Book Analysis: Hamlet
Hamlets Delay Thanushan kulasegaram
In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, the character Hamlet aspires to kill his uncle and, in doing so, avenge his father. During Act I, Scene V, Hamlets father comes to him as a ghost. The ghost explains that Claudius, Hamlets uncle, murdered him in order to become King of Denmark and marry Hamlets mother, the Queen of Denmark. The ghost of Hamlets father then asks Hamlet to kill Claudius and make his mother feel guilty for allowing his murder to happen. However, Hamlet delays his achievement of this goal for reasons that are not directly confronted in the play. There are many theories on the matter of why Hamlet continuously waits to avenge his fathers’ murder. Of these theories, the most plausible is that Hamlet simply spends too much time thinking about how he will act rather than actually taking action. Hamlet takes an oath at the end of Act I saying “…thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain…” meaning that all he will think about is what the ghost has told him to do. The problem is that, while Hamlet does constantly think about what the ghost said, he does not do a lot about it. One thing Hamlet does do is try to confirm that what the ghost said is true. In Act II, Scene II, Hamlet uses a play called “The Murder of Gonzago” to make Claudius look guilty or, as Hamlet says, “The plays the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” Hamlet does this by writing a short speech for the beginning of the play. The speech is a complete recollection of how the ghost described his murder to Hamlet. Everything goes as planned and Claudius outwardly shows his guilt. Now Hamlet has all the evidence he needs to kill his uncle. However, Hamlet still does not take action in Act III but rather he thinks even more. The difference is that this
In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, the character Hamlet aspires to kill his uncle and, in doing so, avenge his father. During Act I, Scene V, Hamlets father comes to him as a ghost. The ghost explains that Claudius, Hamlets uncle, murdered him in order to become King of Denmark and marry Hamlets mother, the Queen of Denmark. The ghost of Hamlets father then asks Hamlet to kill Claudius and make his mother feel guilty for allowing his murder to happen. However, Hamlet delays his achievement of this goal for reasons that are not directly confronted in the play. There are many theories on the matter of why Hamlet continuously waits to avenge his fathers’ murder. Of these theories, the most plausible is that Hamlet simply spends too much time thinking about how he will act rather than actually taking action. Hamlet takes an oath at the end of Act I saying “…thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain…” meaning that all he will think about is what the ghost has told him to do. The problem is that, while Hamlet does constantly think about what the ghost said, he does not do a lot about it. One thing Hamlet does do is try to confirm that what the ghost said is true. In Act II, Scene II, Hamlet uses a play called “The Murder of Gonzago” to make Claudius look guilty or, as Hamlet says, “The plays the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” Hamlet does this by writing a short speech for the beginning of the play. The speech is a complete recollection of how the ghost described his murder to Hamlet. Everything goes as planned and Claudius outwardly shows his guilt. Now Hamlet has all the evidence he needs to kill his uncle. However, Hamlet still does not take action in Act III but rather he thinks even more. The difference is that this