Detail 1: To begin with, Prince Hamlet in “Hamlet” is considered to be a scholar, a thinker, and the kind of person who would not act without thoroughly analysing the circumstances. Hamlet’s flaws as a central character become evident when the intrigue begins to take shape. The intrigue in “Hamlet” shows Hamlet’s father coming to him, as a ghost, and pleads revenge for his death. Hamlet becomes aware that his uncle, Claudius,…
Consequently, Hamlets’ tragic flaw leads to his downfall. His lack of action causes him not to kill Claudius when he has the chance, giving him the advantage. It can be seen that Claudius has the advantage to kill Hamlet when he states, “By letters conjuring to that effect/The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England” (4.3.65-6). Since Hamlet reveals that he knows that Claudius killed the former king, Claudius is deceiving Hamlet into going to England, where he will be executed. Hamlet reveals his knowledge of the murder when he puts on the play, re-enacting the former King’s murder. Now Claudius knows that he must kill Hamlet in order to avoid getting caught and stay on the throne. Claudius tells Hamlet that he is sending him to England for…
In many occasions the audience knows that Hamlet has been having a hard time of figuring out what to do with Claudius, where he should get his revenge and kill him or not, he truly does not know what to do yet. To predict or to figure what he will do Shakespeare makes the last soliloquy in the play critical for the audience because it is the only way of understanding the development of Hamlet as a character. Furthermore Hamlet also points out that he is not doing anything to avenge his father death. “How all…
The contrast between action and inaction is emphasized between Claudius and Hamlet due to the conflict between these two characters. To begin, Claudius sends Hamlet to an almost certain death immediately after he suspects Hamlet’s knowledge of his father’s murder. Quickly, he confides in Rosencratz and Guildenstern that, “[Claudius likes Hamlet] not, nor stands it safe with [everyone] / [t]o let his madness range” (III.iii.1-2), and demands, “therefore prepare you. I your commission will forthwith dispatch / [a]nd he to England shall along with you” (III.iii.3-4). It seems Claudius proceeds impulsively, however his calculated and rapid actions are the key to the development of the theme of action. Claudius smoothly uses “[Hamlet’s] madness” as the source of his nephew’s departure, though it is his own safety that concerns Claudius. Next, Hamlet cannot find the strength to kill his father’s murderer throughout most of the play.…
Hamlet was brought up as a prince, a noble born, embedded with sweetness. Showered with love and provided with whatever necessary for a prince… He was out studying and not being involved in politics of Denmark or even being involved with the series of war King Hamlet has being fighting. He embodies a full course of human emotion, ranging from grief, love, anger, rage, and passion to fear and insanity. Ultimately, Hamlet has no interest in becoming the king rather his concern is to avenge his father’s death which he could not fulfill because his character does not show someone who is capable of murder, apart from this, there were various factors that contributed to Hamlet’s delay in seeking revenge against Claudius.…
In scene three, during Claudius’ monologue, it is clear how similar Hamlet and Claudius have become. During this time, Claudius tells himself: “Pray can I not, / Though inclination be as sharp as will. /My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent, / And like a man to double business bound / I stand in pause where I shall first begin, / And both neglect” (Shakespeare, page 75). One part of Claudius wants to confess and be forgiven of his sins, but the other part of him does not want to lose all that he gained from killing King Hamlet and becoming the king. Hamlet does this quite often as he strongly wants to avenge his father’s death, but can not decide on a choice of action. Also, Hamlet and Claudius are both haunted and driven by their conscience. Hamlet feels extremely guilty about his father’s death, even though his blood was not on Hamlet’s hands. Claudius feels guilty for actually killing King Hamlet.…
Another major theme in Hamlet is procrastination. Throughout the play, Hamlet wants to avenge his father's death by killing Claudius, but every chance that arises is pushed aside by Hamlet. Claudius was praying all alone, and rather than kill him at that moment, Hamlet thought about the situation and decided that he didn't want Claudius to have a chance to go to heaven. Had Hamlet simply went ahead and done what he wanted to do, deaths that occurred later in the play could have been prevented. It's this obsessive nature that led Hamlet to his tragic ending. Hamlet never thought about whether or not killing Claudius would hurt his mother;…
