Hamlet's Hesitation Analysis

Over 400 years ago, William Shakespeare began writing Hamlet, a play that is still seen as relevant and important today. Hamlet tells the story of a Danish prince, who returns home after the death of his father to find out that his mother has married his uncle, Claudius. One night, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father who requests that he exact revenge on Claudius for the role that he played in his death. Although it seems as if Hamlet takes action to defend his father, this is not necessarily true. In fact, Hamlet did not love his father; his revenge was purely in defense of his mother. This can be seen through the fact that he only takes action when Gertrude is in imminent danger, that Hamlet feigns insanity in order to get her attention,

Hamlet’s fatal flaw of hesitation is the reason why he did not carry out a plan to seek revenge for his father’s death, but the love that he felt for his mother enabled him to act when she died. Throughout the five acts of the play, Hamlet made several excuses as to why he could not kill Claudius. One of those many excuses was that he could not kill Claudius at the end of Act 3, Scene 3, when he was praying, as he would be sent to heaven:” Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying. And now I’ll do ’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged.—That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven.” Hamlet’s hesitation, therefore, demonstrates that he did not love his father as he could have enacted his revenge, but chose to wait until his mother was in danger, proving that his revenge was solely in defense of her. In addition to this, Hamlet overthinks everything, which is another one of his downfalls. Yet, when Gertrude is poisoned, he throws caution to the wind and acts without thinking. After she collapses and he realizes that she has been poisoned by Claudius, he forces him to drink, which then kills him. Hamlet’s immediate action in defense of Gertrude attests to the fact that his revenge was purely in defense of his

According to Freud, this affliction deals with a child’s repressed feelings toward the parent of the opposite sex: the child desires to kill the parent of the same sex and to begin a sexual relationship with the parent of the opposite sex. He believed that children would overcome the affliction; unfortunately, Hamlet did not. Throughout the entire play, Shakespeare made Hamlet’s Oedipus complex obvious, primarily by portraying Hamlet as enraged by Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius, as he does not want to share his mother with another man. He also showed disdain for his mother and father’s relationship, saying: “Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him. As if increase of appetite had grown.” This makes evident the hatred that Hamlet feels toward men he sees as competition for his mother’s affections, illustrating that his revenge was purely in defense of her. Furthermore, as a result of this complex, Hamlet had an over-the-top obsession with his mother’s sexuality and is envious of Claudius because he is the one lying with her. This eventually results in the murder of Polonius, as during Act 3, scene 4, he eavesdrops on Hamlet’s conversation with Gertrude in her chamber. Thinking that it is Claudius hiding behind the arras, he stabs him. Moreover, on many occasions, he comments on her sex life, such as when he