To Act Or Not To Act Cognisant of the depression he is in, Hamlet lives out his life as a prince. Hamlet’s father had recently died and suspicions rise in Hamlet after his mother remarries quickly to his uncle. Hamlet’s deceased father's spirit then comes about to him and tell him that his uncle, in fact, was the one who killed the king. Hamlet devises a plan for revenge against his uncle but fails to completely execute the plan. Afterwards, many people are killed, mostly due to Hamlet’s failure to execute or failure to execute correctly. In this Shakespearean play, the action and inaction of characters are seen to be some of the central ideas portrayed in the text. Characters like Hamlet, Laertes and Ophelia are all victims of the consequences …show more content…
Hamlet tells Ophelia, “If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too. Farewell. (3.1.146-152). Ophelia acts in a way of inaction. This demeaning statement made by Hamlet should show Ophelia how he feels of her, yet she chooses to ignore it and not do anything to counter these claims of Hamlet. While many would have acted and would have broken things off with one who would change from love to disgust, Ophelia chose to not act on this and it ultimately caused her …show more content…
An instance, in particular, is during Hamlet’s soliloquy. Hamlet states, “To be or not to be—that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And, by opposing, end them (3.1.64-68)” During this soliloquy, Hamlet struggles with the thought of suicide. After deliberating the thoughts, along with others about his father, uncle, and mother, he ultimately decides to be inactive in any sort of plan in the future. Hamlet’s inaction continues in the play, making things worse him overall. While he does have few instances of action, they also make things worse