Hamlet, written by the legendary William Shakespeare, is a play which tells of the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark. In the play, the Prince attempts to exact revenge on Claudius, his uncle, for murdering his father, King Hamlet. Set in the Danish Kingdom, the play explores the themes of incest, moral corruption and revenge. As odd as it may appear, it is quite ironical that Claudius decides to kill his own brother, King Hamlet, and take his wife, Queen Gertrude. When the Prince realizes the real cause of his father’s death, he is overcome with seething rage, and the only thing on his mind is revenge. However, one question which has eluded literature analysts for so many years is why Hamlet took such a long time to avenge the murder of his father. Although several theories have been put forward explaining why Hamlet took long to avenge his father’s death, no plausible argument has yet been reached. The most probable reason as to why it takes Hamlet such a long time to avenge his father’s death is because he was waits for the perfect opportunity to let the other townspeople know of Claudius’s involvement, thus inciting them to kill Claudius themselves.
In answering the question as to why it took Hamlet so long to exact revenge, it is essential to remember that the author portrays Hamlet as a tragic hero. Although Hamlet is loyal to his father, he takes his time to intelligently weigh the options and possible scenarios before him. As a tragic hero, Hamlet’s delay in avenging his father’s murder leads to a catastrophic end of the play. However, before arriving at this stage, it is essential to rewind the events a little bit further, and see how Hamlet gets into the play.
Hamlet’s introduction into the play takes place in Act 1, Scene 2 where he appears to be in deep despair following the death of his father. The fact that he is still wearing dark clothes attests that he is still mourning over his father’s death. On the other hand, Claudius does not understand why Hamlet is still devastated by the loss of his father. According to him “life goes on and does not stop over the death of a single person”. However, the reader can understand where Claudius is coming from; he has already declared his intentions to marry the widow, Queen Gertrude, his brother’s wife. At this stage, it is essential to remember that Gertrude, the Queen, Hamlet’s mother, also wants his son to move on as seen in her statement “Good Hamlet, cast thy knighted color off.”
At this point, the author uses a melancholic tone to display Hamlet’s devastation. In his soliloquy, Hamlet uses the words “stale”, “unprofitable” and other pessimist terms to describe the world. He says “Ay, so God buy you. Now I am alonewhat a rogue and peasant slave I am!” True to his words, he seems to be living in a state of eternal despair. As a loyal son, he praises his father, the late King, even in his death comparing him to Hyperion- one of the gods. In a sharp contrast, he compares Claudius to some kind of a beast. Hamlet also expresses his dissatisfaction with his mother for remarrying in such a short period after the death of the King.
While deeply engrossed in thoughts, Hamlet chastises his mother by saying “Within a month, ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears, had left flushing her galled eyes. She married- O most wicked speed!” It completely baffles Hamlet why his mother had to remarry so soon, if she truly loved the King. That is the reason why he feels that her tears are not sincere; he feels that she is just shedding crocodile tears. In his opinion, if Gertrude, the Queen and, his mother truly loved the King, his father, she would still be mourning instead of remarrying.
In Scene 5 of the same Act (Act 1), Hamlet discovers the real cause of his father’s death. A ghost appears in the form of his late father, and reveals how Claudius poured poison into the King’s ear - which led to the eventual death of the King. One more thing happens before the ghost disappears; the ghost beseeches Hamlet to avenge his father’s death. Following this revelation, Hamlet wants to act immediately as it becomes evident when he says “Haste me to know’tMay sweep to my revenge.” The reader is also convinced that Hamlet will exact revenge on Claudius within days after the meeting the ghost. However, this does not happen as Hamlet waits for the perfect moment to pounce. Whatever the reason for this delay is, one thing cannot be underestimated: familial attachment to his mother. This can be seen when Hamlet is not under any pressure to kill Claudius until he realizes that the queen has been poisoned and will not survive.
Looked at from a different angle, it appears as though Hamlet is jealous of the intimate relationship Claudius shares with the queen. After the death of the King, Gertrude spends more time with her son. However, this balance changes when Claudius comes into the picture. The intimacy shared between Claudius and Gertrude grows to such an extent that killing Claudius would badly hurt Gertrude. This is something Hamlet knows too well, and it could be part of the reason why he delays killing Claudius. However, the fact that Hamlet dispenses Polonius and arranges for the murder of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern without showing any remorse for his actions further raises some questions as to why he finds it difficult to kill Claudius.
When it comes to making a decision on whether to kill Claudius, Hamlet pauses, reflects and rethinks his strategies. Considering the way he killed Polonius as well as setting the murder of the other two men, it begs the question: why the hesitation? The answer can be found in the second soliloquy which offers an insight into this delay. In the second soliloquy, Hamlet explores the conflicting interests that he is facing within himself. On one hand, Hamlet considers himself a coward. Although he longs to seek revenge, he does not believe in himself as it is seen when he says “I am a pigeon-liver’d and lack gull.” Here, Hamlet wants to allude that the pigeon could not seek revenge because it had no gull. Comparing himself to the pigeon which had no gull is quite telling. On another occasion, Hamlet is also confounded with the thought that the ghost was not his father. He contemplates that the ghost is evil disguised as the King “The spirit that I have seen, maybe a devilT’assume a pleasing shape.”
Another reason why Hamlet delays in avenging the death of his father is because he is a thinker. Hamlet comes off as someone who possesses the mind of a genius. On several occasions, Hamlet forms the habit of thinking deeply, and in details. He forms the habit of analyzing every situation that happens around him. As a result, he spends a sizeable amount of his time thinking on the precise decision to take, and this takes too much of his energy. Consequently, the decision to kill Claudius takes time.
Hamlet’s ability to analyze other people around him enables him to kill his targets, before they can hurt him. This is quite evident from the moment he precisely plans the murder of Polonius, and successfully arranges the killing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern before they strike him. By killing those who may pose a challenge to him in future, Hamlet, therefore, eliminates those who may harm him.
Also, the delay in killing Claudius could have been deliberate to let his guilt “consume” him first before striking him to death. For example, when an opportunity to kill Claudius presents itself in Act 3, Scene 3, Hamlet decides against the idea when he finds him kneeling to pray for forgiveness. Again, due to his Christian beliefs, he thinks that killing a man while in prayer will make him go to heaven – something he would not wish for Claudius. Hamlet says “And so am I reveng’ddo the same villain send to heaven.” This makes him to postpone the killing to another date when Claudius is sinful so that he does not end up in heaven.
Hamlet is also fully aware that killing Claudius, the King, would make him to be locked away for the rest of his life, if someone else discovers the King’s fate. The townspeople would also not have a chance to listen to his story; the story that Claudius actually killed his father – the late king. Therefore, he waits for an opportunity when everyone will be around so that he can let them know beforehand his side of events. Through this way, other people would be so enraged to act on his behalf.
In conclusion, Hamlet deliberately delays avenging his father’s death so that everyone can get to learn of how Claudius killed his father. He wants to use his intelligence to determine the end of the play. He waits for the perfect moment for the people to see Claudius as guilty, and, in the process set people’s emotions against Claudius ablaze. Although the delay causes his demise in the end, he is able to avenge his father’s death when Gertrude and Laertes know that Claudius killed the King.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Hamlet. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print.
Posner, Richard A. Law and Literature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Assoc, 1994. Print.
Shmoop. Hamlet: Shmoop Literature Guide. Sunnyvale, CA: Shmoop University Inc, 2010.
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Silverbush, Rhona and Sami Plotkin. Speak the Speech!: Shakespeare's Monologues Illuminated.
New York, NY: Macmillan, 2002. Print.
