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The Progression Of Indecision In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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The Tragedy of Hamlet describes the progression of indecision beginning with the basic justification of insufficient information to the revelation that he fears what impact his actions will have on his conscience(“SparkNote on Hamlet” SparkNotes). His indecision is driven by his vulnerable narcissism than any concern of right and wrong. Hamlet was more concerned about his feelings in the future than he was about anybody’s feelings in the present. Despite his belief of Claudius’ involvement in King Hamlet's death, Prince Hamlet does nothing due to uncertainty that Claudius truly did kill his father. After returning home from school in Germany, Hamlet attends his father’s funeral only to discover that his uncle not only married his mother …show more content…

Prince Hamlet's inaction is due to the fear of any actions having on him. Hamlet is not certain what he is afraid of but is constantly drawn to indecision that feeds his overwhelming narcissism. Rather than act and seek revenge, Hamlet questions the nobility of any action at all. He is confused on whether to kill Claudius or let him live. This results in no action or indecision. After receiving proof from the ghost of his father that Claudius did kill his father Hamlet questioned whether to take any action and how it would impact his conscience in the future. Rather than take responsibility for the fate of his father and his promise for revenge, Hamlet was more concerned with impact he would have to contend with in the future. Although he had more knowledge then when he first returned home. He justified his inaction by questioning the existence of the ghost of his father. His decision was to use the details that the ghost provided and write a play that would be performed with Claudius in

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Hamlet develops the play-within-the play to try and get a reaction out of Claudius. Although it does work and he gets the reaction he desires on a silver platter just as he hoped, he is then further uncertain within himself and procrastinates on what needs to be done. Within this action of setting up this play he desires enough certainty to act on his thoughts and he receives that assurance, yet he still chooses not to, which then leads to more procrastination which is a common theme within the play. As a result of his inaction, others are harmed and chaos erupts. As such, Hamlet does not act despite having the external assurance that Claudius did murder his father, he just lacks the certainty within himself to do the actions.

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At first he procrastinates and even questions if his father’s ghost is real or not. He uses a play that he calls the “Mousetrap” to find out if Claudius is truly his father’s killer. Before the play even starts Hamlet says, “The plays the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King” (Shakespeare 2.2 633-634). Hamlet has the best opportunity to find out the truth and he takes this play as an advantage. It is mainly for Claudius to watch and react.

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Both the confirmation from the ghost and the determined vow for vengeance seem to provide him with the motivation to live and start taking action. Despite the facts, instead of following the ghost’s instructions and acting immediately, Hamlet fabricates a plan to “put an antic disposition on” in order to deceive Claudius while he plots to murder him. This plan to feign madness allows time for another inner conflict to develop in Hamlet; whether to act on the ghost’s words and take revenge or leave the situation alone and return to contemplating suicide. However, certainty cannot be achieved through overthinking and Hamlet requires certainty to act. His swaying between options and creating excuses to procrastinate causes him to lose faith in himself, those around him and his own life ultimately resulting in suffering for

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The main character of William Shakespeare’s tragedy is actually a confused person that’s stuck between two choices. Some may argue that he feels guilty for his father’s death and so it’s his duty to avenge it. While others may disagree and conclude that he is just a maniac who is both violent and dangerous. Hamlet passes through the lane of hesitancy, where he hesitates to kill King Claudius. As a matter of fact, the main conflict of Hamlet is that he feels both the need to solve the crime and punish the responsible.

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Like many things, Hamlet is intelligent and honorable, but his indecisiveness is the cause of his tragic downfall. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare portrays that Hamlet is very incapable of finishing the task at hand. Throughout the drama Hamlet faces many trials and tribulations due to his late father Hamlet, who was murderously killed by Claudius. His inability to kill Claudius and himself is one grand flaw of an epic hero. After King Hamlets passing, Hamlet entered an unknown state of mind that not only feared others for his wellbeing, but also feared himself.

