Why Hamlet Delayed Avenging His Father's Murder

778 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hamlet's delay

Why Hamlet Delayed Avenging His Father's Murder

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main character continually delays acting out his duty of avenging his father’s murder. This essay will discuss how Hamlet’s nature and morals (which are intensified by difficult events) prevent him from carrying out the task.

In the opening scenes of the play, the Ghost of Hamlet’s late father reveals to him the true means by which King Hamlet died. The Ghost tells Hamlet that his father’s death was caused by Claudius pouring poison into his ear. He exhorts Hamlet to avenge the murder. Hamlet’s initial response is to act on the Ghost’s exhortation quickly. Hamlet says; "Haste me to know’t that I with wings as swift…May sweep to my revenge." Yet by the end of the same scene, his reluctance to murder King Claudius is evident. Hamlet says; "This time is out of joint, O cursed spite, that I was ever born to set it right."

Many theories have been put forward as to the reasons for Hamlet’s delay in avenging the King from hereon in. One theory suggests that Hamlet wished to determine the nature of the Ghost before acting, for he says in Act II:2 that "The spirit I have seen may be a devil." However, even after the ‘play within a play’ through which Hamlet has obtained his ‘proof’ as to the nature of the Ghost and confirmed that Claudius is guilty, Hamlet says " I’ll take the Ghost’s word for a thousand pound," but fails to act and can only contemplate the ...

Show More
Related

  • An Analytical Essay Of The Tragedy Of Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the first act, Prince Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, King Hamlet. His father's ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius poured poison in his ear while he slept. The spirit also explains that he wishes for Hamlet to avenge his death, but not to punish Queen Gertrude for marrying Claudius. He tells Hamlet that she will have to answer to her conscience, and eventually God for her incestuous actions (absoluteshakespeare.com 1 of 4). It was believed during these times that when a person died, especially in such a tragic fashion, that their spirit lingered about while suffering in Purgatory. This could cause a normally virtuous person's spirit to become filled with malevolence and begin to meddle in living men's affairs (en.wikipedia.org 4 of 9). This belief caused Prince Hamlet to want to investigate his father's spirit's claims to ensure that they were indeed true. In order to do this, Prince Hamlet feigns madness in order to remain hidden from members of the court's suspicions while he plots his revenge on King Claudius (www.sparknotes.com 1 of 3). He also takes advantage of a group of actors who come to Elsinore Castle to perform by rewriting a play to recreate the scene of his father's murder. He does this with the hope of flushing a confession out of Claudius' guilty conscience. When Claudius sees the play, he stands up and leaves the room (en.wikipedia.org 5 of 9). After many more events, Claudius' guilt becomes more obvious. Claudius then begins to change his focus towards killing Hamlet, as he is beginning to become aware of the Prince's plans to kill him. Claudius then arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Polonius' son Laertes and has Laertes poison the blade of one of his swords to be used in the match (Hamlet).

    Read More

  • Turning Points in Hamlet

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the players’ scene, Hamlet revises the play of The Murder of Gonzago, adding in a scene that hints at the murder of King Hamlet. When Claudius reacts to Hamlet’s trap and makes a sudden exit, Hamlet now knows that the ghost’s story is true and will “take the ghost’s word for a thousand pound.” He now has no reason not to act. Prior to witnessing Claudius’ reaction, Hamlet has been debating with himself over the legitimacy of the ghost and its story. He has been questioning himself and whether he is a coward, because all he has done is talk, not having taken any action. Now that Hamlet knows the murderous sin Claudius has committed, Hamlet feels no guilt in avenging his father’s death. The plot takes a turn, as Hamlet becomes more of a man of action than a philosopher.

    Read More

  • The Inner Struggle in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet’s inner course of action was further intensified with his encounter with the ghost. The information that Claudius murdered Hamlet’s father, was given to Hamlet by ways of the mysterious spirit, and this immediately provoked animosity in himself.  In Act I, scene v, line 29-31, Hamlet states, “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift/ as meditation or the thoughts of love,/ may sweep to my revenge”.  This statement shows the rage and fury of Hamlet wanting to seek full revenge on his uncle; He still does not act upon this as quickly as he proclaims, which shows his inability to step into action.

    Read More

  • Father and Son Relationship in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the play Hamlet is in constant conflict with himself. An appearance of a ghost claiming to be his father, “I am thy father’s spirit”(I.v.14) aggravates his grief, nearly causing him to commit suicide and leaving him deeply disgusted and angered. Upon speaking with his ghost-father, Hamlet learns that his uncle-stepfather killed Hamlet the King. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown”(I.v.45-46) Hamlet is beside himself and becomes obsessed with plotting and planning revenge for the death of his father.

    Read More

  • Indecision, Hesitation and Delay in Shakespeare's Hamlet - Needless Delay?

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    The question of why Hamlet delays in taking revenge on Claudius for so long has puzzled readers and audience members alike. Immediately following Hamlet's conversation with the Ghost, he seems determined to fulfill the Ghost's wishes and swears his companions to secrecy about what has occurred. The next appearance of Hamlet in the play reveals that he has not yet revenged his father's murder. In Scene two, act two, Hamlet gives a possible reason for his hesitation. "The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil, and the devil hath power / T' assume a pleasing shape" (2.2.627-629). With this doubt clouding his mind, Hamlet seems completely unable to act. This indecision is somewhat resolved in the form of the play. Hamlet comes up with the idea of the play that is similar to the events recounted by the ghost about his murder to prove Claudius guilty or innocent. Due to the king's reaction to the play, Hamlet attains the belief that the Ghost was telling the truth the night of the apparition.

