Hamlet's Inactivity

In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet is tasked with the murder of the current King of Denmark, Claudius, by the ghost of his deceased father, the former King of Denmark. Hamlet’s continual delay of this undertaking results in his death as a victim of the circumstances that subsequently emerge. Hamlet’s cowardice––manifest by the inordinate amount of time he allots to considering his task without actively realising it––culminates in the stagnation which ultimately hinders him from implementing the ghost’s instructions. Hamlet’s inactivity is further exacerbated by his uncertainty pertaining to the ghost of his father, as well as the consequences that would befall him were he to murder the king.
Various occasions arise throughout the play during which Hamlet ruminates, in great detail, on his intentions of murdering Claudius, but shies away from execution. One such instance occurs immediately prior to Hamlet’s encounter with his mother in her closet, during which he declares, “Now could I drink hot blood / And do such bitter business as the day would quake to look on” (3.2.422-425). However, despite Hamlet’s barbaric contemplation of the murder he is supposedly prepared to commit, he procrastinates from action, instead stifling the flame of his murderous fury by saying, “Soft, now to my mother” (3.2.425). The continual blunting of Hamlet’s momentary passion facilitates the endless chasm of thought in which he later sinks, as well as the inactivity that plagues him, culminating in his untimely demise. “According to the view
Hamlet further asserts that the cause of his inaction is likely a result of “some craven scruple / Of thinking too precisely on th’ event / (A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom / And three parts coward)” (4.4.42-46), consequently linking his cowardice to a surplus of thought. Hamlet’s cravenness is exhibited when Hamlet happens upon Claudius as he is kneeling in prayer; despite acknowledging that “now [he] might do it pat” (3.3.77), Hamlet delays on the pretext that he would do best to murder Claudius when he is engaged in “some act / That has no relish of salvation in ’t” (3.3.97). Hamlet’s relinquishment of an opportune occasion––one which may never again arise––to execute vengeance and fulfill the ghost’s charge evinces his subconscious intent to remain stagnant, which is precipitated by his hesitancy. Hamlet further demonstrates his cowardice when he “kills Polonius by thrusting a rapier through the arras” (3.4.) behind which Polonius was observing Hamlet’s conversation with his mother. Although Hamlet maintains that he “took [Polonius] for [his] better” (3.4.39), signifying that he mistook him for Claudius, this is likely not the case; Hamlet witnessed Claudius kneeling in prayer immediately prior to his encounter with his mother, making it improbable that Claudius was