Hamlet is a moral and intelligent man, he is aware of what is right and wrong and it is due to this morality that he delays the murder of Claudius and ended the cycle of revenge. After conversing with the ghost of his own father, Hamlet already devises a plan to kill Claudius in order to fulfill the ghost’s wishes to get revenge. However, much time passes throughout the play when Hamlet could have taken his revenge but he has yet to complete the deed. He admits he may have been deceived by the ghost when he says, "The spirit that I have seen / May be a devil, and the devil hath power / T' assume a pleasing shape (II:ii, 627-629). Hamlet delays the murder of his uncle due to the doubt he has in the validity of the information provided by the ghost.
But later on, we discover Hamlet is not mad, and that it was all just an act. He puts back on his shoes, and the killing begins. Hamlet is only crazy in the purpose of fooling his step-uncle, to confess to killing the king. Hamlet craves the vengeance, and is successful in a way Claudius ends up paying for his deed. But at the end, everyone loses and dies except Horatio.
For example, Hamlet, after learning that his father’s death was a murder, wants to be certain that he is being told the truth before taking revenge. Even after confirming that Claudius is the murderer, Hamlet thinks to himself, “And now I’ll do’t…/And so I am revenged,” contemplating whether or not to kill Claudius, and he still is not able to do it (Shakespeare. III. iii. 77-79).
The ghost asks Hamlet to avenge his “most foul murder.” However, he warns Hamlet not to let revenge consume his mind. Ironically, Hamlet states “I’ll wipe away all trivial, fond records, all saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, that youth and observation copied there, and thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain, unmixed with baser matter”(Shakespeare I.V.106-111). In order for Hamlet to avenge his father, first he needs the proper evidence. Hamlet decides to create a play about a man who kills his brother, hoping that when Claudius sees it, he has a reaction showing his guilt. It is when Hamlet gets proof of Claudius’ guilt that he allows his emotions to dictate his actions.
You don't need to make a comparison, but pick which view you agree with, Knight or Shakespeare's, or make it into 2 separate sentences. Are you trying to argue Claudius's motivations or to explain that Hamlet was the true villain? Make sure following paragraphs support that.) Knight argued that Hamlet, and not Claudius, is the villain due to his irrational ways because Claudius had no choice but to commit the murder or to protect his throne from Hamlet. However, Claudius had a chance to make a choice, but since his desires for power and treasures were so overwhelming, he chose the murderous path.
Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, is considerably successful in keeping his promise to the ghost of his father. While he manages to purge Denmark of its corruption and avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius, the commandment does not live “all alone…within the book and volume” of Hamlets brain, he is not indecisive, but morally astute. Hamlet finds himself trapped between two moral imperatives, whether to obey his filial duty to his father or commit a mortal sin by killing another man. Ultimately, Hamlet overcomes his moral complication and fulfils the ghost’s wishes. From the outset of the play, and the first appearance of the ghost, Hamlet knows what he must do; however, his moral obligations get in the way.
On the hand, there lies Claudius. The reader has just learned that he was willing to kill his own brother to become king. Murder is a horrible thing, but killing your own brother for your own selfish needs is far beyond horrible. When learning this, in combination with feel bad for Hamlet, the reader is left hating Claudius for what he has done. Additionally, this is a very important scene in the play.
Old Hamlet informs his son that he was murdered by his brother. He then asks Hamlet to avenge him, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.v.25). Old Hamlet refers to himself as “his”. This is the first time Hamlet hears that his father was murdered. He almost immediately begins planning his course of action towards revenge.
Furthermore, Shakespeare exhibits how Hamlet chose to devise a plan of acting mad, rather than avenging his father’s death immediately, progressing to his demise. On the other hand, Hamlet questions the appearance of his father: “The spirit that I have seen may be the devil”(II.ii.610,611). Consequently, Shakespeare conveys that Hamlet’s indecisiveness about his father’s murderer necessitates him to procrastinate more, and lead further to his death. However, Hamlet accomplishes the opportunity to murder Claudius, yet believes it is not the right time: “Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent”(III.iii.91). In fact, he desires that “...his soul may be damned and black as hell”(III.iii.97).
In the play Hamlet acts mad. He is not crazy however but is merely pretending to be. Before he begins this act he tells Horatio and Marcellus what he is about to do. Polonius notices that there is too much sense in Hamlets charade for him to be truly crazy. Hamlet makes sure his uncle is guilty of murder before enacting his revenge.