Just why does Hamlet wait so long to enact his vengeance??? Feel free to cite established theories or to come up with one of your own.
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Having been a blogger since my early childhood, I have decided to incorporate this useful tool into my teaching. Instructions: At the end of each month, I will award you 2 points for each meaningful post, with a maximum score of 12/10. Be sure to read what others have written - no credit for repetition.
15 comments:
Hamlet waits so long because he is struggling to find out whether or not his father was actually killed by his uncle. While the audience knows the truth, Hamlet does not for a very long time and is fighting internally with that moral struggle. If the ghost is his imagination and he kills an innocent man, then he will forever live in Hell. But if Claudius is guilty, he believes it is the right thing to do and he will be rewarded. Hamlet does not care if murder is morally wrong, he just needs a good enough reason to justify it so he is not condemned to Hell. After all, he does not commit suicide because he is fearful of Hell. That fear is what causes his wait.
Hamlet is struggling in taking action because he does not know if he can trust the ghost. Even when he first meets the ghost Hamlet doesn't know if he can trust it, even though it names himself as King Hamlet. Ironically when Hamlet first meets the ghost Horatio says it might "draw you (Hamlet) into madness," which is exactly what happens to Hamlet soon after meeting the ghost. And the rest of his life falls apart as well. Hamlet falters in doing what the ghost orders of him--revenge, by killing his Uncle Claudius--because he cannot know for sure if he can trust the ghost. It may or may not be his deceased father, but if it is, why is it tempting Hamlet to commit murder and thus be sentenced to Hell?
I really don't think that its all about the ghost or justification about what Claudius did. I don't deny that those are both factors. He does need justification, because he doesn't know the true nature of the ghost. But don't you think that part of it is that Hamlet is a coward? He keeps making up excuses that are partly true. For example, when Claudius is praying - he can't kill him then. Even after his confirmation he puts it off. His deepest thoughts of killing are when he's in a rage, but then he thinks too much and can't do it. Because he scared.
Soooo...
I just finished reading "Hamlet and Oedipus" and I'm convinced that the reason behind Hamlet's hesitancy in killing Claudius is because........
he's in love with his mother. Not quite the reason that everyone above me gave, but the reading did give plenty of support to back up this theory, including the ten pages the author spent on detailing the fact that Hamlet hesitates because of unconscious reasons.
Anyhow, the reading points out that Hamlet never really doubted the reliability of the ghost. Instead, Jones brings into light that Hamlet has a completely different attitude towards the two crimes committed in the book, and that the crime of incest committed by his mother seems to "arouse in him the deeper loathing".
Jones writes: "It is as if his devotion to his mother had made him so jealous for her affection that he had found it hard enough to share this even with his father and could not endure to share it with still another man."
There are a slew of potential reasons, not necessarily valid reasons, as to why Hamlet hesitates to execute the murder of Claudius. In addition to the ones above, the prince's delay could be due to his craving to "play with the king as a cat plays with a mouse" (Wilson176).
In The Play Scene Restored, John Dover Wilson illustrates Hamlet's love for "hoodwinking, fooling, and tripping up his enemies" (176). The play gives Hamlet the opportunity to capture Claudius in the palm of his hand. In fact, "Hamlet desires not merely to convict Claudius by means of the play, but to put him on the rack and watch him writhing" (177). If Hamlet kills him, he can no longer play the role of the great ventriloquist. Beside amusement, this role also provides Hamlet with a sense of power and control which he would lose if Claudius were dead.
I don't really think that the hesitation is due to Hamlet's will of being the ringmaster. He undoubtedly finds vigor in it, and I somewhat agree with the fact that he likes the power in it. But I think the act of ringmaster was secondary to what his planned revenge for Claudius.
As to why he is drawing it out... I'm beginning to doubt my claim that Hamlet is being cowardly, although I still think that does play a factor. In light of Hamlet and Oedipus, it seems incredibly probable to me that it is something unconcious. Hemlet himself ponders over the reason for the delay and cannot come up with a definate answer, instead makes up more and more excuses. That being said, I do not feel that it is because of him being in love with Gertrude, or at least I am not yet fully convinced. It just seems too creepy, and I don't think that there is enough support (that I am aware of anyways). I will not deny that he is obsessed with his mother's sexual life, but I think that is because the existance of that life ruins the once pure view he had of his mother.
I've been rereading the above posts and thinking more about this, and I've come up with the idea that Hamlet's nature is unconsciously getting in the way of his efforts to murder his uncle. This would account for all of the other factors--why he is making excuses to kill Claudius (Hamlet is a pretty noble guy and cold-blooded murder is too much for him), why he keeps doubting the ghost (Every time he thinks about the ghost or anything in particular Hamlet doubts himself), and why he can only commit violence in moments of complete emotional/impulsive conflict. Um, I've been noticing a theme here--every time Hamlet actually takes action he has no control over himself. Also, I remembered his "Be or Not to Be" soliloquy, in which he realizes that his passive, thoughtful nature (which, by the way is totally opposite of what the ghost needs him to be) is getting in the way of his taking action. Every time Hamlet thinks, he cannot any longer act on impulse, and then makes excuses for why he can't do anything. Also, perhaps Hamlet's suppressed feelings of rage are why he continually falls into madness...? Every time he is worked up enough to slay Claudius, he has to push those feelings away because he can't do it, which would account for his random bursts of madness on Ophelia, his mother, and Polonius.
