Hamlet's delay in killing Claudius is a result of
Hamlets introspection and indecision. When Hamlet first hears of the murder of
his father from the ghost, he does not act on this information immediately, the
opposite of what one would expect from a prince in the time period. Although
this may be a more rational response, it demonstrates Hamlet's lack of strong
emotion and decisiveness. He does wish for revenge, but he is unable to carry
out his vengeance without more proof that Claudius did indeed kill his father.
His emotion is not strong enough to overpower his logical sense. The plan that
Hamlet conceives to catch Claudius, though, is not a very logical one. He
wishes to gauge Claudius' reaction to a modified 'The Murder of Gonzago play.
In this play the King is murdered by his nephew, which Claudius may see as
Hamlet wants to kill him, provoking a reaction from Claudius that has nothing
to do with the fact that he murdered Old King Hamlet. During the play Hamlet
does indeed use Claudius' reaction as proof of his guilt, but when presented
with the opportunity to kill him he does not take it, because he over thinks the
situation again. He finds Claudius in the chapel but hesitates because he believes
Claudius is confessing his sins, which may not be true. He continues to
convince himself that it is not the right time to kill Claudius, highlighting
his indecision. Hamlet's continued mental gymnastics show that he is not
mentally strong enough to complete this task. This demonstrates to us in the
real world that it is hard to make important decisions or to persevere to
complete a difficult task. Hamlet is essentially procrastinating, creating
excuses that allow him to avoid his 'work.' As outlined in the link, the first step to avoiding procrastination is realizing that you are procrastinating. Hamlet cannot see that he is subconsciously trying to put off killing Claudius, so he doesn't do anything about it.. It is important for one to remember
that sometimes it is best to not think too much about a task and simply go with
your gut feeling; otherwise this task may never be completed.
http://img2.timeinc.net/health/images/slides/arrow-pointing-two-directions-400x400.jpg
Nice work. I definitely agree that Hamlet does a lot of self-convincing to avoid situations, and that it's important to also go with your gut feeling.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this. I also really like your use of words like "mental gymnastics" or "gauge"
ReplyDeleteGood job! One thing I really liked about your post was the link you provided, and how you describe Hamlet as putting of his 'work'... It's very relatable to today and how much people today procrastinate too.
ReplyDeleteReally well said! I completely agree with your view on Hamlets inability to make decisions and you used great evidence from the novel to back up your points. Although I would usually also agree with what you said about going with your "gut feeling", I believe that in Hamlets case he was smart to think twice before he made a rash decision. Hamlet is not procrastinating just your ordinary task, he is delaying committing the murder of his uncle which I believe is wise of him.
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