Hamlet's Hesitation
April 26, 1998
HAMLET'S HESITATION
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, a ghost tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, is responsible for the death of his father. Hamlet is driven to reveal the truth of his father's death and seeks to avenge his murder to achieve justice. In his quest to right the wrongdoing, Hamlet delays acting toward justice for many reasons. The main factor for Hamlet's hesitation is attributed to his self-discipline. He lacks of ability to act on his emotions. Hamlet is an intelligent, moral, and reserved character. He restrains himself to act rationally and not on emotion. This hesitation is a tragic flaw for Hamlet, but in order to resolve the truth, it is necessary.
Hamlet has doubts about the validity of the ghost; he is too rational a character to seek revenge on Claudius based on a conversation with a supernatural spirit. He is unsure whether it was his father's ghost, or some evil deity trying to trick him. Hamlet needs to prove that Claudius killed his father before he can act out revenge against him. He also needs to prove it to Gertrude, because he loves his mother and doesn't want to hurt her by killing Claudius, without proving it warranted. Hamlet's hesitation is justified because he feels morally obligated to prove that Claudius murdered his father before justice can be carried out. He doesn't want to kill an innocent person. This would be an injustice on his part, and two wrongs don't make a right.
Hamlet is also unsure of other people's involvement in the conspiracy against his father. He doesn't know if Claudius acted alone or had help in the murder. He is disturbed that his mother is now married to Claudius, just two months after his father's death, and is unsure whether she had conspired with Claudius to kill his father. This complicates things further, giving more reason for Hamlet to hesitate, and rationally plan his next move.
This invokes Hamlet to act as if he is going mad. He does this to distract the focus of
HAMLET'S HESITATION
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, a ghost tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, is responsible for the death of his father. Hamlet is driven to reveal the truth of his father's death and seeks to avenge his murder to achieve justice. In his quest to right the wrongdoing, Hamlet delays acting toward justice for many reasons. The main factor for Hamlet's hesitation is attributed to his self-discipline. He lacks of ability to act on his emotions. Hamlet is an intelligent, moral, and reserved character. He restrains himself to act rationally and not on emotion. This hesitation is a tragic flaw for Hamlet, but in order to resolve the truth, it is necessary.
Hamlet has doubts about the validity of the ghost; he is too rational a character to seek revenge on Claudius based on a conversation with a supernatural spirit. He is unsure whether it was his father's ghost, or some evil deity trying to trick him. Hamlet needs to prove that Claudius killed his father before he can act out revenge against him. He also needs to prove it to Gertrude, because he loves his mother and doesn't want to hurt her by killing Claudius, without proving it warranted. Hamlet's hesitation is justified because he feels morally obligated to prove that Claudius murdered his father before justice can be carried out. He doesn't want to kill an innocent person. This would be an injustice on his part, and two wrongs don't make a right.
Hamlet is also unsure of other people's involvement in the conspiracy against his father. He doesn't know if Claudius acted alone or had help in the murder. He is disturbed that his mother is now married to Claudius, just two months after his father's death, and is unsure whether she had conspired with Claudius to kill his father. This complicates things further, giving more reason for Hamlet to hesitate, and rationally plan his next move.
This invokes Hamlet to act as if he is going mad. He does this to distract the focus of
Cited: Shakespeare, William. The Norton World Anthology of World Masterpieces. Vol. 1, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, N.Y.1992.