Hesitation in Hamlet
William Shakespeare's Hamlet is tragic because all of the enmity being the product of one man's inability to make decisions. I believe the play is showing the steps of hesitation a person goes through who cannot choose, and the resultant angst. This one man is Prince Hamlet. Throughout the play he comes into situations where he just can't move himself into action.
In Act I, Scene 5 Hamlet has an encounter with a ghost who explains that it is Hamlet's deceased father. After a little while of talking the ghost tells Hamlet that he did not die of natural causes, but was in fact murdered. When the ghost says this Hamlet replies with:
"Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love
May sweep to my revenge." (Lines 29-31)
Hamlet is swearing to avenge his father's death as fast as possible. The ghost then tells Hamlet that the villain who committed the murder was the King's own brother Claudius. This surprises Hamlet, but he knows he made a vow and he must stick to it, he then says:
"So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word:
It is, Adieu, adieu, remember me.
I have sworn't." (I.V. Lines 110-111)
After the scene with the ghost the reader would most likely believe that an enraged Hamlet gone straight to Claudius' room to kill him. This is the first incident when Hamlet is observed being incapable of making decisions.
In Act II, Scene 2, two scenes after Hamlet was about to kill the king, he still hasn't done it, but during this scene Hamlet comes in contact with a group of traveling actors and asks them to play for the king. Hamlet tells us in this next quote of his tragic flaw of indecision and of his plan ...
... middle of paper ...
...gh out the play tearing at his soul. So in the end it was Hamlet's inability to act that kills him and many others.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations Of Hamlet. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Boklund, Gunnar. "Hamlet." Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.
Epstein, Norrie. "One of Destiny's Casualties." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless to the Best of the Bard. New York: Viking Penguin, 1993. p. 332-34.
Jorgensen, Paul A. "Hamlet." William Shakespeare: the Tragedies. Boston: Twayne Publ., 1985. N. pag. http://www.freehomepages.com/hamlet/other/jorg-hamlet.html
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. T. J. B. Spencer. New York: Penguin, 1996.
Shakespeare, William. The Three-Text Hamlet. Eds. Paul Bertram and Bernice Kliman. New York: AMS Press, 1991.
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Alison Booth, and Kelly J. Mays. Tenth. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011. 1024-1129. Print.
Goldman, Michael. "Hamlet and Our Problems." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York City: Prentice Hall International. 1995. 43-55
Critics have attempted to explain Hamlet’s delay in avenging his father for centuries and the most relevant scene to illustrate Hamlet’s hesitation is in Act Three when Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius but doesn’t. Hamlet says at the time that he does
This quote is spoken by Hamlet to Horatio and the watchman. Hamlet warns Horatio that he is going to behave oddly. Hamlet’s actions do not match his passion. Hamlet makes his friends to swear an oath to not to tell anyone about his encounter with the ghost, no matter how he behaves. This quote is important to prove that Hamlet’s tragic flaw is procrastination. Hamlet speaks passionately about getting his revenge quickly, but then decides to act insanity, which delays his revenge for two
Hamlet’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin. The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality. Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. Norton Critical Series. 2nd Edition. New York: Norton, 1992.
Boklund, Gunnar. "Hamlet." Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.
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
Shakespeare, William, Marilyn Eisenstat, and Ken Roy. Hamlet. 2nd ed. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2003. Print.
Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. Print.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet presents a hero who hesitates to avenge his dead father when given the opportunity – what should be his judgment? This paper examines the decision from various points of view.
Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.