Why Did Hamlet Kill Claudius Essay

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There are several reasons as to why Hamlet delays in avenging his father and killing his uncle, Claudius. A combination of these various reasons likely played a role in Hamlet’s hesitation for revenge. However, the one I consider to be the most likely cause for this delay is that Hamlet is not entirely sure he should kill Claudius at all and if he does it must be at the right time, under the correct circumstances. Soliloquy after soliloquy, the philosophical Hamlet ponders this decision, weighing his options.
He is unsure whether the Ghost that commands this act is to be trusted in the first place, “The spirit that I have seen May be a devil, and the devil hath power T’ assume a pleasing shape, yea and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds More relative than this,” (2.3.610-616). Hamlet is a thoughtful man, not typically one to give in to impulse. If he is to kill his uncle, he must be certain that what the Ghost tells him is true. More importantly whether the Ghost is truly his father or is real at all. The act of killing Claudius will not be just, to …show more content…
Even at a most opportune moment, when Claudius is busy praying, Hamlet decides not to take action. His inaction, however, is also largely to do with the details, “Now might I do it pat, now ‘a is a-praying, And now I’ll do’t. And so ‘a goes to heaven, And so am I revenged. That would be scanned, A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven,” (3.3.73-78). Should Hamlet kill Claudius as he is praying, he believes his spirit will be sent to heaven and he will not truly have avenged his father’s death. Hamlet seems to wait for the perfect opportunity and circumstances to do the deed. He waits for the moment in which he is determined and certain that Claudius will suffer the fate he

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