Comment on the Indecisive Character of Hamlet.

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Comment on the indecisive character of Hamlet. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is truly a great play to analyze. It is also unique in that a play based on revenge and we don’t see any action until the end. Hamlet has immediate suspicion and proof of his father’s murder and does not act . Hamlet apparent indecisiveness to act is due to his constant habit of over thinking in addition to several conscious and subconscious distractions. Hamlet is paralyzed by an interpersonal battle resulting from over evaluation of his situation . Every time he has an opportunity to act he counteract with a doubt or reason for inaction . Furthermore , he spends too much time planning and not enough time doing. Prince Hamlet is a University student, who enjoys contemplating difficult Philosophical questions When his father , King of Denmark, dies he returns home to find evidence of foul play in his father’s death . One night Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost. This spirit tells Hamlet that Claudius his father’s murderer . Hamlet swears to revenge his father’s death upon hearing the news . After the spirit leaves , Hamlet doubts whether the ghost speaks the truth , Upon leaving Hamlet says: “The time is out of joint. Oh cursed spirit That I was ever born to set it right ” (Act -1 , Scene-5 ) These lines illustrate that Hamlet is upset that he must revenge his father’s death , while questioning the ghost’s integrity . This is Hamlet first moment of indecision . He is plagued by question of death and the supernatural. What do we know about ghost? Does the ghost know how he died, or is he deluded? Is the ghost his ally or is he trying to mislead him to his demise? In Act2 , Scene2, Hamlet gives a possible reason for his hesitation: “The spirit that I have seen May be a devil, and
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