Three Forces That Cause A Delay In Hamlet

To Avenge or Not to Avenge
Has life ever felt so unfair that you wanted to up and quit, start anew in a new place with new people? In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, this exact question is plaguing the title character in his quest to avenge the death of his father. Throughout the play, Hamlet struggles with his family and the voice inside his head. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet experiences three forces that contribute to his delay in seeking vengeance towards the death of his father. The three forces that cause Hamlet to delay in avenging his father’s death are disillusionment with life, grief over father’s death, and problems with his mother’s sexual relationship. To begin, Hamlet’s disillusionment with life is one reason for his delay in avenging his father’s death. While speaking with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet begins

And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust.” (2.2.276-80)
Hamlet begins with explaining how perfect the invention of man is. He uses the words “piece of work” which makes me think of a beautiful painting. He then explains the qualities that make man perfect, such as their ability to reason and the unlimited capabilities they have in ways of thinking. Hamlet even adds that there is nothing more beautiful in the entire world than humans. This seems ironic because after he talks up man to his friends, he shoots them down altogether, comparing them to dust. Hamlet can see that life has no meaning since we all become dust once we die, which adds to his disillusionment toward life. Another example of his setbacks in life occurs after Claudius finds out Hamlet murdered Polonius, he goes crazy trying to find the body. Hamlet is of no assistance in the hunt, saying this to Claudius: “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the / fish that hath fed of that worm.”(4.3.25-6) Hamlet uses a clever phrase to explain that