Hamlet has a knack for reading situations. He analysis them and acts based on the circumstances. This can either be a good or bad thing, depending on how he choses to react. When he is presented with the opportunity to kill Claudius for his wrong doings, he opts not to. It can be said that most characters in this situation would be reluctant, but maybe for different reasons than Hamlet. There is the obvious, that Hamlet is finding it difficult to kill because he hates the fact that if he kills Claudius he will end up in the same place, when he killed his father. He does care what people think of him and more importantly what Gertrude will think. It could be seen as Hamlet being brave or strong, but I see his madness taking form. If a reason for the delay is possibly him caring for his mother Gertrude in a lustful way, and not wanting to hurt her by killing her lover, I think it's safe to say Hamlet's true colours are starting to show.
Hamlet sees that Claudius is praying. According to his Religion, if he were to kill Claudius at a time of prayer, his sins would be condoned and he would go to heaven. As hamlet says; "And so he 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 the same villain send To heaven" (3.3.75-79), we see his motives. It would make much more sense that the man you hate go to hell, so this is one reason for his hesitation. Hamlet is very clever and wants Claudius to spend the rest of eternity suffering, which is really the most horrific form of torture. He is also conflicted with what the ghost asked him to do. He is contemplating whether or not to follow through. Again, he is over thinking the whole situation and giving us an insight to his character.
Shakespeare definitely thought Hamlet's delay through very carefully. Not only does it put the audience in the position of Hamlet, but It also tells us more about his character and motives. It is easier said than done how one would act in a situation involving murder. Seeing how Hamlet reacts reveals his take on stability and rationality.
http://unstruck.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/is-it-in-fact-nobler-in-the-mind-to-suffer-the-slings-and-arrows-of-outrageous-fortune-and-if-not-what-is-the-alternative/
I really enjoyed your post, and I agree with it completely. I especially like the last paragraph, Shakespeare definitely did a great job with Hamlet's hesitation, using his delay as a means to develop his character. I also really like the picture.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post and how you took a different angle on the subject compare to other posts! I think there is so many possible reasons for that delay and considering more than one of them is the best thing to do! Shakespeare probably wanted his readers to try to figure out the cause of that delay but I don't think it is possible to actually know what was in Hamlet's head at that moment! He is a truly complex character and that scene is a great example of it,
ReplyDeleteWell doe Nat!
(I commented before but apparently it got deleted, hopefully you won't see 2 comments from me haha)
I really enjoyed your post nat! You took a completely different view than the majority of people and I liked it, although I was not quite sure what your opinion was. You stated many amazing facts that I have never thought of before, but I think that you should have put a topic sentence and conclusion sentence stating what your view was. After reading it over a few times, I still don’t know if you think that the delay was reasonable or not. I also believe that you should have talked about the uncertainty of the ghost’s information a little bit more because it is a large part in his delay.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I really loved how you talked about how Hamlet might have delayed because he didn't want to hurt his mother. This brings up the possibility that Hamlet had incestuous desires for her. I believe that there is a strong possibility that Hamlet did have a strange relationship with his mother, so I agree that this could have been a reason of why he delays. I also loved the picture that you used. It adds some humor! Well done.