William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Literature Based report - Research Paper Example

?Cody March Mrs. Parker English 102 Per March 12, Hamlet is Not Coward, but Nobly Indecisive: A Critical Evaluation After a careful scrutiny of Hamlet’s, it can be inferred that Hamlet is Hamlet is not coward, but nobly indecisive. He appears to be a noble and considerate personality who thinks much about the consequences of his actions. He wants to take revenge on Claudius who is supposed to be the murderer of his father, King Hamlet. But he delays the revenge not because he is a coward. In fact, it is because he needs proofs of Claudius’s guilt. Still there are some cases where his actions can be put into question. For example, when Hamlet becomes sure of Claudius’s crime by staging the play of Gonzales, yet he postpones revenge. An in-depth analysis of Hamlet’s psychology will necessarily reveal that delaying the revenge is not the symbol of his cowardice; rather it is essentially the result of his excessively thoughtful nature. After the play of Gonzales, Hamlet gets a chance to kill Claudius when he was praying. :Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; / And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heaven, / And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd.” (Shakespeare Act III Scene iii) But he does not kill him because he thinks that killing Claudius in prayer will send him to heaven. This decision reveals that Hamlet is overly obsessed with the consequences of his actions. His soliloquies also reveal a great deal of his thoughtful indecisive nature. Though Hamlet seems to be a coward because of his indecisive nature, he is, indeed, a bravely considerate man. If Hamlet were a coward, he would not rebuke himself for his inability to act promptly. It seems that he is locked within his head. He thinks again and again; but he cannot come to any conclusion. He knows that his ability to settle the score has turned into a defining decision in the meaning of his life. If he fails, he fears he will lose that meaning of life. But he has to wait for the right moment and opportunity. So far by not doling out a punishment, he suffers from a form of meaninglessness. As a result, he says, “To be, or not to be, that is the question” (Shakespeare Act 3 Sc 1). In Act 3 Sc 1, his soliloquy exposes the same unsure of how to proceed mentality. He asks: “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: to die, to sleep/No more; and by a sleep, to say we end/The Heart-ache” (Shakespeare Act 3 Sc1). He lives in a bleak world of consideration, thinking, rethinking and even of dreaming, as Andrzej Wicher says in this regard, “Hamlet of course is commonly called a dreamer, the melancholy temper he seems to embody is typically connected with a dreamy disposition.” (pars.6) If he were a coward, he would not think about the possibility of revenge in the first place. Furthermore, if he were so, he would not be so conflicted from his indecision about retribution. He examines the option of whether it is better to keep it in for his country’s welfare, and asks “Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer/The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune” (Shakespeare Act 3 Sc1). He suffers because he has to wait for confirmation of Claudius’s guilt and thinks about the consequences that may come to him. He cannot decide whether he should suffer internally and let Claudius go unpunished in order to avoid further consequences, which might be harmful for his country. It is a question of a brave heart, not that of a coward, who never hesitates to suffer internally for his countrymen. Hamlet’s excessive thoughtfulness is symbol of his nobility, not of his cowardice. His nobility lies in thinking more and more about the consequences of his actions. He delays the vengeance. But it does not necessarily mean that he is a coward; rather he is a victim of procrastination. In fact, procrastination is a “psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree or another” (“Dealing with Procrastination” pars.2). For most people, it is a minor problem, but it can be a “cause for considerable stress and anxiety for many.” (“Dealing with Procrastination” pars.2) Hamlet’s soliloquies clearly show that he is severely affected with indecisive procrastination. Such psychological problem may be caused by “low self-confidence”, “a sense of inability”, “obsession”, “fear”, etc. (“Dealing with Procrastination” pars.2) Hamlet’s procrastination occurs mainly because of his obsession with the consequences of his actions. He is afraid of committing any foul-playing or wrongdoing. Referring to the nobility of Hamlet, James Hirsh comments that “Hamlet declares that [men] are incapable of action without expressing regret that this incapacity in his own case will prevent him from carrying out his plan for verifying that his father was murdered by his uncle.” (Pars. 14) Hamlet says that that man’s most awful inability is his incapability to commit fouls, as he says, “Surely He that made us with such large capacity,/Looking before and after, didn’t give us/That capability and godlike reason/To go stale in us, unused” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 38-41). It seems that these are words of a coward, but it proves Hamlet’s nobility. If he were a coward, he would remain inactive and never give a second thought about the consequences of his actions. Hamlet is also aware of his indecisive nature and delays the revenge. So he himself obsessively thoughtfulness is a symbol of cowardice. He says that “thinking too much on the event” is “some defeated principles” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 43-44). He thinks too much about his revenge. Hamlet considers such excessive thinking as something cowardice, as he says, “Now, where it is/Beastly forgetfulness, or some defeated principle/Of thinking too much on the event, / A thought which, cut in quarters, has but one part wisdom/And always three parts coward” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV, Line 46-48). Such a sincere approach to revenge reveals not only his indecisive nature, but the nobility of his mind. In fact, a coward will never suffer from his inability to take revenge. Only the brave acknowledges the cowardice part of their action and either they reprimand themselves for their cowardice, or they try to amend their course of action after they realize their coward-like role. Hamlet criticizes himself for his failure to implement his vengeful plans and finally decides to amend his irresolute behavior. Subsequently, he vows that he would be violent to take the revenge: “O, from this time forth, / My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!” (Shakespeare Act 4 Sc IV). The monologues of Hamlet expose that he suffers from an inner conflict relating to his existence. His vengeance failure snatches away the meaning of life. On the other hand, he cannot decide whether he should take revenge or not. It proves that though he seems to be cowardly because of his indecisive delays of his revenge, he is bravely considerate and thoughtful about the consequences of his actions. In conclusion, it can be said that Hamlet is not a coward, but a man with an indecisive nature. Since he is indecisive, he cannot but delay the revenge. But the reason of Hamlet’s procrastination is essentially his excessive thoughtfulness and obsession with the consequences of his actions. His habitual delaying seems to be the sign of his cowardice, but an analytical insight into Hamlet’s nature reveals that he is both indecisive and noble. Because of his obsessive thoughtfulness he cannot act promptly. But his thoughtfulness proves that he is a noble-minded man. Throughout the whole play, Hamlet repeats the same question many times in different words. His speech, “To be, or not to be, that is the question” is one of the examples of his quest for the meaning of life. He is tormented by this single question till the end of his life. This internal as well as existential suffering proves that he is a brave man who equally suffers from his delaying the revenge. Works Cited “Dealing with Procrastination Procrastination may be a sporadic issue and even beyond." Skills Ahead. 1 May 2010. General OneFile. Web. 18 Mar. 2013Hirsh, James. "The 'To be, or not to be' speech: evidence, conventional wisdom, and the editing of Hamlet." Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England 23 (2010): 34+. Academic OneFile. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Penguin. 2006 Wicher, Andrzej. "'The dread of something after death'--the relationship between Shakespeare's Hamlet and some medieval dream visions and ghost stories." Studia Anglica Posnaniensia: international review of English Studies 45 (2009): 137+. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. Read More