    Read More

  • Hamlet, In Over his Head

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    The tragedy of Hamlet is complex, leading the audience to more questions than resolutions. While several elements lead to Hamlet striking the King dead, the purpose for Hamlet to strike is the murder of the Queen. The blood of the Queen staining King Claudius’s already blood stained hands and the sudden feeling of self preservation were the elements that leads Hamlet to become impulsive with his actions. With rage and self preservation being the incentive for Hamlet to slaughter the King, it stands to reason that Hamlet broke his oath of revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet, in the end, lets his words get away from him when he promises himself to his father’s ghost, leading to the failure to keep his promises.

    Read More

  • Social and Psychological Influences on Hamlet

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the influence of Hamlet’s psychological and social states display his dread of death as well as his need to avenge his father’s death.  In turn, these influences illuminate the meaning of the play by revealing Hamlet’s innermost thoughts on life, death and the effect of religion.  Despite the fact that Hamlet’s first instincts were reluctance and hesitation, he knows that he must avenge his father’s death.  While Hamlet is conscious of avenging his father’s death, he is contemplating all the aspects of death itself.  Hamlet’s decision to avenge his father is affected by social, psychological and religious influences.

    Read More

  • How Does The Dead King Get Revenge In Hamlet

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    How does a dead king get revenge in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark a play by William Shakespeare? This tragedy about Prince Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, seeking revenge for his father’s, King Hamlet Gertrude’s murder. A dead king makes a scene in front of guards to get his son. In the following passage, the ghost explains why the former king wants revenge.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Fatal Flaw

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet is a scholar, speaker, actor, and prince. For some reason, Hamlet is not able to avenge his father's death without considerable delay. There is one major flaw in Hamlet's character which causes him to postpone the murder of Claudius. I believe that this flaw is Hamlet's idealism. While his idealism is a good trait, in this case, Hamlet's environment and his...

    Read More

  • Conflict in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    2442 Words  | 5 Pages

    Up until this point the kingdom of Denmark believed that old Hamlet had died of natural causes. As it was custom, prince Hamlet sought to avenge his father’s death. This leads Hamlet, the main character into a state of internal conflict as he agonises over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Shakespeare’s play presents the reader with various forms of conflict which plague his characters. He explores these conflicts through the use of soliloquies, recurring motifs, structure and mirror plotting.

    Read More

  • Essay On Passion And Passion In Hamlet

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this scene, Hamlet is beckoned by a ghost, who later is revealed to be the ghost of Hamlet Senior. Hamlet listens as the ghost explains to him the details of his’ death. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that he was murdered by none other than Claudius! This sends Hamlet into a passionate rage and he again delivers a soliloquy, where his intentions are revealed. He states that “I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, [will ] sweep to my revenge” (1.5.33-35). This immense passion that Hamlet is feeling contradicts reason because reason would cause Hamlet to contact law enforcement and usurp his uncle from the throne, rather than taking justice into his own hands, and therefore becoming a murderer

    Read More

  • Condemned: Hamlet’s Moral Dilemma

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Fatal Flaw Analysis

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    When encountering King Hamlet’s ghost, Hamlet is told that his Uncle Claudius poured poison into the king’s ear while he was sleeping. King Hamlet’s spirit asks for retaliation. Agreeing with Domínguez-Rué and Mrotzek “Hamlet’s main problem is that he must avenge his father’s death (674). Instead of getting revenge on Claudius immediately, Hamlet procrastinates by putting on “The Mousetrap”, a reenactment of his father’s murder. Hamlet hopes the play’s title will trigger a response in Claudius. Once he sees Claudius’s shocking reaction to the murder scene, Hamlet confirms his suspicions toward the new King. He follows the King, prepared to avenge his father’s death and sees Claudius confessing his sins to God. However, Claudius is not truly confessing, therefore the situation is dramatic irony. Robert W. Flint confirms by stating “Hamlet feels, with the King, that heaven keeps an audit of human deeds, and he is unwilling to kill the praying King for fear he might go to heaven—and herein is a double irony since the audience knows that prayer is useless, the King having forgotten the true meaning of it” (23). Another possible reasoning for not killing the king is “because at that time the sudden death of the King might cause panic to the people and danger to the state” (Junqing 2077). It is possible Hamlet; Prince of Denmark was indeed looking

    Read More

  • Inconsistency in The Character of Hamlet

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be.  He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.

    Read More

  • Hamlet as the Tragic Hero

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet’s tragic flaw was shown to him in a dream by the ghost of his father. His father tells him that he was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. In this scene, the tragic flaw was transferred and manifested itself in Hamlet’s actions. His obsession with revenge and death is all he can think about. He needs to act quickly and decisively but finds himself procrastinating about what to do. In Act III, Hamlet holds the knife over the head of his uncle, Claudius, but cannot strike the fatal blow. Instead, he writes a play about the same scenario to study the reaction of Claudius as to a clue of his guilt. After he decides Claudius is guilty of murdering his father, he still relents from taking his revenge. He says, “Haste me to know ‘t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thought of love May sweep to my revenge.

    Read More

More about Why Hamlet Delayed Avenging His Father's Murder

Open Document