Act III Blog: "To Kill or Not To Kill??"

During the play we get to know Hamlet as a person who thinks a lot about his actions and his surroundings. He could try reading the article called “9 Ways to Stop Overthinking Everything” which gives indecisive people practical tips like talking to yourself or avoiding situations that lead to overthinking. Hamlet’s reason to overthink everything is probably that he feels alone and betrayed, by both his mother and his uncle, and doesn’t know whom to trust, “there`s a divinity that shapes our ends”.(5,2,10) . Hamlet’s reluctance shows his values. He isn’t a mindless murderer, because the act to kill someone is a big step and changes your complete life. To live with the thought, that you have ended somebody’s life is not easy. So Hamlet’s reluctance makes sense and is reasonable.  However, the question arises: when Hamlet is that mindful about killing is uncle in revenge for his father’s death, why does he kill Polonius without thinking? “How now? A rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!”(Act 3, Scene 4)  Killing Polonius because he is listening and apparently “a rat”? For me, this action doesn’t make sense. It is completely contrary to everything we see about Hamlet’s values in the beginning of the play.

I can understand that Hamlet feels a lot of anger against his uncle, because Claudius killed his father and so Hamlet wants this revenge.  I would feel the same; and Hamlet probably wants more. He wants Claudius to suffer in hell rather than going to heaven if Hamlet were to kill him in the Chapel. Hamlet; “Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; and now I'll do't. And so he 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 this same villain send to heaven. (3.3.1) The irony is that the audience know that Claudius would go either way to hell because he isn’t really praying; his, “words fly up, [his] thoughts remain below.  Words without thoughts never to heaven go. (3.3.97-98).

 

http://www.google.ca/imgres?rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-CA%3AIE-Address&biw=1438&bih=677&tbm=isch&tbnid=dcFkmTnuHPI1RM%3A&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Ffatheranthonyho.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fcatholic-challenge-of-day_03.html&docid=mOc09Mqsd-QQWM&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Flh3.ggpht.com%2Ffatheranthonyho%2FSQPwECGLm9I%2FAAAAAAAAG30%2Fux45zxhfYsY%2Fs1600%2FP1030266%25255B2%25255D.jpg&w=640&h=480&ei=t4DgUsvYL47okAeexYCgCg&zoom=1&ved=0CFQQhBwwAQ&iact=rc&dur=384762&page=1&start=0&ndsp=18

Because we have continued the play and we know that Hamlet kills Polonius without thinking, the delay in Hamlet becoming a murderer is senseless. He should have killed Claudius earlier because this was the person Hamlet wanted to kill and had a reason for killing, not Polonius.

Towards the end of the play, the question remains whether Hamlet is actually a sane person who thinks about his actions or if he is going crazy. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betrayed Hamlet and that is a good reason that he is mad at them. I would want revenge if I found out that my friends betrayed me like that. So I like that Hamlet talks to them what he thinks and about the problem. Forthrightness is important in a friendship even when Hamlet calls them a sponge and that the king is just using them. "...But such officers do the king best service in the end: he keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw; first mouthed, to be last swallowed: when he needs what you have gleaned it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again." (Act 4 Scene 2, line 17). However, that Hamlet plots the execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern through a letter is a little bit too extreme. There are many ways to punish a person that don’t include death. This plot against R&G support the idea that Hamlet is crazy, same with fighting Laertis- now Hamlet is actually crazy.

The question remains what Shakespeare wants us to learn about delaying revenge? Many philosophers have written many books about this question but I guess nobody will ever find out what Shakespeare actual reason was and what he was thinking about this. However we have to keep in mind that Hamlet was thinking about the delay the whole time. He was thinking and overthinking. Maybe Shakespeare wanted to start a new time period where everybody should think about their actions, but then the killing without a reason wouldn’t make sense. Another reason could be that Hamlets state of mind. I mean he went through a lot; juts lost his father and his mother married his father’s killer. So maybe he is confused and doesn’t know what to do. Freud argued that “Hamlet is rendered incapable of acting against Claudius because of a repressed Oedipus complex; he restrains his actions because he has a subconscious desire to replace his father and lie with his mother.”

After much thought, I think Shakespeare wants to tell us to forget about revenge and think about forgiveness.  At the end of the play Hamlet asks Laertes to "give me your pardon" (5.2.227) because Hamlet sees that he has done him wrong for killing Polonius.  When Hamlet gets poisoned and Laertes knows he is partly responsible, he asks Hamlet "exchange forgiveness with me" (5.2.330).  The whole play would have been a lot different if Claudius had asked for pardon or Hamlet had forgiven him instead of seeking revenge.