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When Perfectionism Leads to Tragedy Sometimes, when people are asked to complete a deed, they are unable to do so until they are able to find an ideal set of circumstances. Shakespeare explores this very issue in his play Hamlet, Hamlet is a young man whose been asked to do something; however, Hamlet delays carrying out this deed, causing there to have been many discussions over the centuries on why Hamlet delays, but some theories are more prevalent than others. Hamlet vows to avenge his fathers death at the hands of Claudius; however, he procrastinates throughout the play and does not seek revenge until the end, when Hamlet finally acts by his instincts, and kills his fathers murderer. Hamlet is stopped in seeking revenge by a number of …show more content…
Many believe that Hamlet does not take immediate action because Hamlet 's character is one of contemplation and unhappiness; not action. Because of these traits, Hamlet needs evidence and assurance that Claudius really has killed Old Hamlet. Hamlet 's philosophical nature allows him to question the Ghost 's existence and collect evidence before acting which delays Claudius ' death. Hamlet 's initial response is to trust the Ghost and act quickly when he says that “from the table of [his] memory [he will] wipe away all trivial fond records,/ And [the ghosts] commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of [his] brain” (Shakespeare 1.5.100-106). Hamlet is clearly comfortable with the situation. However, he later is filled with doubt and whether “The spirit that [he has] seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power t 'assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps Out of [his] weakness and my melancholy, As [the Ghost] is very potent with such spirits, abuses [him] to damn [him]” (2.2.561-567). It is shown that the Prince is concerned to whether he should believe what he is being told, or if it is possible that it is the Devil and he may be taking advantage of Hamlets weakness. The play which Hamlet wishes to be performed is one involving a murder similar to that which the ghost described, and he decided that "The play 's the thing wherein I 'll catch the …show more content…
As any noble son would, Hamlet wants to kill Claudius in his fathers honour. Meaning that his ideal method of murder is one that is worse than what is done onto his father. He is planning to kill Claudius “When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, or in th 'incestuous pleasure of his bed, At game a-swearing, or about some act That has no relish of salvation in ’t— Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, and that his soul may be as damned and black as hell, whereto it goes” (3.3.87-96). Hamlet stops himself from approaching Claudius when he remembers that Claudius killed Hamlet Senior without giving the King an opportunity to confess his sins. To assure revenge, Hamlet decides to wait until he can catch his uncle in sin and unprepared for death. His obsession with finding the perfect moment is a huge distraction from what he is really meant to do. What are the odds that he is ever going to experience a truly perfect moment, especially, in this situation? Truth is, not very
The vengeance of his father 's death is the prime cause of Hamlet 's obsession with perfection, his tendencies of over thinking philosophically, and idealistically, are what cause Hamlet 's delay. Hamlet is exposed to multiple opportunities to take the murderer of his father, Claudius ' life, the most notable being when Hamlet stumbles upon Claudius alone, praying; when about to act Hamlet says "When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed, at gaming, swearing or about some act that has no relish of salvation in 't: then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven and that his soul may be as damn 'd and black as hell, whereto it goes"(3.3.90-96) This inability to act when the chance is given exclaims how Hamlet is not willing to send Claudius to heaven and he will only act if he is to arrive in hell, which will in turn fulfill his need for the perfect
Hamlet does not take the opportunity to slay Claudius as he prays because he believes it will save his soul. His contemplative nature takes over regarding the ghost’s revelation and he decides to devise a play to pique Claudius’ conscience and make sure he is really guilty.
During the first act, Prince Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, King Hamlet. His father's ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius poured poison in his ear while he slept. The spirit also explains that he wishes for Hamlet to avenge his death, but not to punish Queen Gertrude for marrying Claudius. He tells Hamlet that she will have to answer to her conscience, and eventually God for her incestuous actions (absoluteshakespeare.com 1 of 4). It was believed during these times that when a person died, especially in such a tragic fashion, that their spirit lingered about while suffering in Purgatory. This could cause a normally virtuous person's spirit to become filled with malevolence and begin to meddle in living men's affairs (en.wikipedia.org 4 of 9). This belief caused Prince Hamlet to want to investigate his father's spirit's claims to ensure that they were indeed true. In order to do this, Prince Hamlet feigns madness in order to remain hidden from members of the court's suspicions while he plots his revenge on King Claudius (www.sparknotes.com 1 of 3). He also takes advantage of a group of actors who come to Elsinore Castle to perform by rewriting a play to recreate the scene of his father's murder. He does this with the hope of flushing a confession out of Claudius' guilty conscience. When Claudius sees the play, he stands up and leaves the room (en.wikipedia.org 5 of 9). After many more events, Claudius' guilt becomes more obvious. Claudius then begins to change his focus towards killing Hamlet, as he is beginning to become aware of the Prince's plans to kill him. Claudius then arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Polonius' son Laertes and has Laertes poison the blade of one of his swords to be used in the match (Hamlet).
In the players’ scene, Hamlet revises the play of The Murder of Gonzago, adding in a scene that hints at the murder of King Hamlet. When Claudius reacts to Hamlet’s trap and makes a sudden exit, Hamlet now knows that the ghost’s story is true and will “take the ghost’s word for a thousand pound.” He now has no reason not to act. Prior to witnessing Claudius’ reaction, Hamlet has been debating with himself over the legitimacy of the ghost and its story. He has been questioning himself and whether he is a coward, because all he has done is talk, not having taken any action. Now that Hamlet knows the murderous sin Claudius has committed, Hamlet feels no guilt in avenging his father’s death. The plot takes a turn, as Hamlet becomes more of a man of action than a philosopher.