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Hamlet’s perspective causes him to stall and make excuses as to why he should wait to kill Claudius such as waiting till Claudius has sin, in order to ensure that he wouldn’t go to heaven. His perspective on life through his soliloquy “to be or not to be” allows us as readers to interpret to the development of Hamlet’s character. It reveals his inner thoughts and adds more quality to the play. In this soliloquy, Hamlet is contemplating suicide, but is haunted by the unknowns of the

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When betrayed, one usually has negative emotions towards the people who have betrayed them. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare this idea is well illustrated, it is shown that betrayal affects the actions of Hamlet towards his friends and family, which indicates that the pursuit of vengeance often can cause one to forget the value of life. The betrayals that Hamlet suffered at the hands of his close friends and family, revealed important parts of Hamlet’s character, such as his intelligence, he is a very meticulous thinker that looks at situations from all angles, he is cunning, he has the ability to manipulate everyone into believing that he is insane, and he is skeptical, he does not believe any information until he finds it out for

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Hamlets tragic flaw is his indecisiveness to make decisions. This trait is demonstrated through the entire play and causes Hamlet to his own demise. When Hamlet has immediate suspicious of his fathers murder and later proof, he delays the murder, which is puzzling because the play is about revenge, and one would expect him to have done it earlier as he had ample amount of opportunities to do so. His indecisiveness has puzzled many.

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Throughout Hamlet, Prince Hamlet is faced against many situations that question his mental stability and ability to make decisions. His indecisiveness comes from the way he reacts to the situations he is put in and the way his mind presents these situations to him. The most important indecisive moments are Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts, his father’s ghost, and his vengeance to Claudius. When Hamlet is told by a ghost that has a resemblance of his father that Claudius had killed him, he vows to take vengeance and revenge his father’s death.

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In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s flaw is very evident when he states, “To take him in the purging of his soul/ When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?/ No./ Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent” (III. iii. 86-89). The whole entire play after Hamlet finds out that his Uncle Claudius murdered his father, he plots the execution of his selfish uncle. However, Prince Hamlet had the opportune time to avenge his father’s murderer but his recurring indecisiveness continues to get the best of him. Consequently, Hamlet’s over thinking and patience when it comes to making important decisions is what does not make him worthy of inheriting the throne.

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One example of how Hamlet shows being indecisive is when he is deciding whether to stay alive or to kill himself. " To be, or not to be, that is the question. Is it nobler in the mind to suffer. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Or to fight against a sea of troubles, And end them by fighting?"

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One of Hamlet’s tragic flaws that leads to his ultimate downfall is his indecision. In Act II scene ii, Hamlet’s soliloquy reveals how much loathing he has for himself. He sees himself as weak and useless for not avenging his father’s death after the spirit of King Hamlet discloses the information of his murder. Hamlet calls himself a coward because he does not have nearly as much passion for his deceased father as the actor does for Hecuba, a fictional character that the player does not even know. However, Hamlet convinces himself that he has a reason for not immediately killing Claudius.

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This can be seen throughout the play where he is determined at one point and starts to doubts himself later. His determination on taking revenge on Claudius after the appearance of the ghost changes as he starts to think what if “The spirit that I [he] 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"(2.2.585-590). Having the ability to contemplate in one thing but not being able to come to a decision or being influenced to make a certain decision lies within hamlet’s unconscious mind. In his unconscious mind he is afraid of the outcome of his decision because according to Carl Jung’s personal unconsciousness theory states that the unconscious mind “is really nothing but the gathering place of forgotten and repressed contents, and has a functional significance”(Jung). Repressed memories turn into either fear or confidence depending on the memory in their unconscious mind.

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Due to himself being too idealistic and restrained, he does not take decisive actions even after using the planned play to test the Claudius's conscience that could possibly expose himself and left himself in unfavorable circumstances. Hamlet’s inability to act is caused by his overanalysis of the situations that further render him from not carrying out actions in response. If Hamlet is not indecisive, he would not be uncertain about the evidence regarding to his uncle’s crime, he would not be delaying his revenge, he would not be having emotional breakdowns and become a tragic figure. Hamlet’s personality ‘borns’ and develops under his royal position and the growing

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