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Why Didn’t Hamlet Kill Claudius?
Hamlet in the play named after him was presented with the opportunity to kill Claudius in Act 3 Scene three in the play of his own name. If Hamlet had committed the act, not only would his father had been avenged, but the deaths of Ophelia, Gertrude, Laertes, and Hamlet himself would not have taken place. But why didn’t he? Based on two essays written by Scott Locklear, the reasons for Hamlet’s delay was because the play would have been much shorter, ending in what is now the beginning, along with Hamlet’s own personal reasoning for not killing Claudius. This is true, for the play at the time would have been considered very dull and boring, with little action taking place.
In Locklear’s first essay, “Hamlet’s Delay,” Locklear discusses six theories for the reason for Hamlet’s hesitation, the first of which explains that Shakespeare would have had a short story that would have been very difficult to expand on his the basis of the plot was to avenge a murdered father and king. Hamlet’s character development would have also been in jeopardy because as the story progresses, we begin to see a change in Hamlet that brings out a more philosophical, yet mad, man bent on exacting vengeance for his father.
The second reason for the Hamlet’s uncertainty, according to the essay, states that Hamlet has already committed many acts for avenging his father; setting up the play for Claudius’s reaction, killing Polonius, and sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths in England are not deeds that the Hamlet before meeting his father’s ghost would have committed. Hamlet, before meeting his father’s ghost, was preparing to become a king, going to school in Wittenburg for the necessary education. Before the ...
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... but again and again he holds himself back. The climatic scene where he catches Claudius alone in Act 3 was the perfect time to kill his uncle, except Hamlet paused, thinking that killing Claudius then would have sent him to Heaven. The inner battle within himself is not ended until he finally, in his “To be or not to be” soliloquy, sees that it is time to act upon his father’s wish.
The many obstacles and issues Hamlet had to face were viable as well, seeing as he is a monarch with duties to fit the description. Ophelia was a lost pursuit for a wife that did not end in the right circumstances, fueling Laertes’s rage ad wanting to seek counsel with Claudius, causing the both of them to plot against Hamlet. The evil of Denmark is felt throughout the court, and most especially by the future heir, Hamlet, though he does not help the situation by murdering three people.
Throughout the Dramaturgic Analysis of Hamlet Prince of Denmark the indecisiveness of Hamlet is noted. He does not immediately seek vengeance but continually schemes, rants and raves (both in his rational and insane moments). Whether cowardice, caution, or simply indifference dominate his persona is unclear - what is clear is his distaste for his own behavior: "How stand I then, That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd,...And let all sleep, while to my shame I see The imminent death of twenty thousand men... (sic)." (Shakespeare, 116).
One of Hamlet’s flaws is that he over thinks things a lot and it is first shown the most at the prayer scene with Claudius. Once Hamlet sees how Claudius reacts to the play he knows that Claudius killed his father and that the ghost was right, he has a chance to kill him and doesn’t take it . His only proof was the ghost and even though others saw the ghost no one else heard it talk except Hamlet. Hamlet was also considering a lot of other things at this time, like how if he killed Claudius now Claudius would be free of sin and would go to heaven. He was also thinking if his father didn’t get to die free of sin it wouldn’t be fair for Claudius to die free of sin either, which shows how vengeful Hamlet’s character is. At the same time, Hamlet has morals and understands the consequences so that’s why it’s harder for him to perform the act . After a l...
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.
Hamlet only kills Claudius when he has also murdered the queen, Laertes, and has also poisoned himself. It takes a threat of death to do what his own dead father orders him to do. A largely held opinion is that he is to emotional to do it, but it is when his emotions all come together that he murders Polonius. Another opinion is that he to full of morals to kill, but how then can he alter a note and literally sentence two old friends who were just following orders too death. It is also believed that he is too cowardly to go through with it, but if a man is bold enough to face a ghost, confront a queen and kill an eavesdropper, than what should stop him from avenging his father and ridding Denmark of the disease that infests it's royal line. The answer is simple, he is to smart to get around to doing it.