Hamlet’s inner course of action was further intensified with his encounter with the ghost. The information that Claudius murdered Hamlet’s father, was given to Hamlet by ways of the mysterious spirit, and this immediately provoked animosity in himself. In Act I, scene v, line 29-31, Hamlet states, “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift/ as meditation or the thoughts of love,/ may sweep to my revenge”. This statement shows the rage and fury of Hamlet wanting to seek full revenge on his uncle; He still does not act upon this as quickly as he proclaims, which shows his inability to step into action.
As shown through textual evidence, Hamlet attempts to act morally. That he does not take action unless he is assured that it will accomplish what he desires. Additionally, during the delay to gain revenge for his father, he not only deceives himself, but also the people around him. Hamlet is a man of many discoveries. The tragic hero in Shakespeare's Hamlet undergoes many changes throughout the play. His mindset is set deep and far away from the physical world that both helps him and hinders him in his plight for revenge against his uncle, Claudius.
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
More tragic play The tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark is the most popular works of William Shakespeare. Probably the popularity of this play lies in the use of character of Hamlet in exemplifying the human mind through its complex workings. Hamlet’s internal dilemma of making the decision whether he should revenge the death of his father or not was a crucial turn in his life as the state of mind was the main reason which effected the decision power one makes in his life. His uncle Claudius was the one who murdered his father and the moment when the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears and asks Hamlet as to when the revenge of his foul and most unnatural murder is to take place. From this point onward Hamlet is under a constant dilemma. He does not find himself ready to take the revenge. If Hamlet had killed Claudius at the first opportunity than the revenge would have been taken but his internal dilemma would have never been solved. This play became very popular and the reason for the popularity was Shakespeare’s use of the character Hamlet and through this character he has tried to exemplify the complex workings of human’s mind. Shakespeare used emotion, reason and attitude of Hamlet to allow the readers to form an opinion or make a judgment about the basic aspects of the life of human beings. The reason the prince could not take the revenge of his father’s death was that he was a man of great moral integrity and to take revenge was an act which was against his deepest principals. Some of the other behaviors of the prince was that after the death of his father Hamlet became so disenchanted with his life that he lost all his desire and will to take any kind of revenge. Due to the delay in revenge Shakespeare was able to develop th...
Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around the title character’s undeniable obligation to immediately avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius. Yet much time elapses before Hamlet finally does slay his evil uncle, leading to a fundamental question: what causes the hero to delay before eventually managing to salvage some retribution? The answer is that Hamlet’s reoccuring state of impractical contemplation renders him incapable of any decisive action that could have brought quick revenge.
Hamlet is a man of words not actions. His delay to react after finding out Claudious is behind his fathers murder is hesitated due to his desire to validate the information from Old Hamlets ghost to see if what he had told him was really the truth: “I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my father before mine uncle... The play’s the thing where in ill catch the conscious of the king.” (p.31) Hamlet believed the play will expose Claudius’ guilt through the actor’s emotions and talent on stage. Hamlet’s plan turned out perfectly causing Claudius to react suspiciously towards this act because of his guilt. Claudius’ reaction gave Hamlet the proof that he needed to point fingers at Claudius for the murder of his father. Hamlet can now seek revenge on his uncle and cause him to suffer the way Hamlet has been ever since this tragic event with his father. Although with this proof Hamlet still holds off the killing of the killing of Claudius and decides to confront his mother about it instead of taking action. In act 3 scene 4, while Hamlet is speaking to his mother he he...
In the text, however, there is no clear evidence of wrongdoing until Claudius confesses his sins to God, his nephew, and the theater at large. Up until that point Hamlet is weighing the Ghost's story against the king's. The ghost accuses in Act I, but Hamlet is perceptive enough not to accept the being at its word. One thing that he realizes is that the Ghost is playing directly to his own emotions.
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.
At first, Hamlet sees the ghost of his dead father and vows to avenge his death. “Christianity forbids followers to seek out spirits for advice or communication” (Ja) Hamlet has his faith tested because he is unsure about what his father is telling him. If the truth is that Claudius is the one who murdered Hamlet’s father then Hamlet will need to commit murder himself in order to fulfill his promise to his father’s ghost. “Hamlet, after the shock of his discoveries, becomes virtually another person and re-evaluates the situation in accordance with his religious views. Perhaps the ghost is just an illusion or mental disorder making him imagine this tale, and the murder of his father is illusory because he is not able to accept this kind of marriage and he wants to justify his crimes.” (****) Hamlet wrestles with his feelings and decides he must arrange for Claudius to admit to the murder instead of murdering Claudius himself. He is aware of the moral dilemma he finds himself in, if he kills Claudius then he, Hamlet may go to hell. If he refuses to kill Claudius then his father may be sent to hell. Hamlet knows from his religious background that murd...
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
Hamlet's next problem is that of morality. He needs to morally justify the murder of Claudius because Hamlet is restrained by his conscience. He could not satisfy himself that avenging his father's death was the right thing to do. Although Hamlet does not act on instinct, he does understand what the ghost is telling him to do. He expresses no doubt if the ghost is an honest one, but his morality clearly stands in the way of action.