The Struggle with Procrastination in Hamlet by William Shakespeare

          By the beginning of Act III, Hamlet is almost ready to kill Claudius, but he still needs more proof that Claudius killed his father, and he also wants to put off the murder because he is a bit of a coward.  Claudius is beginning to lose his composure.  Hamlet decides to set a trap for him in the form of a play.  The subject of the play is the murder of a king by his brother who, in turn, marries the king's wife.  The plot of the play is strikingly similar to the circumstances of King Hamlet's murder, which strikes a disharmonious chord in the conscience of Claudius.  In the middle of the play during the murder scene, Claudius gets up and begs for the play to stop so that he can get some air.  Hamlet is very angered by this because it confirms that Claudius did kill his father.  Later that night, Claudius prays to god to forgive him for his

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular hero and tragic figure of the play constantly finds himself unable to act on the Ghost’s instructions to take revenge on King Claudius despite the compelling reasons he realizes for doing so. The reason for this delay is Hamlet’s tragic flaw – his tendency towards thought and introspection rather than impulse and action. Because of this flaw, Hamlet is unable to ignore the moral aspects of his actions and “thereby becomes the creature of mere meditation, and [he] loses his natural power of action” (Coleridge, 343).

Hamlet had the opportunity to kill Claudius at the chapel but restrained himself, he believed it was too good of a death for Claudius and that if he were killed his sins would be forgiven. This shows his lack of action and proves he is a procrastinator. In his soliloquies he constantly criticizes himself for the obvious avoidance of responsibility saying, "Am I a coward? Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across? Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face? Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat, as deep as to the lungs? who does me this?" (Act 2 Sc. 2, 571-575)

In other words, he believes the ghost’s accusation. This leaves Hamlet as being a coward or as a fervent revenger without opportunity.

In the play by William Shakespeare, the ghost of King Hamlet approaches his mourning and depressed son, Hamlet, who is still affected by his death. The ghost explains to Hamlet how he died and demands that Hamlet avenge his death. Note how the ghost approaches Hamlet when he’s the weakest and still mourning to persuade and manipulate him into taking revenge for him. In Act one Scene 5 the ghost states, “If thou didst ever thy dear father love-/ Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” The way King Hamlet words his request is more as a challenge; in which Hamlet’s love for his dead father can only be proven by carrying out whatever his father wishes. The ghost influences most Hamlet’s behavior, which not only affects the plot, but also the relationships with other characters. The ghost influences the relationship between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude. He becomes angry at Gertrude because of her fast marriage with his uncle Claudius. Through the use of innuendos, antic disposition, and metamorphic plays, Hamlet makes it his duty to get King Claudius back for killing his father. Hamlet agreed to avenge his father without second thought. As the play advances, Hamlet begins to doubt the apparition. In act 3 Hamlet begins to have second thoughts and states, “The spirit that I have seen/ May be a devil…” This shows Hamlet’s inner conflict between listening to his father and avenging his death or following his ethics. To be sure that Claudius

The plot of the play focuses on the one hand on the impossibility to know the truth, and on the other hand on the necessity to know the truth to act with justice and with honour. As D.G. James says in his essay, “[c]onscience requires that we do is right; but then, what is right or wrong in these circumstances?” We can thus say that Hamlet is right to hesitate. It is only in the second act that Hamlet begins to doubt, and begins to think that “[t]he spirit that [he] ha[s] seen/ May be the devil” (2.2.575-6). When Hamlet realizes that it “may be a deceiving spirit”, he decides to stage that play to trap Claudius. But “when his guilt was proved beyond any doubt, Hamlet still did not kill him; he left him alone, giving a reason, plausible enough in Hamlet’s eyes, in the eyes of his audience, and in our eyes […]” (Hattaway, p83). As I said before, the

In this long passage Hamlet explains a lot to us. He begins the quote with sorrow for his indecisiveness when he says he is like a whore unpacking his heart, meaning that he is talking and feeling pitiful instead of acting. Hamlet then tells us that the reason he hasn't killed the king yet is because he isn't sure if the vision is his real father or the devil trying to damn him. Then finally

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:

he can kill Claudius in an act of sin and hence condemn his soul to an

After the play within the play, Shakespeare uses the rest of act 3 to deepen our understanding of some characters and to deliver some compelling plot twists. The first twist comes in scene 3, when we are shown that Claudius, the villain of the piece, has a conscience. CLAUDIUS: “. . . Pray can I not, Though inclination be as sharp as will: My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent.” NARRATOR: Hamlet arrives, determined to exact his revenge until he reasons that killing the king at prayer sends his soul to heaven. Hamlet stays his hand, giving us the second twist—a dose of dramatic irony, a contrast between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true. We know that Claudius is not praying, and that Hamlet spares

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.

Hamlets inability to take action is shown through his speeches and soliloquies throughout the play. Hamlet does not trust the ghost of his father fearing it is a demon from hell he prepares a reenactment of the murder. While the idea of using the

In Act 3, Scene 3, Hamlet abandons his chance to finally kill Claudius. Perhaps he had a feeling of moral wash over him. Or, maybe he just didn’t have the stomach to handle killing someone. But clearly that’s not the case. Just one Scene later Hamlet kills Polonius. Hamlet’s actions in Act 3, Scene 3, can reveal much about his character. While Hamlet had been plotting revenge against Claudius, when he was given the opportunity to finally kill him, Hamlet doesn’t do it. Hamlet walked in to kill Claudius, but seen that Claudius was praying. When Hamlet addressed the issue, we learned that Hamlet didn’t kill Claudius because of that reason – he was praying. Hamlet said that his father was never given the chance to pray before Claudius murdered

Hamlet from William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is unable to commit to a decision throughout the play. His indecisiveness does not allow him to act quickly on any decision, leaving them lingering until it’s too late. Mentally, he thinks too much. Physically, he does not take enough action. Emotionally, his thoughts cause him to do irrational things. His delayed reaction to take revenge on Claudius results in everyone in the royal family dying. Hamlet’s weakness as a person is his inability to commit himself to action.

Hamlet is the main character in the play that procrastinates because of his thoughts. He does not kill Claudius straight away after the Ghost tells him that ‘I am thy father’s spirit,’ and ‘so art thou to revenge.’ Instead of seeking revenge from Claudius, Hamlet’s thoughts