The death of one’s father and a ghostly visitation thereafter are events that would challenge the sanity of anyone. The circumstances of King Hamlet’s death render it especially traumatic. The late King seemed to be an idol to his son; Hamlet looked up to him and aspired to have the same qualities. Hamlet doesn't like King Claudius and sees him as a swindling usurper who has stolen not only the dead King’s throne, but Hamlet’s as well(2.4). Hamlet shows Gertrude that she has lowered her standards by marrying Claudius, When he refers to old Hamlet as, “A combination and a form indeed / Where every god did seem to set his seal” (3.4.55-61).
Hamlet derives a plan to have actors re-enact the death of his father as told to him by the ghost. He watches Claudius during the play, and knows from the way Claudius behaves that he did indeed kill his father. He wants to kill Claudius, but puts it off several times. He knows that it is a sin and against the law to kill out of revenge. He also sees Claudius praying for forgiveness, but wouldn’t kill him because he wouldn’t ascend to heaven.
If Hamlet’s hypothesis proves to be true, then King Claudius should exhibit some sort of reaction. Inevitably, Claudius acquits himself poorly as he departs from the performances in a fit of rage. In his later soliloquy, Claudius admits himself to being the cause of King Hamlet’s death: “O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven; / It hath the primal eldest curse upon ‘t, / A brother’s murder” (III.iii.40-41). Witnessing the play sparks the latent animosity King Claudius has against Hamlet. With such bitterness towards the prince, King Claudius sets forth his own plan to kill Hamlet.
Hamlet also expresses the possibilities that the ghost could have been the devil. Although hamlet gets upset with himself he believes that the play he arranged would display Claudius’ guilt and then he will know for sure he killed his father. This reveals to the audience that Hamlet is a procrastinator and he is a coward. In Hamlet’s fifth soliloquy he contemplates the idea of suicide, he suggests that maybe the only reason we choose life is because we know so little about death other than it Is final. After contemplation Hamlet decides not to take his own life.
Hamlet assumes these actions from the actor because these are the actions that Hamlet would use to express his feelings. Hamlet then feels that he is not courageous enough to bravely kill Claudius and all he can do is mope. He puts himself at the peak of frustration since he has not accomplished anything yet and begins to doubt his ability to for revenge and calls himself a coward. He says he should have killed Claudius a long time ago. He then comes up with a plan to have the actors put on a play that is similar to the Murder of King Hamlet.
Hamlet decides to kill Claudius to seek revenge over his father’s death. In the meantime, Hamlet is given endless opportunities to kill his uncle, one being the time where Claudius is in prayer and Hamlet says: "and so ‘a goes to heaven; /and so am I revenged. That would be scann'd:/A villain kills my father, and for that/ I, his sole son, do the same villain send/to heaven." (3.3.74-78) Although Hamlet is determined to avenge his father through the death of Claudius; he takes any opportunity he can to procrastinate, which includes the excuse of this uncle’s peaceful state of mind. Considering the thought that being in a position with God may cause his death to be less painful, Hamlet chooses to wait, whereas he could have killed him off and ultimately saved his life in the end.
Everyone pities Laertes as his father and sister die; however Claudius uses this as an advantage to have Laertes kill Hamlet. Hamlet comes back to Denmark, much to Laertes’ advantage, with no knowledge of his upcoming demise. Gertrude feels sorry for Laertes and comes back with Ophelia’s death in scene vii. Laertes is mad at Hamlet and wants to kill him. Laertes is a foil of
In the soliloquy, Hamlet is at first upset with himself about finding ways to avoid avenging his Father’s murder, like his spirit in ghost form told him to. This complaining turns into self hatred and then Hamlet is insulting himself outright. The main reason for this is he has agreed to get revenge on Claudius so his father’s spirit can be at peace, but he hasn’t done it yet. The fact that the Player seems to be more able to get into the mindset of revenge than he can further discourages him. This on top of the fact that Hamlet’s dad is dead and his mother married that man he hates most in the world makes for a pretty melancholy fellow.
Hamlets anger, which stems from his mother marrying Claudius, bears him serious thoughts of suicide. This results in an attempt at a religious and moral sin which shows a weakness in his character. Hamlet shows some moral sense when he decides not to kill himself due to religious beliefs, which is a paradox that leads to Hamlet’s downfall. His statement “thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” (I.V.102-103) establishes his tragic decision to let nothing stand in the way of his vowed revenge assuring the death of Claudius, a longer life span and the immunity of punishment towards his mother. As act III begins, the reader sees Claudius’s plot against Hamlet progress.
Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears to Hamlet telling him what happened and to avenge him. Hamlet doesn’t completely trust the ghost so he puts on a play called mouse trap recalling the events that led to his father’s death. If Claudius reacted negatively it proves he is guilty and committed the murder. This gives Hamlet the green light to kill him but instead he kills Polonius. When Laertes hears news of this, he devices a