Hamlet succeeds in troubling Claudius, and because of this, Claudius decides to act. Claudius plans to send Hamlet to England where Hamlet would be executed upon arrival. The fact that Claudius could so easily organise Hamlet’s death shows the fear and panic that exists within Hamlet and Claudius’ relationship. While it is believed that Claudius would have always feared Hamlet, and what he would do if he learnt of the King’s murder, this scene, where Claudius discovers Hamlets murderous intentions and utter madness drives him to action.…
Hamlet’s decisiveness ruins his life. He has the best chance to kill Claudius, but his hesitation just let Claudius go from Hamlet’s hand. “That would be scann'd: A villain kills my father; and for that, I, his…
Throughout the play, Hamlet expresses his internalised battle between his mission to avenge his father’s death and his morality through his long soliloquies. For example, in Act 3, Scene 3, Hamlet has a golden opportunity to kill Claudius in his bedchambers but decides against it when he discovers Claudius is praying. He avers that to kill Claudius then, when he is confessing his sins, would be to send him to heaven. He exclaims that ‘this is hire and salary, not revenge’, saying that the action of killing Claudius mid-prayer would warrant a reward instead of being an act of revenge. These conflicting feelings within Hamlet cause him to be indecisive with his actions. As England was in the midst of transitioning from barbaric medieval times to the more refined Renaissance period during the time of Hamlet, Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s confliction to highlight his progressive thinking in comparison to Claudius’ uncouth ways and to signal to his audiences the dawn of a new…
However, Hamlet incapable of doing it and proceed to what according to Ghost told him to (Javed 332). This is an identity crisis for Hamlet, as he does not know whether he is acting upon his free will or upon the Ghost words. Killing Claudius is what the Ghost wanted. However, Hamlet is confused whether he want to Claudius or not, hence the delay in his actions. ”Hamlet is too delicate or too subtle for the purpose. A less self-questioning hero would have been a better instrument” (Javed…
Based on these examples, Hamlet’s demeanor allowed him to easily kill multiple people without regard or remorse and thus he should not have hesitated in killing Claudius, a person who killed his Father and married his Mother. However, this is not the case, despite his promises to get his revenge “with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love” (Hamlet.1.5.29-30). This same idea was mentioned by Sigmund Freud in “The Interpretation of Dreams” when he states “The plot of the drama, however, shows us that Hamlet is by no means intended to appear as a character wholly incapable of action… What is it, then, that inhibits him in accomplishing the task which his father's ghost has laid upon him?” (Freud, page 86). Additionally, Jones noted that “there is every reason to believe that, apart from the task in question, Hamlet is a man capable of very decisive action” (Jones 77). These quotes further support my opinions that Hamlet acts decisively when it comes to taking the lives of others, as such, he hesitance to kill Claudius must related to a deeper…
One of Hamlet’s ultimate demises were that he was unable to retaliate his father's death by playing mind games with king claudius and queen gertrude. In him doing this hamlet had to convince everyone including himself, that he has gone madly insane because he is grieving over his father's death. Hamlet was only doing this so king claudius would just confess to everyone including hamlet that he had murdered king hamlet. When hamlet says “But now listen to me. No matter how strangely I act you must never, ever let on...with…
I think there is a misplaced speech in Hamlet which has resulted in much unnecessary confusion. You'll remember that in Act I Hamlet meets his father's ghost, who tells his son that he was murdered by Claudius. Hamlet is full of resolve to do the right thing, but he makes no attempt to kill Claudius until Act III, Scene IV. (That attempt is frustrated when he mistakenly believes Claudius is praying.)…
William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, documents one character's continual development. From a hesitant youth to a ruthless revenge-seeker, there are three major turning points that propose the start of Hamlet's wicked evolution. In dealing with his father's passing, Hamlet's grief burdens him to be overwrought with emotion and causes him to contemplate the irrational, even murder. The Players' scene, Prayer scene and Closet scene all present possible key turning points for this change. Although Hamlet's sanity remains questionable throughout the play, these three scenes suggest possible points in which Hamlet becomes particularly vicious. Beginning with the vision of his father's ghost relaying the notion of his own murder by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, Hamlet's mind becomes increasingly flooded with impulsions.…