The Death Of Young Hamlet Essay, Research Paper
The death of Hamlet was caused by a number of reasons, many of which were his own fault. Although this may be disputed it is a fact that this was a tragedy, but aside from the obvious reasons (the trap set by Claudius and Laertes) there were steps leading up his death which could have easily been avoided.Probably Hamlet’s most tragic flaw is that he becomes too involved in his thoughts, it is his tendency to ponder upon the possible outcome of every situation and scenario that he faces in his life. Imagine playing a game of basketball with a friend and whenever that friend touches the ball he runs through every possible outcome of every action he could take. Well by the time he takes his first dribble (depending on weather or not your running with real ballers) its stolen and your opponent has just run up the score by two more points. This game of basketball is Hamlet’s life. The ball is in his court he has possession, but he doesn?t act when he has the opportunity to put Claudius away for good, allowing Claudius to get back in the game. With a more than worthy opponent that was a fatal mistake which would eventually cause Hamlet his life. It seems at times Hamlet would torture himself thinking too in depth about things which greatly displeased him;She married. Oh most wicked speed, to postWith such dexterity to incestuous sheets. It is not, nor it cannot come to good.But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.(Hamlet, Act1, Scene 2, lines 156 ? 159)This leads him to the brink of madness and he seems to place little value on his own pathetic life.Hamlet’s faith is another cause of his death, his faith in the ghost, his faith in himself and his faith in his Religion. Upon being told of the ghost, he has some hope that his father might still be alive, but upon further investigation he realizes that this is his fathers spirit and the ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius was responsible for his death. Since Hamlet already has Hatred in his heart towards Claudius for the over hasty and incestuous marriage to his mother this is easy for Hamlet to swallow. He wants to believe the ghosts story so he vows revenge on Claudius for his fathers murder;O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!My tables ? meet it is I set it downThat one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;At least I?m sure it may be so in Denmark.So uncle, there you are. Now to my word:It is ?Adieu, adieu, remember me.?I have sworn?t.(Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5, lines 106-112)Hamlet should now put these words into action. In those times your word was everything, swearing allegiance to the ghost means that he now has to go revenge his father?s ?foul and most unnatural murder?(as put by the ghost, Act 1, Scene 5, line 25). But later on in the play Hamlet allows himself to get carried away in his thoughts once again, he begins to put more faith in himself testing the credibility of this ghost that he?s seen. Hamlet comes up with a plan to see if the ghost is genuine or if it is a fraud;I know my course. The spirit that I have seenMay be a devil ? and the devil hath power T?assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps,Out of my weakness and my melancholy,As he is very potent with such spirits,Abuses me to damn me. I?ll have groundsMore relative than this. The play?s the thingWherein I?ll catch the conscience of the king.(Hamlet, Act 2, Scene2, lines 551 ? 558)Hamlet’s plan works as well as he expected and the kings actions prove him to be as guilty as sin. Hamlet now has the go ahead, the death of Claudius should be immanent. On the way to his mothers bed chamber he comes upon Claudius who is unaware of his presence. Hamlet could have killed Claudius right there, but put off his revenge because he thought that Claudius was praying. If Hamlet killed Claudius while he was confessing his sins he believed of course since it was the teachings of the church that Claudius would go to heaven;Now might I do it pat, now is a ? praying,And now I?ll do?t ? 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 sole son do this same villain send To heaven.(Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 3, lines 73 ? 78)Therefore Hamlet would not be avenging his fathers murder by sending Claudius to heaven. Now he is placing faith in his religion, but by doing this he stalls waiting for a time when the king is committing a sin.But Hamlet doesn?t realize that putting off his uncles death would lead to his own. Another factor in the death of Hamlet, his inability to act. When the time came to take up action he would freeze up and shrivel into a cowardly state. It is evident throughout the novel He had the opportunity to avenge his fathers murder, Claudius at times was unsuspecting of Hamlet’s motives and was an easy target. Yet Hamlet stalls, he postpones his vengeance while in the meantime going through his thoughts and emotions faster than the hulk goes through T-shirts. Maybe Hamlet was somewhat of a coward, waiting for someone to give him some encouragement, but the only one who Hamlet confided in was Horatio. Even though Horatio was genuinely concerned with Hamlet’s dilemma he gives no real advice to Hamlet as to weather, or how he should seek revenge. This flaw proves to be his most fatal one, but not only for himself but for his mother, and Laertes who both fell a victim to Claudiuses treachery. As for Ophelia he might have just ended up marrying her and claiming the throne of Denmark for himself.Hamlet eventually as the play portrays gets his revenge, but the play still ends on a sour note, when the noble Hamlet dies along with his mother, and the brave Laertes. What makes this tragic was the loss of life which could have been avoided if he had not made some of the major mistakes mentioned in this essay. It is a shame that Hamlet ended up the same way as his father, both of them sent to their grave by the same evil person. It is apparent that Hamlet cares little for his own well being and security, he feels that there are not many reasons to continue his miserable and pathetic life and makes this very clear in one of the most famous lines of the play;To be, or not to be, that is the question ? Whether ?tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,(Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1, lines 56 ? 59)Had hamlet cared more for his own well being maybe he would have thought twice before accepting the invitation given of Claudius even though Horatio was against it. This poor judgement on Hamlet’s behalf was the final step, which contributed to his death. He lived and died by the his hard thinking and carefree spirit. His whole purpose in life was to seek revenge for his beloved fathers murder. Maybe if he thought a little more like his father that would have made his father proud, I?m sure the ghost of Hamlet was not pleased with his sons action, and so the tragic death of Young Hamlet was all for naught.