A Story of Revenge

CAUTION! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!


HAMLET is without a doubt a classic play written by none other than William Shakespeare. In my review, I question Hamlet's indecisiveness. That is not to say HAMLET is a bad story, I am simply wondering why Hamlet didn't act on his revenge in a stronger, quicker way.

"If ever you loved your father - revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (73) - these words shock Hamlet, the protagonist in William Shakespeare's Renaissance tragedy HAMLET (1603) [translated by Alan Durband (New York: Barron's, 1986), and cause him to say, "Oh God! Tell me quickly, so that with speed swifter than thinking or the thoughts of love I may sweep to my revenge!" (73). To avenge his father's murder, Hamlet must kill King Claudius, his dead father's brother and assassin; yet, Claudius's death doesn't occur until late in Act 5. The reader wonders why Hamlet took so long to kill the king. Did he really want to?

Hamlet admits in Act 1 that he had suspected his uncle all along, He says to the ghost who has just finished describing how he had been poisoned, "As I suspected! My uncle!" (73). As Act 1 closes, however, the readers learns that Hamlet is not happy with his mission: "What cursed luck that I should be chosen to put things right!" (85). Instead of acting immediately to confront and to kill Claudius, Hamlet has Marcellus and Horatio swear to never tell what they saw. He schemes and creates elaborate plots to kill Claudius instead of simply taking the King's life. He seems more worried about Horatio and Marcellus speaking than killing Claudius.

In Act 2, Claudius adds fuel to the fire by using Ophelia, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern against him; but Hamlet still doesn't kill the king. Instead, he thinks about killing himself. Hamlet definitely suffers throughout the novel with a severe case of procrastination. After hearing about the demise of his father, it would seem logical that his anger would be so strong that he would simply destroy Claudius within hours. Instead, days and weeks go by and Hamlet complains a great deal about how hard life can be. It's kind of sad to read about a man who can't take charge of his own life.

In Act 3, Hamlet finally manages to isolate Claudius in a situation where he could have easily killed him, but he doesn't do so. First, he manages to extract a guilty reaction from Claudius in response to the performance of THE MOUSETRAP. Then he finds Claudius alone in the chapel. Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius as the King prays because of moral reasons. Hamlet constantly struggles with his decision-making. His decisiveness is definitely lacking and his lack thereof is a major flaw in his character.

After Hamlet decides to not yet kill Claudius, the King rises from his prayer and says, "My words rise upward, but my thoughts remain here below. Words without sincerity never reach heaven" (189). Hamlet should have struck when he had a chance.

In Act 4, Hamlet has other reasons to with to kill the king. After all, the king tried to have him executed on his arrival in England. If he had not found and read the letter given to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he would be dead. Yet, he still doesn't kill the king. Instead, he continues to play mind games and feign madness. It's ludicrous for
him to behave in such a manner. If he truly cared about his father and his merciless death he would have struck a fatal blow to the king immediately after finding out the cause of his father's death. Anyone who has a loved one would do anything for them. Hamlet claims to have been close to his father, but his procrastination could often lead the reader to doubt Hamlet's motives. Is he really after revenge, or his he simply over-dramatic?

Finally, in Act 5, after Laertes confesses to conspiring with Claudius to have Hamlet killed, Hamlet takes action. He swiftly kills the king with a spear and his own poisoned drink. Is that really poetic justice? The question remains, however, why did he take so long to do what he said he would do in Act 1? Perhaps he was more interested in demented mind games than taking Claudius's life. Maybe he wanted to drive the king mad by fabricating his own madness? Whatever his motives were, the simple fact remains that Hamlet was too indecisive.