I think I've changed my mind. I believe that Hamlet waits so long because he is fearful of death. From the beginning, Hamlet knew that feigning his madness would end in death (thus "to be or not to be"). He knows that his revenge on Claudius will lead to eternal Hell. This is why he hesitates when Claudius is praying, and why he refuses to physically harm his mother, and why we see him so desparate at the beg. He can't fathom a life after death, and thus is horrified at his father's death. When do we see real emotion again? When Ophelia dies, when Gertrude dies. His emotion comes from his fear of death. Thus he becomes ready to die only because so many have gone before him.
And I do not believe that Hamlet is in love with his mother, jess. wow u really like that argument. There's a difference between being IN LOVE with your mother, and being jealous of your father. It's natural to feel that she is being taken away from you. In the same sense, you can feel a little hurt by your best friend being taken away by a significant other. But you're not in love with the person. you just care. I feel this is the line that Hamlet is near, but has not crossed.He is so mad at his mother, because of her lack of fear of death. He is jealous that she seems to realize her father is in a beter place, and Hamlet can't comprehend this.
Well now that we have started Act5 of Hamlet I think that he waits because he realizes that there is a difference between the judgement of people on Earth and the judgement he will recieve in heaven. On Earth he may be justified in killing Claudius for revenge for his father, but in heaven he will be judged for killing a human being so by Act 5 scene 1 Hamlet is still looking for a way to kill Claudius with damning his own soul. As the audience we can sympathize with this because Hamlet does not deserve to be punished for eternity because he is one of the only characters in the play with strong moral beliefs that he desperately tries to hang onto as he is faced with challenge after challenge and attacks and secret plans from Claudius. In the end the condition of your soul, not your body that will eventually rot, is what matters and Hamlet is being stretched to his limits as tries to justify his actions when faced with horrible temptations.
The truth of the matter is that Hamlet does not know what he wants. He has this constand struggle between what needs to be done and what has actually happened. He can't act on his words because he doesn't know the truth of it all, he is going on assumptions. However, even when Hamlet is positive that Claudius has killed his father he still continues to be cautious of his actions. Many may classify Hamlet at this point as a "wimp" and that he doesn't have the guts to commit such a deed. For Hamlet, as Michelle pointed out, it's excuse after excuse. Something always happens to occcur to stop Hamlet's actions. Hamlet simply cannot make up his mind. His struggles occur when wondering if he should "be or not to be" and whether he should kill Claudius or not. Laertes on the other hand, his complete foil, acts upon his words. Hamlet should take a page out of Laertes's book. I believe that Hamlet's delay is due to cowardness and the truth of the matter.
Hamlet’s first problem is that he does not know if the ghost is a reliable source. Though it could truly be his father’s spirit, it possesses qualities that a damned ghost would. I think that because Hamlet is a relatively intelligent character, since he knows when to feign madness, that at a subconscious level maybe he realizes that if he is being forced to mask his true self then something is wrong. Normally when a person acts a way that is different from their usual behavior it is because they have something to hide. Since Hamlet is not forthright about seeing the ghost he knows how lame the argument will sound. Moreover if the reader wants to see Hamlet as being mostly good then you could argue that he is waiting because he wants to be sure that Claudius did indeed kill King Hamlet. If the reader thinks Hamlet is mostly bad then it is because he gets pleasure out of watching Claudius suffer at his misdeeds.
I definitely agree with Katie on this one. Hamlet really has no idea what he wants. He's constantly going back and forth trying to decide what's right. However, you can't decide between right and wrong if you don't even know what you want yourself. Hamlet is confusing even himself with all of the madness and deception. Even when Hamlet realizes that Fortinbras is doing a better job at acting on his father's death than he is, he still can't make a decision because he's scared. Hamlet has no idea what will happen to him if he acts on his emotions and murders Claudius so he does nothing. Like Katie and Michelle said there is always some excuse Hamlet makes to stop his actions. The real problem is that Hamlet is confused and can't make up his own mind.
Well the main points seem to have been stated. Amanda said Hamlet's a good guy and can't trust the ghost, Brenda said he fears retribution, jess said he loves mommy, and katie said that he himself does't know what he wants. These reasons might as well all be true. Personally I think Hamlet is just a procrastinator, like myaself. I don't even have my liscence yet. Why? I don't know. Hamlet probably doesn't know the reason either. Instead of taking initiative and kill Claudius himself, he waits, as if an oportunity will present itself. It takes him until the end of the play to find out that this entire time he has just been going with the flow, amd naturally he decides to continue with his dillydalying until finally forced into action.
I think Hamlet doesn't have the guts to do it. He's scared. Yes everybody's reasons are legit, but Hamlet's soliloquy in Act II scene II proves to me that he is scared. He has no emotion, he's angry bout everything, but can't man up and get the job done. He compares himself to the first player who cries over Hecuba. And Hamlet wonders how he could cry over Hecuba. He figures that if he can cry over Hecuba, he should be able to avenge his father. I think Hamlet is a bit immature, and not quite man enough yet. After that soliloquy he proves to me that he has matured and become more of a man. But to answer the basic question of why he waited so long, he's scared, he has no guts to get the job done.
hamlet is far too immature and young in mind to really be able to grasp what's going on. he is too scared of the possibility of his own soul's damnation as well because he wasn't sure if murder was justified in his case. personaly, i dont think murder is justified in any case but whatever this is hamelt and hes not sure. he needs another reason to kill claudius. oh yeah and the whole family thing could definitely play part in this whole sha bang too. even for cold blooded killers, i would have to assume that killing a member of their own family is difficult...or atleast more difficult. i dont know, ive never killed anyone.
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