Shakespeare's Hamlet: Murder vs. Mortality

Murder Versus Morality in Hamlet

Throughout the sixteenth century, many of Shakespeare's most famous plays, including Hamlet, were tragedies that readers could feel strong emotional connections with. Because of the popular infatuation with these plays, audiences were heavily attracted to the Globe Theater with the desire to see these plays preformed. In modern-day literature, Hamlet is still appreciated and still holds an equal appeal however, audiences are no longer solely attracted to the ultimate tragedy itself, but rather the play's many hidden subplots and the uncertainty of Hamlet's madness. Along with the obvious tragic components, there are other driving factors that make Hamlet such a multidimensional play. The factor that drives Hamlet's desire to murder Claudius is heavily questioned, providing a debate on whether Hamlet's eagerness to avenge his father is due to a bloodthirsty desire for revenge or because of a moral obligation to bring his father justice. Though there are respectable arguments to both sides of the debate, there is an overpowering amount of detail that suggests Hamlet did in fact act on moral values.
Many of the characters in Hamlet have blatant views of revenge that are evidently expressed throughout the play are all lean towards the justification of revenge in an obligation of righteousness. King Hamlet's ghost says to his son, “if thou didst ever thy dear father love” then he needed to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (Act I, scene five) which leads Hamlet to believe that the only way to honorably avenge his father's murder is to kill Claudius. Even Claudius in Act IV scene five says to Laertes (in regards to killing Hamlet) “Laertes, was your father dear to you? Or are you like the painting of sorrow, a face without a heart?” in which Laertes replies, “That drop of blood that's calm proclaims me bastard, cried cuckold to my father.” These exchanges suggest that it is a common belief that revenge is justified and boundless when done to avenge a family's honor.
Even farther than the direct evidence found within the play, Hamlet is also faced with the contradictions of Christianity, especially since it was the main- if not only- practiced religion through the sixteenth century. Religion has an extreme influence on literature of that time, thus transfusing through the plays and impacting the characters themselves. The 10 Commandments reveal such contrasting ideals in regards to Hamlet's moral predicament: the fifth commandment says to honor thy mother and father whereas the sixth commandment says thou shall not kill.
In the major soliloquy delivered by Hamlet, a sense of intellectual debate arises. In the to be or not to be soliloquy during the first scene of Act III, Hamlet quotes, “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all/ And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied over with the pale cast of thought” While being exiled to England, hamlet thinks his procrastination is a result of “some craven scruple/ Of thinking too precisely on the event”. Here, his ability to think clearly and thoroughly process his thoughts are evident. He argues whether murdering Claudius would be nothing more than a murderous lust versus whether letting him live would bring upon guilt and a bad conscious to [Hamlet] himself. He even goes as far as questioning suicide; he would rather be dead than live with the unavenged murder of his father. Hamlet has two separate and ongoing battles with his conscious during this soliloquy: the first, trying to decide whether he should commit treason against Claudius and if his death would really solve all Hamlet's problems and the second: if suicide would end his pain and suffering by creating an eternity of peaceful sleep or does the unknown of death hold an overwhelming potential of eternal damnation. The back-and-forth of the rationale in this mental debate is showing a sane mindset, suggesting that Hamlet's main goal is to avenge his father for a moral sake rather than by committing an impulsive revenge. Even since the beginning, Hamlet is shown as scholar, he is introduced to the play in the first scenes by returning from his university in Wittenberg, showing that regardless of the tragic events Hamlet must face, he has always been an intellect and can coherently use his mind to think, react and problem solve. It is hard to believe that insanity is what caused Hamlet to become bloodthirsty for revenge. Even before Hamlet is directed to kill Claudius by his father's ghost, he has an excuse to be enraged and unsettled because of his beloved father's death itself and of the lack of concern or mourning on his mother's part, exhibited by her sudden remarriage to Claudius. Not only is Hamlet battling with mourning the loss of his father, he is constantly second guessing all of his actions, fearful and concerned that he saw (and held a conversation with) a ghost. Even though each of these initial factors could have easily triggered his rage, Hamlet acts thoughtful and premeditative, which is shown predominantly during Act III, scene 3. In this scene, Claudius seems to be praying. Hamlet misinterprets Claudius' actions and decides not to kill him during this moment, (though it could have been done quite easily), due to the fear that Claudius would be sent to heaven for being killed during a religious moment. Hamlet even says, “Now might I do it pat, now 'a is a-praying, and now I'll do it-and so a goes to heaven, and so am I revenged that would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge.” This quote directly states that though Hamlet has a prime moment to commit Claudius's murder, he opts out due to the fear Claudius would be sent to heaven. This exhibits incredibly sane and thoughtful behavior. If Hamlet was impulsive and had an overwhelming desire for revenge, he would have completed the murder at this moment instead of backing out.
Hamlet's indecisiveness is also shown during Act III, scene two. Hamlet avidly watches for reactions from Claudius and Gertrude, searching for some sign of fear or guilt which would solidify the accusation of the murder. The reason for Hamlet's production is to confirm the ghost's existence and to prove that Hamlet isn't being misguided by an evil sprit...or to prove to himself that he is not simply crazy. This scene shows the uncertainty Hamlet is dealing with, proving that Hamlet isn't sure how to avenge his father without becoming a murderer himself. Because Hamlet is showing these signs of self-conflict and consideration towards mistakably murdering an innocent man, Hamlet's desire to kill Claudius is shown to be based on a moral decision and loyalty to his father.
By the end of the play, most of the main characters in Hamlet are killed by each other, leaving an open-ended finale to audiences. Though Hamlet's actions seem to rally between revenge and moral duty, the final scene of the play is not caused by Hamlet's desire for revenge, whether that revenge be murderous or moral, but is instead caused by Claudius. Hamlet's sense of morality becomes his weakest link. By struggling to take an affirmative action, he finds himself intertwined in Claudius' plan to kill him. Hamlet's struggle portrays a weak-willed character that acts opposite to the ghost's expectation of being a “goodly price” (in comparison to Horatio referring to Hamlet's father as a “goodly king”, Act I, scene two) and nobly avenging his father. Because of Hamlet's inability to give in to the temptation of a murderous revenge, he becomes powerless, ultimately losing his life and never seeing the satisfaction of Claudius' death, portraying the perfect example of a character with tragic flaw.