Hamlet Turning Point Analysis

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In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the play provides Hamlet with the proof he has needed to carry out his vengeance against Claudius. Up to this point, Hamlet had doubted the uprightness of the ghost, whom he believed could be a devil trying to damn him by tricking him into murdering Claudius. The major turning point is when Hamlet is unable to kill Claudius in the prayer, because he shows a tragic flaw- an emotional high point when he draws his sword, unlike when he killed Polonius and no tragic flaw was present. While Claudius was praying, he was absolved of all sin- something that had “no relish of salvation in ‘t”. Once again, Hamlet has found a reason not to kill Claudius. He says that doesn’t want to kill the man while he is praying otherwise he was afraid Claudius’s soul would be sent straight to “heaven”. In Hamlet’s mind, revenge is not simply killing Claudius- but making him suffer in ‘hell’ just like he imagines his father to be.

However, in this case, then why does not Hamlet simply wait until Claudius has finished his …show more content…

He assures the audience that he intends no harm to his mother “Let me be cruel, not unnatural/ I will speak daggers to her, but use none”. But, Gertrude takes offence and starts calling for the guards in the belief that here son is ‘mad’ and is also armed “What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murder me? Hamlet is faced with no time to reflect, and impulsively draws and thrusts his sword through the arras, killing Polonius. Another tragic flaw is Hamlet’s inability to balance reason and passion (rational vs. irrational). His rational side makes Hamlet overthink his plans, while his irrational side leads him to commit needless crimes, like murdering Polonius, and this flaw ultimately leads to his undoing. His ability to think is stressed in Hamlet’s famous soliloquy (Act 3, Scene 1), and the passage shows Shakespeare’s ability to manipulate

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