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Hamlet is many things: scholar, speaker, actor, prince. His greatness shows in all of activities, save one: his inactivity. For some reason, Hamlet is not able to avenge his father's death without considerable delay. There is one major flaw in Hamlet's character which causes him to postpone the murder of Claudius. I believe that this flaw is Hamlet's idealism. While this is certainly a good trait, in this case, because of Hamlet's environment and the circumstances which befall him, his nature causes great conflicts within him. He was gifted with a great mind which he uses extensively. Hamlet believes that things should be inherently good, and that people's motives should be fair. Consequently, he has a great deal of difficulty in coming to terms with all of the evil that is around him in a corrupt world. As Hamlet said himself, "'Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed; Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely" (Act I, sc ii). One wonders how Hamlet can interact as well with his environment as he does; he has aluded many times that life is full of evil and deceit. He says to Rosencrantz that the world is a prison, in fact, "a sizable one, in which there are many jails, cells, and dungeons." (Act II sc ii). One also might expect him to be a very bitter person, but he is not. He is sometimes able to suppress his anger towards life in "prison", sometimes not. This anger, however, coupled with his need for revenge, places a great amount of stress on Hamlet. Eventually, this stress became so great that it forced him to act. But why did he wait until "point break" to do something? Perhaps Hamlet is not sure, even in his vast experience and knowledge, weather justice should be left in his hands; despite the ghost's admonitions that it should. I agree with the belief that it is difficult, "in a cunning and deceitful world, to tell the good man from the criminal." (Baron's Book Notes). Hence, his morals guide him to be absolutely sure of his uncle's guilt, and not have a hasty emotionally based reaction. Another main reason for Hamlet's delay once again has to do with his morals and idealism. Because he possesses such a strong mind, he can find many possible causes and effects for everyday affairs. When dealing with affairs far from ordinary, such as his father's murder, "... the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought..." (Act III sc i). I suggest also that perhaps Hamlet is not able to truly understand people's evil motives, due to his own idealistic nature. It would follow, then, that he would have great difficulty in committing an act of such brutal violence himself. The action which Hamlet has been commanded by the ghost to undertake goes against Hamlet in a very basic, fundamental way. "The fact that Hamlet is a thinking as well as a feeling person, conscious of the good and bad points in every step he takes, makes the act of revenge particularly painful for him. Revenge is not Christian, and Hamlet is a Christian Prince; it is not rational, and Hamlet is a philosopher; it is not gentle, and Hamlet is a gentlemen" (Baron's Book Notes). In the end, however, it is not Hamlet's sense of right and wrong that charges him to vengeance; rather, his uncle's death occurs in a heat of passion. While he does recognize that murder is a major sin, he also knows that he must avenge his father's death - he could not continue to live knowing that he was not able to put his father's soul to rest: "My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth" (Act IV sc IV). In fact, near the very end of the play, he does cast off all doubt as to his course of action, saying that "There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow" (Act V sc ii). Thus, he has adopted a fatalistic viewpoint which he believes is "right" (and which keeps with the idealistic theory) and promises to himself not to let his decision waver. In conclusion, I believe it is easily seen how Hamlet's idealism causes great problems for him, considering his situation. If Hamlet is truly idealistic in nature, and I believe he is, then he must always do what he thinks is right. What Hamlet thinks is right, however, is based on his values. Among the two values which come into conflict in the play are his loyalty to his father, and his belief that murder of any kind is wrong. So he must not only make the very difficult decision to choose between two closly held values, but he must also act on his decision - something which proves to be far more difficult. |