Indecision, Hesitation and Delay in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
To fully understand Hamlets inaction, it is important to look at revenge. In Richard III revenge is not exacted until Richard is dead and his fowl deeds found out. In Othello, Iago will not be revenged until Othello is completely destroyed. In Merchant of Venice Shylock wants to humiliate and then kill Antonio. Thus revenge is not exacted until the evil deeds of the offender are revealed and the public knows the truth. Only then does the thought of death come into revenge. Under this light, Hamlet cannot kill Claudius until he can prove that he poisoned the late king. Thus the first two acts are not only for the reader to understand Hamlet, but to allow Hamlet to gather needed evidence against his uncle.
Some critics attribute Hamlets inability to act to an Oedipus complex . These proponents say that Hamlet, in his subconscious mind, has a desire to do exactly what his uncle has done; that is, get rid of the husband so that he can have Gertrude for himself. If this is true, Hamlet cannot act because he is fighting against his subconscious; he knows he wants something that is entirely evil, and if he were to go through with it, he would be no better than Claudius.
Still other critics believe that Hamlet simply thinks too much. He wants the murder of the King to be perfect. Claudius has to go to hell. The people have to know about the murderer Claudius. Hamlet spends too much time planning and not enough time doing; thus, making the King’s murder more complicated than other murders he has orchestrated. Also, he has to be careful around Claudius after the play because it revealed his sanity to the King as it reveled the guilt of Claudius to Hamlet. After the play within a play, Hamlet has proof and still cannot act. Not until everybody is dying, including himself, does he realizes that he should not have waited so long. He understands the consequences of his delay, all of his pent-up rage explodes, and he murders the King; getting the revenge he was after from the beginning.
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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Hamlet / The Dilemma of Hamlet’s Indecisiveness: Literary & Sociological Analysis
The Dilemma of Hamlet's Indecisiveness: Literary & Sociological Analysis
- Category: Literature
- Topic: Hamlet , William Shakespeare
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