Hamlet, while not a man of many actions, is a man of many words. Though like many others, Hamlet gets caught up in the moment; saying or committing himself without fully understanding the consequences or what is going to be entailed. When he is with his father’s ghost, Hamlet promises, “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift. As meditation of the thought of love/May sweep to my revenge.”(1.5.35-37) Hamlet did not keep his word to his father, his actions were not swift nor where they an act of revenge. Hamlet does not strike in an act of revenge, but in an act of anger and self preservation after the murder of his mother. He is hesitant at an opportune time, while the King was praying, for the reason that when committing himself to the act of revenge Hamlet did not fully understand what was being asked of him. That he would not only have to take the life of another man, but commit treason by slaughtering the King. Hamlet wrote a short scene depicting how the late King Hamlet was murdered, and requests that the visiting players preform this scene in the presence of the King. When the King abruptly leaves before the closing curtain; Hamlet believes that it is a sign of guilt. Ready to slaughter the King after this revelation, Hamlet stealthy enters behind Claudius while the man is alone, with his sworn drawn. Though before he strikes Hamlet takes notice that Claudius is praying. Quickly Hamlet makes the justification that if Claudius was slaughtered while upon his knees repenting then his soul would rise to heaven, “And so he goes to heaven,” (3.3.79). Postponing his revenge until the time when Claudius was, “When he is drunk asleep, or in rage./Or in th’ pleasure of his bed,/ At game a-swearing, or about some act/That has ... ... middle of paper ... ...ge and self defense. The tragedy of Hamlet is complex, leading the audience to more questions than resolutions. While several elements lead to Hamlet striking the King dead, the purpose for Hamlet to strike is the murder of the Queen. The blood of the Queen staining King Claudius’s already blood stained hands and the sudden feeling of self preservation were the elements that leads Hamlet to become impulsive with his actions. With rage and self preservation being the incentive for Hamlet to slaughter the King, it stands to reason that Hamlet broke his oath of revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet, in the end, lets his words get away from him when he promises himself to his father’s ghost, leading to the failure to keep his promises. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A Mowat and Paul Werstine. 1. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2003.
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” An Introduction to Literature. Ed. Barnet, et al. New York: Longman, 2000.
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. 4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print 539-663
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare). Simon & Schuster; New Folger Edition, 2003.
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the king of Denmark is murdered by his brother, Claudius, and as a ghost tells his son, Hamlet the prince of Denmark, to avenge him by killing his brother. The price Hamlet does agree to his late father’s wishes, and undertakes the responsibility of killing his uncle, Claudius. However even after swearing to his late father, and former king that he would avenge him; Hamlet for the bulk of the play takes almost no action against Claudius. Prince Hamlet in nature is a man of thought throughout the entirety of the play; even while playing mad that is obvious, and although this does seem to keep him alive, it is that same trait that also keeps him from fulfilling his father’s wish for vengeance
In the prayer scene, Hamlet misses his best opportunity to kill Claudius and avenge his father’s death. With no guards around, Claudius is alone and he is unaware that Hamlet is lurking in the shadows. The scene is set for Hamlet to take vengeance for his father’s unsettled spirit. However, Hamlet does not kill him, because Claudius is repenting for his sins, allowing him to go to heaven when he is to die. As one’s religion often dictated the afterlife of one’s soul, King Hamlet is doomed to an eternity in purgatory. Hamlet does not feel it is fair for Claudius to go to heaven, while his father is at unrest, so he decides instead to kill Claudius while he is doing something sinful. This is ironic because Claudius says he is not really praying; he is just going through the ...
