Free Why Does Hamlet Delay So Long In Following The Ghosts Command Critical Thinking Example

Why does Hamlet delay so long in following the ghost’s command? This is one of those mysteries in literature that seems to have persisted ever since the play was written, remaining unanswered and solved till today. For Hamlet, it is his first long soliloquy, and he rebukes himself for his delay in avenging his father’s death. The reason for Hamlet’s long delay in following the ghost’s command is integral to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, since the play revolves around it, but what is also important is to conclude the morality of such revenge.
The fact that Shakespeare does not present his audience with an explicit reason for Hamlet’s delay but still gives it so much prominence is one of his puzzling aspects of his play. The answer might help indicate Shakespeare’s own, personal reason for the delay. There are two things that must be kept in mind. First, it is made apparent that Hamlet intuitively knows that he is delaying to follow the ghost’s command. Second, it is also made apparent that even Hamlet is uncertain of why he is delaying. Considering the fact that special importance has been given to these two things in the play, there must be a point that Shakespeare is making.
One factor that may have contributed to Hamlet’s delay is that he seems to be inclined towards philosophizing too much, which rendered him incapable of acting immediately. Readers can take cue from Hamlet’s own words, which suggest that his “native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.” It could be concluded that Shakespeare intended to thrust upon his audience the notion that action is the central meaning of existence. However, the problem with this is that even though Laertes acts in the absolute opposite way to Hamlet, and yet he fares much worse than Hamlet. Laertes’ actions do not involve any forethought, and so the villain Claudius uses him like an eager, foolish tool. Thus, it is highly unlikely that Shakespeare intend to convey such a message. Moreover, Hamlet’s behavior, such as the fact that he follows a beckoning ghost; stabs Polonius through the arras, mistaking his voice for Claudius’; boldly climbs aboard the pirate ship; and leaps into a grave to fight with Laertes, does not suggest that he had an aversion to real action.
His father’s death and the fact that his mother hastily gets remarried perhaps left Hamlet in a melancholic state of mind, which may also have contributed to his delay. Although it may be logical to accept that Hamlet does not act immediately because his mind is in a depressive state, but this notion is highly dubious if Hamlet's melancholia is considered accountable for his energy too.
Hamlet’s sharp, witty sallies, and the facts that he is obviously interested in the art of the traveling actors, he dramatically recites Pyrrhus’s speech in his sleep, cleverly arranges a play-within-the-play to trap Claudius, and he arranges the deaths of Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, all suggest that Hamlet remains energetic even after his father’s death. In fact, Hamlet seems to be rationally motivated when he carries out many of these energetic actions, and he even carefully schemes out some of them. If Hamlet was able to carry out these actions after his father died, then certainly he could have exacted revenge on Claudius.
Since Shakespeare wrote Hamlet for an Elizabethan audience, a factor that seems most likely to have contributed to Hamlet’s delay in following the ghost’s command is questioning the morality of seeking revenge. However, it is not his conscience but rather some profound inner voice that causes his him to hesitate, since he has no clue why he is delaying, that voice has not explicitly surfaced to his consciousness.
Shakespeare apparently wants to focus on the notion that the course of action that Hamlet takes is morally dubious and that is why he highlights this delay in the play. Rather than concealing this meaning, rather it has been quite strongly suggested from the very beginning of the play. However, Shakespeare did not allow Hamlet to state this meaning clearly because if Hamlet had realized why he was delaying his revenge, he would probably have taken a different course of action and Shakespeare's main purpose in the play would not prevail.
If Hamlet became intellectually aware that seeking revenge could be immoral, he would surely have argued with himself about it, and by doing so, he would wind up completely out of character. Moreover, Shakespeare's purpose to show his audience rather than just telling them why exacting revenge is morally disastrous would not have prevailed if Hamlet had ended up in an intellectual debate with himself over the issue.
The above explains Shakespeare’s reason behind making Hamlet delay his revenge. Debating with himself over the morality of revenge would have caused Hamlet to either conclude that it is moral to seek revenge, which would refute the message Shakespeare intended to impart, or have caused him to conclude that seeking revenge is immoral and he would have given up on his course of vengeance. Neither of these alternatives goes according to the plan that Shakespeare most likely had, and thus, Hamlet remains clueless that it might be immoral to seek revenge, but he remains aware of his delay.
Nonetheless, Shakespeare puts a lot of effort into suggesting that revenge is not something morally acceptable. He keeps reminding his audience that the ghost is “questionable” and that its advice is dubious. He tries to convey to his audience the fiendish nature of the ghost’s command, which transforms Hamlet’s world into a dark and eerie prison. Considering the avenger’s depiction in the Trojan War speech, it also seems that Shakespeare is attempting to create the experience of how horrific vengeance can be.
The fact that Hamlet criticizes himself for delaying his revenge right after he has recited the Trojan War speech further suggests that there is some good reason behind his hesitation. In fact, the main purpose of the play is to convey the message that vengeance is immoral.
If the first soliloquy in which Hamlet speaks of his delay is examined more closely, it can be seen that in the beginning, he compares his own lack of positive action with the passion the player's speech and he rebukes himself for it. This attitude is quite ironic because the performer is simply acting and there is no cause to his passion, he simply conjures it up as an outer made to suit what is conventionally expected.
Moreover, since there is no real motive for the player’s passion, this signifies that even if there is no rational cause, emotional passion can still arise. This fact is a reminder that there is no reason behind the thirst for vengeance; rather it is mainly a result of passion. Readers will realize that the harm that has already been done cannot be undone through vengeance; in fact, revenge is more likely to aggravate that damage. However, later Hamlet himself asks for “that man that is not passion's slave, and I will wear him in my heart's core, ay, in my heart of hearts” What tragic about Hamlet as a character is that he does not take notice of his own wise words.
Another thing that is ironic is that the actor is reciting his speech passionately to compassion for Hecuba, who is suffering as result of the vengeance exacted upon her by an avenger. Therefore, Hamlet's self-reproach for his delay in exacting his revenge is for a lack of what was the reason of Hecuba's suffering in the first place. Therefore, an absolutely irrelevant cue is used by Hamlet for rebuking himself over the delay. Thus, the fact that vengeance is immoral is indicated by Shakespeare through this.
As the soliloquy continues, Hamlet even considers that perhaps he lacks the courage to seek revenge. However, the readers will agree that Hamlet is not a coward since he has a reputation for being a model solider and he does not shy away from confronting the ghost. Therefore, Shakespeare shows Hamlet’s own uncertainty about the reason behind his delay.
At the end of the soliloquy, there is a hint that Hamlet is doubt whether or not he will is following the appropriate course of action by seeking revenge on Claudius. It is tragic and unfortunate that he is simply dubious about the honest of the ghost, and not about the morality of revenge. Thus, Hamlet ultimately succeeds in exacting his revenge, and the consequences are nothing but disastrous. Regardless of the factors that contributed to Hamlet’s delay in following the ghost’s command, Shakespeare attempts to make a point that revenge is not right.