To What Extent Was Responsible For The Downfall Of Hamlet

Hamlet’s Downfall
Revenge is sweet. However, the complete opposite applies to Hamlet. According to the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of revenge is to inflict hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong done to someone else. Revenge is a central theme in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, however, is especially evident in the main character, young prince Hamlet. In fact, it is Hamlet’s prolonged pursuit of revenge, not insanity, that leads to his downfall.
Although it may be questionable, Hamlet maintains his stability throughout the entire play. What some may confuse for insanity is just a flux of emotions due to the series of events that recently occurred. He is overcome by sentiments because his father has died, his mother remarried before the late King Hamlet’s funeral even concluded, and everyone seems to be fine and forces Hamlet to stop mourning. Hamlet is so devastated that he actually
It is not his incapacity to kill, because he slaughters Polonius without hesitation and emotion. The problem is his excessive need to not only kill Claudius, but also to doom him eternal hell. As Sigmund Freud says, “Hamlet is able to do anything – except take vengeance on the man who did away with his father and took that father’s place with his other, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized” (Freud 43). Therefore, he waits for the perfect moment to do so. He is presented with an opportunity to kill Claudius, however, delays because Claudius is praying, “If he had killed Claudius at this moment, many if not all of the disasters which later occur might have been avoided. But he refuses to strike out against the Claudius because of the situation in which he finds the king” (Cantor 120). Legend has it that if killed while praying, the victim will be immediately sent to heaven. Hamlet wants Claudius to go to the lowest pits of hell for his