In this scene, Claudius is alone, defenseless, kneeling at prayer, and unaware of Hamlet 's presence. Hamlet states that this is the perfect time, and he probably won’t get much of a better chance than that. With that in mind, he drew out his sword. But characteristically, he has second thoughts. He thought about it, and realized that he was probably kneeling in prayer to confess his sins. Hamlet 's Catholic beliefs state that if King Claudius was to die, but he confessed for his sins, he would be forgiven of all of his sins and would be granted access to go to heaven. Hamlet thinks about this and says, “A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven” (III.III.77-79). Hamlet knows that the best time to kill him is after he has sinned. He says that he will finish the task, "When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, / Or in th ' incestuous pleasure of his bed; / At gaming, a-swearing, or about some act / That has no relish of salvation in 't" (III.III. 88-92). This sets Hamlet in a crazed state of mind when leaving to go see his mother. In the conversion with her, Hamlet finds out that there is another man in the room, hiding behind the tapestry. Immediately he kills the man, only to find out that the man behind the tapestry was Polonius, the father of the women he
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Hamlet wishes to avenge the murder of his father and rectify this great injustice. The conflict between his desire to seek revenge and his own thoughts of incompetence is the cause of his initial unrest. "Haste me to know't , that I , with wings as swift / As meditation or thoughts of love , / may sweep to my revenge (1.5.29-31). Here Hamlet pleads to the Ghost of King Hamlet to reveal the name of his murderer.
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Unabridged William Shakespeare. William George Clark and William Aldis Wright, ed. Running Press. 1989.
Once Hamlet has learned of his father’s death, he is faced with a difficult question: should he succumb to the social influence of avenging his father’s death? The Ghost tells Hamlet to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.31) upon which Hamlet swears to “remember” (1.5.118). Hamlet’s immediate response to this command of avenging his father’s death is reluctance. Hamlet displays his reluctance by deciding to test the validity of what the Ghost has told him by setting up a “play something like the murder of (his) father’s” (2.2.624) for Claudius. Hamlet will then “observe his looks” (2.2.625) and “if he do blench” (2.2.626) Hamlet will know that he must avenge his father’s death. In the course of Hamlet avenging his father’s death, he is very hesitant, “thinking too precisely on the event” (4.4.43). “Now might I do it…and he goes to heaven…No” (3.3.77-79) and Hamlet decides to kill Claudius while “he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed” (3.3.94-95). As seen here, Hamlet’s contradicting thought that Claudius “goes to heaven” (3.3.79) influences him to change his plans for revenge. Hamlet eventually realizes that he must avenge his father’s death and states “from this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth” (4.4.69). From this, Hamlet has succumbed to the social influence and has vowed to avenge his father’s death.
Shakespeare, William, Marilyn Eisenstat, and Ken Roy. Hamlet. 2nd ed. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2003. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The Three-Text Hamlet. Eds. Paul Bertram and Bernice Kliman. New York: AMS Press, 1991.
With his thinking mind Hamlet does not become a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. What would the people think of their prince if he were to murder the king? What kind of effect would it have on his beloved mother? Hamlet considers questions of this type which in effect hasten his descision. After all, once his mother is dead and her feelings out of the picture , Hamlet is quick and aggressive in forcing poison into Claudius' mouth. Once Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the killer it is only after he himself is and and his empire falling that he can finally act.
When encountering King Hamlet’s ghost, Hamlet is told that his Uncle Claudius poured poison into the king’s ear while he was sleeping. King Hamlet’s spirit asks for retaliation. Agreeing with Domínguez-Rué and Mrotzek “Hamlet’s main problem is that he must avenge his father’s death (674). Instead of getting revenge on Claudius immediately, Hamlet procrastinates by putting on “The Mousetrap”, a reenactment of his father’s murder. Hamlet hopes the play’s title will trigger a response in Claudius. Once he sees Claudius’s shocking reaction to the murder scene, Hamlet confirms his suspicions toward the new King. He follows the King, prepared to avenge his father’s death and sees Claudius confessing his sins to God. However, Claudius is not truly confessing, therefore the situation is dramatic irony. Robert W. Flint confirms by stating “Hamlet feels, with the King, that heaven keeps an audit of human deeds, and he is unwilling to kill the praying King for fear he might go to heaven—and herein is a double irony since the audience knows that prayer is useless, the King having forgotten the true meaning of it” (23). Another possible reasoning for not killing the king is “because at that time the sudden death of the King might cause panic to the people and danger to the state” (Junqing 2077). It is possible Hamlet; Prince of Denmark was indeed looking