / that flesh is heir to” (III, i, 63-64) but the more he ponders it, the further he is from reaching a decision. Ironically, the argument within his mind about how he should free himself of the ghostly burden — murder, or death — is impeding him from carrying out any action on it. At the end of his most famous soliloquy, Hamlet hasn’t made any decisive choice and therefore is in limbo regarding death due to his overarching rationale. His inaction proves “[his] endless reasoning and hesitation and the way in which the energy of his resolutions evaporates in self-reproaches” (Morgan 259). Moreover, Hamlet tackles the decision of interpreting what is real and what is false when he questions the ghost’s true nature. At first, Hamlet is certain

Hamlet feels the constant need to reassure himself that his beliefs are correct, especially in his soliloquies about death. It is stated, “O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!...” (Act 1, Sn 2, 129-1559). Hamlet discusses how things were not good and he was just in mourning and despair in this soliloquy. In the noted to be or not be soliloquy he continues the decisions on death, “To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer, The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?...” (Act 3, Sn 1, 56-89). As Hamlet continues through the play he gives up in a sense because of everything happening to the people he was close to and to him in general. He lost the people he cared about due to his uncle’s careless actions and his mother playing along with it. When he actually got emotion from his uncle things were only proven to be more complicated because his father’s ghost was correct. His soliloquies prove how Hamlet was overly depressed and wanted to die, although depression during this time period is completely different compared to now.

Hamlet is the first of Shakespeare’s major tragedies; it had its first performance around 1601 and is the most often performed of Shakespeare’s plays. It is written in verse, in this case unrhymed iambic pentameter, and prose, how we speak every day. When reading this play it does seem as though it is one very long poem, which isn’t surprising as about 27% of it is written in verse.