Ethical Issues In Hamlet

With the prospect of college deadlines looming close, many high school seniors can relate to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet—hopefully in less extreme way. Choosing a college and a career is a huge life decision that requires careful and thorough consideration. However, as the story of Hamlet proves, sometimes waiting and debating for too long only ends in a messy tragedy. Indeed, four acts pass before Hamlet even begins to take action in avenging his father’s death. His hesitation becomes excruciating to both himself and the audience who are waiting for the stagnation to end. Tremendous efforts have been spent debating Shakespeare’s justifications for Hamlet’s inactivity and lack of resolve in killing Claudius. The three main ideas for Hamlet’s
Bradley points out: “The action required of Hamlet is very exceptional. It is violent, dangerous, difficult to accomplish perfectly, on one side repulsive to a man of honour and sensitive feeling, and on another side involved in a certain mystery (“Melancholy” 106). Considering frequent Christian allusions abound in Hamlet, it is inferred that Hamlet believes in God. Thus, Hamlet struggles to carry out murder against Claudius because of the “biblical injunctions against taking life” (Foakes 93). That is, until the scene in Gertrude’s bedchamber. Here, he kills Polonius, but feels almost no remorse. Rather, “his reaction . . . is callous, since all his attention is concentrated on forcing Gertrude to share his disgust with her marriage to Claudius” (93). In the frenzy of killing Polonius, Hamlet gains new confidence in his ability to accomplish murder and openly promises his deed (Shakespeare 4.3.35-37). He is able to do this because he “learns to distance himself from what he has done by claiming he is an agent of providence” (Foakes 96). So follows the massacre at the end of the play. Hamlet’s new attitude toward death is reflected in his casual toss of Yorick’s skull, and his tactful execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern