Murder Is Common In Hamlet's Soliloquies

Murder, a despicable act committed toward another person and their loved ones by someone who may be disturbed and has blocked any remorse for committing such an action. As humans, it is our nature to respond negatively to the idea of one man taking the life another outside the perimeters of the due judgment process. While many times murder mysteries can be an exciting read or make for a good radio program, when murder gets personal it no longer feels as glamorous. There is no question that murder is messy; with it comes pain and heartache for the victimized family, not to mention fear that is stricken in the hearts of everyone in the community the crime was committed in. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the theme of death is common, but not just
death of a natural sort, but death by murder. Right away in Act one Scene one there is mourning throughout the kingdom over the previous king's death, which we learn from a ghost in Act one, Scene six that the king has died by the hand of his own brother. The news of Hamlet's father, the king's, death sent him into a depression that was greatly exasturbated when he learned that it was all caused by his uncle who is now in Hamlet's rightful throne. Hamlet spends the near entirety of the play working out his course of action in response to his father's death. However, he is in a constant state of questioning himself and the actions to take which may have lead to his own death at the play's end. In all of Hamlet's soliloquies, he is constantly looking for some action he can take to avenge the death of his father, but he is so indecisive that he never creates and carries out a plan.
In Hamlet's soliloquies he speaks of everything from early mourning, to suicide, to revenge. It seems as though he forgets to process all that has happened withing his family and simply tried making a solution for something he had not yet fully processed. He makes the Chirstian argument against suicide and even murder at times, but as the play goes on, Hamlet becomes more entrapped by his own demise. Finally, in Hamlet's sixth soliloquy, he makes it clear that he wishes to kill his uncle, the king. Yet again, however, he finds another reason not to continue with his plans: Hamlet fears his uncle's salvation could allow him to entire heaven upon his death. “A villian kills my father, and for that,/I, his sole son, do this same villain send/To heaven.”(3,3,76-78). Hamlet seeks more than just revenge. As the readers, lets assume, for a moment, that Hamlet's father was accepted to heaven. Hamlet wished not only to repay evil with evil, but to intentionally do it at a time when his uncle was “about some act/That has no relish of salvation in't-”(3,3,91-92). This mindset is more than just seeking revenge in this life; it is an assumption of control over one's salvation that belongs wholly to God and Him
only. Previously, throughout the play, Hamlet gives the allusion of having a reverance toward God and a respect for Him with, knowing that he was simply a creation that was living in a world that was not under his juresdiction.
However, at this point, Hamlet has turned his back on virtually all of his beliefs, except that he still believes in an afterlife and salvation for those who repent. The issue for Hamlet comes with that fact that, first, he is attempting to get revenge for his father, and second that he is trying to determin the final destination of his uncle. “Tis heavy with him; and am I then revenged/To take him in the purging of his soul,/When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?/No.”(3,3,84-87) Hamlet recognizes the gravity of what he is wishing to do to his uncle, and he does not want to foil his plans by sending him to heaven upon his induced death. Hamlet's solution, then, is to wait until time has passed and the king is no longer remorseful for his murderous action, then he will catch his uncle in sin, from which he has no time to repent and take his life in that
moment. At times it feels as though Hamlet is not willing to be a murderer. He has spoken of killing his uncle for some time now, but there always seems to be some delay that has kept him from following through with the bloody action. In this soliloquy, however, Hamlet appears convinced in his heart of hearts, that he is going to do it, he believes he will avenge the death of his father, take the thrown from the murderer himself and cast his uncle to hell. He must wait for the opportune moment. From line eighty-eight to line ninety-five, Hamlet gets very personal with his uncle's shortcomings and sins. The sins he mentions, drunkenness, incest, swearing and so on, are regular occurrence in his uncle's lifestyle. If this were not the case, Hamlet would not be so optimistic to catch his uncle this way. Hamlet even suggests that he plans to encourage the destructive behavior, saying: “Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,/And that hs soul may be damned and black/As hell whereto it goes.”(3,3,93-95). Hamlet will seek to this shortcoming and kill him in the moment, before the king may repent of his damnable sins. This is the heart of Hamlet, full of hatred and revenge, seeing himself as God and choosing the destination of his uncle's soul. A problematic place for Hamlet to linger.