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Was Hamlet Justified In Seeking Revenge

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The Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet revolves around King Hamlet’s death. His own brother, Claudius, caused his death and as a result King Hamlet’s son, Prince Hamlet was devastated and grew hatred towards Claudius. Prince Hamlet then vowed to avenge his father’s death. To give an overview, Hamlet was a very loyal prince. He was also a very noble man. He had a strong belief in Christianity and this belief along with many others caused him to struggle with the idea of killing Claudius and getting the revenge he thought he deserved. At first he was convinced that his revenge would be quick and easy. He told the ghost that his focus would be solely on seeking revenge. (“Ill wipe away all trivial fond records” I.v.100). However, Hamlet start to evaluate himself and the revenge is delayed. …show more content…

For example, at the end of Act 3, Hamlet has the chance to avenge his father and kill Claudius. However, he chooses not to do so because he thinks Claudius is praying. Due to his Christian belief, he feels that killing Claudius while he is praying will send him to heaven meaning it will not be true “revenge”. (“Now might I do it pat. Now he is praying. And now ill do’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged. That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven” III.iii.74-79). His reasoning makes perfect sense because if he was really praying and asking for forgiveness, his sins would be forgiven and he would be free from sin. Nevertheless, Claudius wasn’t technically praying for forgiveness. He said, “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below”. He thinks repenting/praying is useless because he won’t be forgiven. Therefore, Hamlet missed the opportunity of killing

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Hamlet observes Claudius praying and has the perfect opportunity to take his revenge, but this is an example of him straying from impulses. He decides to wait to kill him, declaring that he would go to heaven if killed immediately after praying. However, the greatest irony is that Hamlet will not have another chance to kill Claudius. This just proves that at the end of the day, some decisions need to be made split second and cannot be endlessly deliberated

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However, seeing him praying made Hamlet think that Claudius is asking God for forgiveness for his sin he had made. If Hamlet were to kill Claudius, it can send Claudius up to heaven, and not to hell. This is

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Hamlet, also, could not get over the death of his father. He found out when his father’s ghost came back that his brother, and Hamlet’s uncle, murdered him. He then was willing to do anything possible to get revenge on Claudius, his uncle. Both of

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785 Words | 4 Pages

In Act 3 Scene 3 (lines 73-75), we are shown this through Hamlet’s words, “Now might I do it pat, now ‘a is a-praying, And now I’ll do’t. And do ‘s goes to heave, And so am I revenged. That would be scanned.” It is also displayed in Act 3 Scene 3 (lines 82-87), “ But in our circumstance and course of thought, ‘Tis heavy with him; and am I then revenged, To take him in the purging of his soul, When he is fit and seasoned for his passage? No.”

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732 Words | 3 Pages

Also, in his time of dying, he found out some important information about King Claudius that he would have never discovered without these circumstances. Revenge is powerful, and if not well contained and controlled it can be fatal. From Hamlet I have learned that power and revenge can consume a person if they are not careful and can cause craziness and mass

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628 Words | 3 Pages

And so am I revenged. That would be scanned, a villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven” (line 74-79). Hamlet believes that Claudius is praying and doesn’t want to kill him, because he doesn’t want him to go to heaven. This inability is the tragic mistake that hamlets creates, to his soon to be

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1386 Words | 6 Pages

As Claudius repents, Hamlet feels as though it's the best time to kill him until he says: And so ’a goes to Heaven; And so am I revenged. That would be scanned. A villain kills my father; and for that, I, his son, do this same villain send To heaven (3.3.73-78) Essentially, Hamlet wanted to murder Claudius because he was the Old King’s murderer.

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734 Words | 3 Pages

To test Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet adds a scene reenacting the murder of Hamlet’s father. Claudius abruptly leaves the play, and afterward, tries to pray. When Claudius is praying, Hamlet is considering killing him, but decides not to because he wants to kill him in sin so that he does not get a chance at last confession. They also all end up dying later in the story due to a sword fight and poison.

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⇒ Hamlet is satisfied with the outcome with the play ⇒ He is finally ready to put his revenge into action ⇒ When Claudius prays, the audience is given certainty that he did kill the late King Hamlet ⇒ Hamlet waits again because he doesn’t want to kill Claudius while he is confessing his sins; Hamlet believes he will go to heaven ⇒ Hamlet wants a more radical revenge, he wants to make sure that the punishment will be sufficient - not just to kill him, but to make sure he goes to hell ⇒ Hamlet is trying to find certainty in something that is uncertain (death and the afterlife) ⇒ Hamlet cannot control Claudius fate because he will never no for certain if Claudius’ spirit has gone to heaven or hell ⇒ But Hamlet wants to ensure fairness and that’s

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Hamlet is a moral character struggling to find his way in an immoral world. He wants what is best for his family and kingdom, and is greatly disturbed by his mother’s marriage and father’s death. While speaking with the ghost, Hamlet wrestles with the conflicting ideas of Christianity and familial loyalties. The ghost tells him he needs to kill Claudius, but Hamlet can not figure out if that is the moral thing to do. His religion tells him that he cannot kill Claudius no matter the circumstances.

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Towards the end of the play, Hamlet finally receives his chance at revenge in the form of a fencing match against Claudius. Although he kills Claudius, a poisonous sword wounds Hamlet, and he exclaims that “O, I die, Horatio./ The potent poison quite o’ercrows my spirit”(5.2.352-353). Revenge distorts Hamlet’s mind to the extent that he challenges Claudius to a fencing match, even though Claudius is out to kill Hamlet. As a result, Hamlet dies, and, in turn, illustrates that revenge hinders logical decision making, and induces dire repercussions.

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710 Words | 3 Pages

His conscience was aligned with his religious beliefs which got in the way of allowing him to act on his thoughts. This sparked an inner conflict in Hamlet about what to do. When Hamlet was first told by the ghost to kill King Claudius, Hamlet overthinks the decision on throughout the book. Hamlet knows his conscience driven mind will prevent him from acting on his instincs to kill Claudius. “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all” (3.1.87) Hamlet is angry with himself that he has let his conscience come in the way.

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992 Words | 4 Pages

Hamlet is presented with several opportunities to pursue his vengeance, but delays each time for multiple reasons in which reveal his true nature. There are many reasons Hamlet restrains from killing Claudius. Firstly, Hamlet does not know whether the ghost should be believed or if it is just the devil in disguise trying to trick him. This is a valid reason because if the ghost is the devil, then Hamlet’s soul will be damned to the Hell. Hamlet’s

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1380 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, it is evident that Hamlet is indecisive and contemplative, he is stuck in an internal conflict between what choices he should make and how he should go about avenging his father’s death. Hamlet acts mad in order to make people believe he has gone crazy so no one is suspicious of his plans to kill Claudius. He does not want to kill Claudius while he is praying because he believes Claudius may go to heaven-- he wants Claudius to pay for the murder of King Hamlet and burn in hell. Hamlet suggests that he kill Claudius “when he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,...about some act That has no relish of salvation in ’t—Then trip him,...his soul may be as damned and black As hell, whereto it goes”(83). Hamlet often overthinks situations and in this process fails to act and releases the

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1156 Words | 5 Pages

The ghost also reveals that his death was no accident and was murdered by his brother Claudius and should be revenged. These events challenged Hamlet and cast’s a burden to his moral faith. Hamlet decides to not act quickly with his plans of revenge considering there was no evidence to prove that Claudius killed his

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