Why Hamlet Delayed Avenging His Father's Murder Essay example

This is because the marriage was soon after his father's death, King Hamlet was "But three months dead." This shows little sensitivity to those who are grieving and also implies that their relationship was initiated before King Hamlet died. Secondly, the marriage was against canon law, which made it a sin. Hamlet says to his mother in Act III:4, "Have you not eyes? You cannot call it love. O shame! Where is thy blush?" These successive shocks deepen Hamlet's depression. In Act II:2 Hamlet says to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, "I have of late…lost all my mirth." He falls deeper and deeper into the slough of fruitless brooding. In his first soliloquy he says; "O that this too too solid flesh would melt." Thus, the task is too onerous for the fragile, melancholic Hamlet.

From the beginning of his and his mother’s conversation Hamlet was very angry and on edge with her for being with his father’s murderer. Hamlet somehow knew someone was eavesdropping on their conversation as he had been spied on previously. He suddenly decides to act out of fury thinking how angry he was at Claudius and kills who’s behind the curtain, thinking it was Claudius. Hamlet realizes after that he killed the wrong man, it had been Polonius that he killed but he didn’t care much saying that Polonius was a fool. Hamlet sees the ghost again after and the ghost tells Hamlet he still must carry out his revenge for his father because he had failed .

Throughout the play, Hamlet’s character is characterized both by periods of extreme caution and moments of impulsivity. One of the best examples of Hamlet’s heed can be found in Act 2, Scene 2 where he decides to have his theatre troupe perform his play, The Mousetrap. With this, Hamlet hopes that he will be able to “catch the conscience of the King,” by monitoring Claudius during the performance, that heavily mimics his murder of his brother, for signs of stress and guilt. While Hamlet was fully capable of bypassing this step by simply adhering to what he believes is the ghost of his father, Hamlet’s decision to unearth some sort of evidence that supports his father’s accusations is just one example of his cautious ways and need for certainty before action. However, such displays of caution find themselves juxtaposed with Hamlet’s bouts of impulsivity. One of the most telling illustrations of Hamlet’s rashness can be found in Act One, Scene Five, where he first conversing with the ghost of his father. Here, when the Ghost asks Hamlet to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,” Hamlet immediately agrees. In fact, within the next few lines Hamlet pledges he will “sweep to my revenge” with “wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love”. The fact that Hamlet coins this commitment to avenge his father’s murder without making much of any consideration of the possible repercussions of such an undertaking is one of the best representations of Hamlet’s impulsivity. This rash action, marked by a lack of extended over-analysis and internal debate, contrasts with the excessive caution Hamlet exhibits at many other points throughout the play. Ultimately, the interplay between Hamlet’s caution and impulsivity is one of the most notable juxtapositions of the play and serves to strongly steer the development, not only of

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

In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the playwright introduces the compelling, complex, and complicated character of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet. In the events of the play, Hamlet swears revenge against his uncle for the foul murder of his father, the king. However, despite his intense catalyst, Hamlet reveals to be continuously torn between his motive of revenge and conflicted conscience, generating an inability to carry out his desired actions. While Hamlet possesses the passion and intellect to murder his uncle, Claudius, his actual inclination to act upon the murder directly opposes that of his powerfully emotional contemplations (S.T. Coleridge). Hamlet’s overzealous thoughts become unrealistic compared to his actual endeavors throughout the play.

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

Hamlet is as much a story of emotional conflict, paranoia, and self-doubt as it is one of revenge and tragedy. The protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, is instructed by his slain father’s ghost to enact vengeance upon his uncle Claudius, whose treacherous murder of Hamlet’s father gave way to his rise to power. Overcome by anguish and obligation to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet ultimately commits a number of killings throughout the story. However, we are not to view the character Hamlet as a sick individual, but rather one who has been victimized by his own circumstances.

