Hamlets Procrastination A Study On His Failure To Act

Hamlet's procrastination: a study on his failure to act
Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare, between the years of 1599 and 1601, under the
reign of King James I. The play, set in the kingdom of Denmark, recounts the tragic tale of how Prince
Hamlet enacts revenge on his Uncle Claudius, for murdering his father (King Hamlet), marrying
Gertrude (his widowed mother, King Hamlet’s wife), and succeeding to heir of the throne. The tragic
flaw (Hamartia), of the protagonist Hamlet, is arguably his procrastination in the enactment of his
revenge.
Throughout the play, Hamlet had many opportunities to avenge his father’s death by murdering
Claudius; however, there was always seemed to be something restricting him. There are many
reasons as to why Hamlet may have delayed the revenge: be it the fact that Hamlet feared the
consequence of killing, maybe he doubted the ghost, it could be that Hamlet didn’t want to hurt his
mother, or maybe even the fact that he was a renaissance Prince, and didn’t believe in violence.
Hamlet’s procrastination cannot be proved by either one of these theories, but rather, a complex
combination of them all.
The most notable reasons as to why Hamlet delayed in the killing of Claudius are because he
doubted the nature of the ghost, and the consequence that came with killing another man, and
because he did not want to hurt his mother. Whatever the case, it is quite evident that Hamlet
procrastinated the avenging of his father’s death, thereby causing the deaths of Gertrude, Laertes,
Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and most importantly, himself; this procrastination – no
other factor – is refutably Hamlet’s tragic flaw. At the beginning of the play, the ghost presented itself.
No one knew who, or what the ghost wanted. It was Horatio who had to speak to the ghost: “If thou
art privy to thy country's fate, / Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid, / O, speak! / Or if thou hast
uphoarded in thy life / Extorted treasure in the womb of earth, / For which, they say, you spirits oft
walk in death, / Speak of it: stay, and speak” (Shakespeare 1. 1). Hamlet was not sure however who
the ghost really was. Following his religious beliefs, Hamlet may have easily interpreted the ghost as
being an evil spirit.
To determine whether Claudius was guilty of killing his father, and furthermore clarify the identity of
the ghost, Hamlet conducted a play, in which the murder of his father was re-enacted. This play,
known as the murder of Gonzago, was directed by Hamlet in which Horatio, would observe the
reaction of Claudius. If Claudius would become hesitant, Hamlet would then know, the ghost spoke
the truth: “I'll have grounds / more relative than this - the play's the thing / wherein I'll catch the
conscience of the king" (Shakespeare 2. 2).
Horatio observed that Claudius did react hesitantly, and therefore, Hamlet now knew that Claudius
was guilty. Hamlet was quite religious. This is seen in the prayer scene: “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: / A villain kills my father; and for that, / I, his sole son, do this same villain send / To heaven.
” (Shakespeare 3. 3. 77-82). This quote explains to the audience that Hamlet is very religious; he
fears the result of killing.
If he was to kill Claudius while Claudius himself was praying, Claudius would have been sent to
heaven, (as his soul was cleansed), and Hamlet would have been forced to suffer the sin of killing.
And finally, the last possible reason was that Hamlet did not want to hurt his mother. Hamlet did not
want to upset his mother, especially after the ghost, Hamlet’s father, warned Hamlet to not hurt her in
any way. Hamlet said, “will speak daggers to her, / but use none" (Shakespeare 3. 2). This indicated
Hamlet’s protection to his mother.
He spoke to her in an abrupt tone at times, but never physically treated her in any such way. Hamlet
didn't want to kill Claudius because he didn't want to see his mother suffer a loss of another loved
one. Sigmund Freud, a great scholar, goes deeper than this, and explains the situation as, “Oedipus
Complex. ” Freud explains that Hamlet is in love with his mother. In Shakespearean time, incest was
not publicly acceptable. Claudius was the only person that was forcing Hamlet to not have sexual
relations with his mother.
Hamlet, in his subconscious mind, had a desire to do exactly what his uncle had done; that is, get rid
of the husband so that he can have Gertrude for himself. If that is true, Hamlet cannot act because he
is fighting against his subconscious; he knows he wants something that is entirely evil, and if he were
to go through with it, he would be no better than Claudius. Freud continues this analogy with the fact
that Hamlet is only able to kill Claudius at the end of the play, because his mother has just died.
Therefore, Claudius serves no further purpose, and Hamlet can complete his revenge.
Throughout the play, it is quite evident that Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his procrastination in the avenging
of his father’s death. Most scholars tend to agree with the fact that the, “Oedipus Complex,” seems to
be most logical in the explanation of his procrastination; still, some critics believe that Hamlet simply
thinks too much. He wants the murder of the King to be perfect. Claudius has to go to hell. The
people have to know about the murderer Claudius. Hamlet spends too much time planning and not
enough time doing; thus, making the King's murder more complicated than other murders he has
orchestrated.
This procrastination is ultimately responsible for the deaths of most major characters, and the entire
outcome of the play. Had Hamlet enacted his revenge at the beginning of the play, the play as a
whole would have been un-existent. Not until everybody is dying, including himself, does he realize
that he should not have waited so long. He understands the consequences of his delay, and all of his
pent-up rage explodes, and he murders the King; getting the revenge he was after from the
beginning. It seems at this point, however, that it is no revenge at all, but simply the last tragic
mistake of lifeless indecision.
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