In Hamlets mind, it is now his duty to avenge his father's murder. This is where the real problem of inaction enters the play. Later that night, Hamlet has a perfect opportunity to kill Claudius, when he sees the King kneeling in prayer. He wonders if this is the time to kill him and get it over with, but decides not to. He claims that he does not want Claudius to go to heaven, so he would rather kill him when he is committing a sin. If this is the case, then why doesn't he simply wait till Claudius has completed his prayer, accuse him of the murder and kill him in his sin of denial. Instead, Hamlet goes to the chamber of his mother and passes up his best opportunity at revenge. The argument can be made, however, that it is not a fear of killing that causes this inaction. He does not display an inability to end someone's life when killing Polonius. He neither hesitates nor capitulates in sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their executions. Why then would the prince of Denmark hesitate to kill the one man he most justly could? Many literary believe that his inaction is the result of a vicarious Oedipus complex. Those who concur with this theory say that Hamlet, in his subconscious mind, has a desire to do exactly what his uncle has done; that is, get rid of the king so that he can have Gertrude for himself.
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
Hamlet delays killing Claudius because he understands the feelings Claudius has for Gertrude. Hamlet knows why Claudius wants King Hamlet out of the way. Hamlet knows this because he also wishes he could have Gertrude for himself. Hamlet tells Gertrude, “Good night, but go not to my uncle’s bed” (IV. iii.180). Hamlet does not want Gertrude sleeping in the same bed as Claudius, Hamlet wants her to realized that the king is an evil person. Hamlet does not want her to associate with Claudius in any way.
Why does hamlet delay so much in avenging his father’s murderer? Is there a part of him that really doesn’t want to take revenge? These are questions readers may come up with after reading and analyzing the play. Hamlet is a play built on a long tragedy between many characters. This tragedy starts with the main character Princess Hamlet and his Uncle Claudius. Claudius is the antagonist in this play and starts all of the drama. Claudius is the reason why hamlet is trying to seek revenge. Other characters are trying to seek revenge throughout the entirety of the play also. Shakespeare in the play Hamlet, is trying to make this a play on revenge between many characters and also show the insecurities of Hamlet as he tries to seek revenge.
...e up the chance to kill Claudius himself because he would not get enough punishment that he deserved in the after life if he killed him then. Claudius would have to be a worthy adversary if Hamlet felt that he deserved to suffer also in the after life.
Many people have seen Hamlet as a play about uncertainty and about Hamlet's failure to act appropriately. It is very interesting to consider that the play shows many uncertainties that lives are built upon, or how many unknown quantities are taken for granted when people act or when they evaluate one another's actions. Hamlet is an especially intriguing production, both on the set and on the screen because of its uniqueness to be different from what most people expect to be in a revenge themed play. Hamlet's cynicism and insane like behavior cause him to seem indecisive, but in reality he is always judging and contemplating his actions in the back of his mind in order to seek revenge for the murder of his father.
Each of the characteristics of Hamlet’s sixth soliloquy reflected the principle elements of Hamlet and because of that my understanding of the play improved. I was pushed to read more closely into the play and in doing so found many similarities between this particular speech and the thoughts and actions of Hamlet. My understanding of Shakespeare’s individual craft was also improved. Many characteristics of his writings shone through in Hamlet, particularly his creativity and questioning philosophies, his use of the procrastinating lead character, and his interesting use of irony. The basic principles of Hamlet were also revealed in the sixth soliloquy. The nature of revenge in a corrupt world and my understanding of these were improved through closer examination of the play.
Early in Act Three, Hamlet is questioning his life. He wants to revenge his father’s death but is so unsure if it is the right thing to do. He results in trying to kill himself instead of murdering someone whom he calls his “family”. “To be or not to be- that is the question… To die, to sleep- No more- and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks…” (127) Hamlet kills as if he is an animal, but he is none of the sorts. “… ‘Hamlet is a man of indecision, but he was never a coward.’”, says Thomas G. Winner. Although he knew killing King Claudius might be the wrong doing, he does it for the love of his father. He does it to obey and will not let his conscience get in the way of
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.
Throughout this process, his relationship with his uncle Claudius and mother Gertrude worsen. Hamlet and Claudius’ tainted relationship successively intensifies through their planned plots to kill one another. The relationship between Hamlet and his mother Gertrude worsen due to her shameful acts, and her disregard towards her son in his times of need. If it had not been for this corruption between the family, Denmark would’ve continued to be ruled by an honourable and truthful family. Instead, the kingdom of Denmark became rife with dishonesty, eventually leading to the death of Hamlet and Claudius, the ultimate
Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.