Hamlet made a crucial mistake in not killing Claudius when he had the perfect opportunity. However, Hamlet's decision was clouded because when he heard Claudius "repenting", he thought his prayer was pure. He balked because if he acted immediately, Claudius would go to heaven instead of burn in hell. Appropriately, Hamlet concluded to wait until he witnesses Claudius in a sinful act so that when he died, he would receive the same fate he placed upon his brother.
Although Claudius was confessing, he was not truly repenting. He pleaded, "May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?" Claudius is asking for forgiveness but is not willing to abandon what he obtained from his evil doing. What an idiotic question! That is in fact equivalent to someone robbing a bank, getting caught, and then asking, "hey, um I apologize for robbing your bank and hope you forgive me but can I keep the money?" Even a fool wouldn't categorize this as an apology. Therefore, Claudius repentance speech was bologna and God would not have accepted that crap. If Hamlet had just murdered Claudius right then and there, he might have still been sane and Polonius would still be alive. But hey, the playwright wouldn't be so great if Shakespeare decided to end it there.
Anyway, Hamlet's hesitation may have also caused him his life. Claudius obviously still wants to keep his crown but he knows that Hamlet is aware of what he has done . Now tell me, if Claudius was able to kill his own blood, why would he flinch to kill Hamlet? To make matters worse, Hamlet has completely lost his mind. He believes he knows what he is doing but I highly doubt that is so. Someone that is sane would totally lose it if they killed the wrong person and since Hamlet was supposedly sane, he has now gone mad! What is humorous about the matter is that he is so sure that he has it all together. Hamlet has lost his mind and Claudius is now gunning for him. If Hamlet had a glimpse into the future, he would have probably killed Claudius when he had the chance.
I completely agree with your perspective. I believe that Hamlet didn't kill his uncle at that specific point because he cares about him and wants to also think things over. If he kills him when he's least expecting it he will not have to think about what will happen.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your opinion on Hamlet missing his chance to kill his uncle. When is he going to have another chance to murder Claudius. Hamlet let his spitefulness control his actions. He over thought the whole situation.
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