Hamlet character analysis: delay, morality and revenge

Hamlet

1. Introspective nature

   • philosophical
     • Not a man of action.
     • Searches for doubt and challenges the world
       • Prolongs action

2. Possiable reasons behind hamlets revenge.

   • Christian morals clash with revenger role.
     • e.g. not killing Claudius in prayer for fear of him going to Heaven
       • Oedipus Complex
         • Hamlet is unable to kill Claudius as it would be as it Hamlet was killing himself: as Claudius has killed the father and slept with the mother.
       • Moral faith shattered by Claudius and Gertrude's actions: makes him want Claudius to be responsible for his actions.
   • Hamlet's task is patriotic.
     • To save Denmark from internal corruption as well as Fortinbra.
   • Badly Written
     • Volitaire and TS Eliot believe that the delay is unexplainable as shakespere hasn't created Hamlet's character well enough for the audience to make sense of his behaviour.

3. Morality

   • Clear sense of right and wrong
     • Claudius and Gertrude's actions shatter his moral faith
   • not materialistic
     • The crown should be his.
       • Not ambitious like Fortinbra.
       • Concerned with murder and his disgust at the o'hasty marriage.
   • Ghost makes him question the morality of the world
   • Hamlet takes comfort in the idea of fate.
     • This helps him to justify killing Claudius as fate suggests that there is is no control over their destiny, this means that Hamlet isn't responsible for the murder of Claudius.
       • Theres a divinity that shapes our ends. 5.2

4. Women

   • sees his mothers marriage as a sign of her immorality. Disgusted by her betrayal and sexual appetite.
     • In his first soliloquy, he remembers how 'she would hang on him'
   • Hamlet projects hateful feelings towards his mother onto other women. referring to them as 'frail', and that their promiscuity makes them morally weak.
   • His love for Ophelia seems genuine, but acts odd in her presence.
     • By mistreating Ophelia it helps maintain his mask of madness.
       • Even with this in mind, it is hard to justify why he treats her cruelly. ' I loved you not'