William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Throughout the entire play Hamlet procrastinates on killing Claudius. Why does Hamlet procrastinate for so long to revenge his father's death? Shakespeare purposely makes Hamlet out to be a procrastinator for one very important reason, if Hamlet would have quickly pursued this revenge, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes, and of course Hamlet himself would have survived and the play would not have become a tragedy. There are many reasons for Hamlet's long delay. Some reasons which include not being unable to commit the murder are Hamlet's fear of what would happen if he did kill Claudius, his concience bothering him for taking the life of his uncle, his disbelief in the ghost, and because of his facination with death.

Hamlet's fatal flaw is his inability to act. Unlike his father, Hamlet lets his intelligence rather than his heroism govern him. When he has a chance to kill Claudius, and take vengeance for his father's murder, he hesitates, reckoning that if he kills the man while he is at prayer, Claudius would have asked for pardon from the Lord and been forgiven of his sins, therefore allowing him to enter Heaven. Hamlet decides to wait for a better opening. His flaw of being hesitant in the end leads to his own death, and also the deaths of Gertrude, Ophelia, Laertes, and Claudius.

Hamlet, the protagonist in the play, was told by his murdered father’s ghost to avenge his death, but because he was reluctant to follow the code, the play ends in tragedy. Closer analysis of Hamlet’s principle speeches offers a window to his evolving view of life and death. Hamlet repeatedly states his desire for suicide, but also questions the repercussions of taking one’s life. In the first soliloquy, the audience is introduced as to how Hamlet truthfully feels about his father’s death and Gertrude’s hasty remarriage to Claudius. He first says, “O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into dew!

Finally, he's able to excuse his own role in Polonius' death, ending with both his and Laertes' demise. Hamlet's concentration on reasoning and rationalizing is what delays his ability to act immediately and leads to fatal endings for both him and the people around him. While Hamlet did agreed to achieve the satisfaction his father desired, a major setback he has is wanting it not to be morally complicated. If he truly believed he was justified in avenging his father's death, he would have acted and not have concered himself with the optics of appearing heroic . During the prayer scene, Hamlet instantly draws his sword when he sees the King alone.

Hamlet: Social and Psychological Influences 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.

Later on, however, Hamlet begins to doubt the ghost. He then thinks up the Murder of Gonzago to verify the truthfulness of the ghost and also to allow himself more time. After learning the truth, Hamlet still continues to procrastinate the killing of Claudius. Although Hamlet is full of purpose, he lacks the ability to carry out his intentions, and thus allows his character flaw to eventually destroy him. Another characteristic that acts against Hamlet is his excessive melancholiness.

Hamlet has evidently shown in the play how his uncertainty in his decisions slows him down in killing Claudius. His indecisiveness makes spend more time thinking about the situation and the possible outcomes. In act 2 scene, Hamlet has yet to fulfil his promise to his father. Hamlet is holding himself back from avenging his father. Hamlet refuses to act as if he knows what he is doing when in reality, he has not found out whether the act of killing is heroic and moral or cowardly and immoral.

Hamlet’s debate of life versus death makes him question the advantages and disadvantages of existence and whether or not it is right to end his life or that of another. “To be or not to be” or more simply stated is it better to live or die. During this famous soliloquy, Hamlet wonders whether he should take action against his "sea of troubles" and seek revenge for his father's death or live with the pain of his father's murder. He also wonders that if he were to commit suicide, what could he expect in the afterlife. He questions whether or not suicide is morally right in an otherwise painful world.

Even with the thought, Hamlet only makes a decision because he is afraid of the dreams that he does not know may come. In Hamlet, Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death, but wonders whether the struggle of living and carrying through with his plans is worth the hardships, or if death is a better option. Shakespeare writes a soliloquy where Hamlet discusses with himself whether he should live or die. Shakespeare discusses the idea of suicide through metaphors, rhetorical questions, and repetition until Hamlet decides that he is too afraid of death to commit suicide. Works Cited Shakespeare, William.

Does avoiding conflict actually help solve the problem? Can we simply ignore conflicts in this life so they will eventually disappear? The major conflict in the play is that Hamlet feels that it is his duty to avenge his father 's murder by his uncle Claudius. However, Claudius is now the king and therefore well protected. In addition, Hamlet struggles with his uncertainties about whether he can trust the ghost and whether killing King Claudius is the correct thing to do.