Hamlet Critical Analysis

The complex play of Hamlet by William Shakespeare contains many different characters and themes. With the many themes contained in Hamlet, the one that stuck out the most was how indecisive Hamlet is compared to many of the other characters throughout the play. Hamlet tends to do a lot of taking, going back and forth on what to do, and takes slow to no actions. Hamlet mainly talks about ideas, leaving most of them for fate to control. A great number of deaths happened because of Hamlet’s choices, and the amount of time it took him to make said choices. Hamlet’s lack of action caused more problems than solutions throughout the play. Just using a few characters within the play, it can be easily seen how Hamlet could have prevented most of it.

He starts off bashing himself with the start of it all, as seen with the title of the soliloquy. He continues on, admiring the players for their skills of lying and being able to decisive their audience members by using strong emotions. Shakespeare also used this as a chance to show how much Hamlet over thinks ideas, and how he can slightly go off into a different direction, this slowing down what he chooses to do. “He would drown the stage with tears and cleave the general ear with horrid speech” (2.2 589-590). Shakespeare is also foreshadowing Hamlet’s idea of using the players to prove that his uncle is guilty. The foreshadow is seen when Hamlet questions what would the actor do if he is given a script to feel, continuing on into the “stage with tears”. Hamlet starts to reconsider the idea of avenging his father’s death. He starts to believe he just doesn’t have the ability or the guts to do it in the end. He lacks emotional drive, yet he knows he still has a gut feeling he is in need to avenge his father’s murder. “But I am pigeon-livered and lack gall” (2.2 604). Hamlet then starts to wish that his uncle would just drop. Hamlet talks about wishing he fed large birds, so they would kill his uncle, Hamlet continues on with this by insulting his uncle saying he is a man whore, guiltless, and a decisiveful man. “Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous,

After Hamlet had the player’s reenact Hamlet’s father’s death, Claudius started to freak out. Claudius started out quietly by having Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bring Hamlet to England to have him killed. “By letters congruing to that effect, the present death of Hamlet. Do it, England.” (4.4 73-74) Hamlet learns of these letters, and instead of showing the letters to anyone else to prove the king is a bad person, he hides it and continues to wait, before killing the king. That seems to be Hamlet’s tragic flaw throughout the play. When ever there is a chance for he to avenge his father, he turns it down or doesn’t notice it. When Hamlet gets back after the attempt for him to be shipped off to England he finds his love, Ophelia, dead. When he made the rash choice of joining the king, queen, and Laertes at the funeral and start fighting with Laertes, it cause the king to panic. Due to the kings panic he went to the emotionally distraught Laertes and comes up with a plan to poison Hamlet. However in the end the plan comes out sloppy because of how fast both Laertes and the king tried to push it. “I will do’t, and for the purpose I’ll anoint my sword” (4.7 159-160) “When in motion you are hot and dry (as make your bouts more violent to that end) and that he calls for drink, I’ll have prepared for him a chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, if he by chance escape your venomed