Hamlet
Your Father dies, you suspect your uncle, a Ghost tells you that in-fact your uncle did kill your father, and the ghost tells you to seek vengeance. In Hamlet's time the only way of getting was to kill the person. So, why does Hamlet wait so long to get his revenge? That question of time has been a key to the book. It brings up so many questions with it. Does Hamlet believe the ghost? Is Hamlet making up what the ghost tells him to do? Is it in his nature? Are there other factors playing in to the plot that are hindering his revenge? Is Hamlet trying to get justice, or is Hamlet just plain weak? There are many reasons why Hamlet takes so long to exact his revenge on his uncle. "The fact that Claudius is guilty is taken for granted, and so it seems unfortunate that Hamlet cannot act sooner, but without this knowledge acting too quickly would be a mistake" (H: Wor J?). We as the readers or playgoers know that Claudius killed King Hamlet, but is Hamlet privy to that information? I think that Hamlet suspects his uncle, but Hamlet does not adequate evidence to enact his revenge. An element of the play is Claudius' guilt, or rather Hamlet's knowledge of his guilt. In the
play there is no hard evidence of Claudius killing his brother until Claudius confessed his sins. "Until that point we are weighing the ghost's story against the Claudius' story" (Wor J). At that point Hamlet is in the confessional booth with Claudius, couldn't he just kill him there? No, Hamlet might not have wanted to kill him while he confesses his sins. That would be an automatic passage to Heaven. Since King Hamlet was caught without confessing, why should the murderer get away with it? I believe that is definitely why Hamlet decided to wait. The ghost tries to get Hamlet to seek his revenge, but Hamlet is smart enough not to just accept something as truth. "Hamlet realizes that the ghost is playing directly with his emotions" (W or J?). There is a belief that the ghost might be a physical being from hell or maybe something else. "It also might be the prince's negative feelings onto his uncle. Hamlet has never liked him, and has always had a strong love for his father. Also, no matter what hamlet says about ambition, he was next in line for the throne. Hamlet recognizes the voice of the devil (or rather his subconscious) telling him: You're absolutely right. King Hamlet was a perfect man, flawless in every respect, and your uncle betrayed and murdered your father. You should be king and you should hate him" (W or J?). All of that led him to accept his fate, but there are still problems with getting his revenge. There are five other major reasons why Hamlet could not get his revenge. The essay on the Hamlet Paradigm says that there is one central question in the play. "How does an individual react when he develops an obsession with destroying the powerful force ruling his country, yet risks experiencing psychological estrangement, occurring at multiple levels within himself, if he attempts to destroy tha
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1240
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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