Hamlet, the eponymous hero of Shakespeare’s greatest work, descends swiftly into madness and paranoia after the murder of his father and the realization of his mother’s true, morally reprehensible, nature. As a result of these new responsibilities and extreme circumstances, Hamlet diverges from his usual, logical thinking into paranoia and over analysis, a condition that prevents him from trusting anyone. Hamlet, having been born a prince, is, for the first time, forced to make his own decisions after he learns of the true means of his father’s death. Another contributing factor to his madness is the constant probing of others into Hamlet’s sanity. These factors all contribute to Hamlets delay, and that delay contributes to the tragic

William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet relays Hamlet’s quest to avenge the murder of his father, the king of Denmark. The late King Hamlet was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who took the throne and Hamlet’s mother Gertrude for himself. Hamlet is beseeched by the ghost of his father to take vengeance upon Claudius; while he swears to do so, the prince inexplicably delays killing Claudius for months on end. Hamlet’s feeble attempt to first confirm his uncle’s guilt with a play that recounts the murder and his botched excuses for not killing Claudius when the opportunity arises serve as testimony to Hamlet’s true self. Hamlet is riddled with doubt towards the validity of the ghost and his own ability to carry out the act necessary to

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

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).

Hamlet, our tragic hero, is originally challenged to take revenge by his father and to attempt to receive redemption for himself. The very presence of his deceased father is enough already to drive the poor man mad. Unknowing of the powers that have worked against him Corbin - 2 previously, for his uncle now king Claudius murdered his father to claim the throne, he sets off on a journey of truth and revenge merged. As the story progresses it becomes increasingly obvious to the readers, and even to Hamlet, who the real villain is. But as this suspicion of his uncle grows, so too does his paranoia and lack of sympathy grow as well.

Hamlets Suspicions where confirmed when his father’s Ghost was seen in the castle, and tells Hamlet that Claudius killed him by pouring poison into his ear. Hamlet therefore felt obligated to seek revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet says “Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift as mediation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge” (1.5.2).

One of the most debated questions is Shakespearean literature is that of Hamlet’s delay in killing Claudius. Even after he has been told by the ghost of his dead father that he was killed while sleeping and the person who did the act is now the king. “sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me” and that “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.” (Shakespeare and Jordan Act I Scene V). The ghost then tells Hamlet to avenge his death because not only has Claudius killed him he has corrupted Denmark. However, the worst thing that Claudius has done according to the ghost is corrupt Gertrude, who has committed the sin of incest by marrying her husband’s brother. Despite this the ghost does not want Gertrude harmed as shown when he tells Hamlet “Leave her to heaven, and to those thorns that in her bosom lodge, to prick and sting her.” (Shakespeare and Jordan Act I Scene V). This is not because he does not want her to suffer. Instead it is because he feels that she will suffer more by way of a guilty conscious then by death. Whereas he does not believe that Claudius would feel guilt over his death. Plus, by Claudius killing him while he was sleeping, he was denied the ability to atone for his sins which is the reason that he is now in purgatory. However, Hamlet does not act in haste to do the ghost’s bidding, but seeks to find ways to refrain from acting. This paper will look at six possible reasons for this delay.

“The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, shortened to “Hamlet”, written by William Shakespeare dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet is instructed by his father, King Hamlet, to execute on his uncle Claudius, who murdered the king. Not only did he kill Hamlet’s father but then succeeded to the throne and took the murdered king’s wife, Gertrude, to be his own. Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s major soliloquies to depict a close to clear picture of Hamlet’s true character. He gives us many soliloquies, generally centered around the emptiness of his existence, suicide, death, suffering, and fear of what is beyond the human race after dying. The journey of reading one soliloquy after another guided the audience to not only sympathize with Hamlet, but also reveal his one tragic flaw and his struggle to overcome it. Hamlet’s struggle throughout the play to bring everyone to justice and avenge his father only occurs because of his inconclusiveness. Because of the major soliloquies in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, the reader is able to sympathize with this dramatic character throughout his heart- rending development and understand his character from a different perspective keeping in mind his good attributes and tragic flaw.