Hamlet review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hamlet review - Essay Example When Hamlet first appears in this play in Act 1, Scene 2, he in reference to King Claudius; 'A little more than kin, and less than kind.' He refers to the stepfather relationship with King Claudius who has married his widow mother so soon after his father's death. Hamlet thinks that this rush is unkind of his uncle. He also refers to the usurping of his throne because Hamlet is the Crown Prince and rightful heir to the throne after his father's death. As Hamlet deludes to the facts of the case, he reveals he feels the injustice of King Claudius' actions. Hamlet makes a soliloquy which includes his views of his mother; Hamlet says that his mother, Queen Gertrude, has married his uncle who is unlike his father and unworthy. She remarried within a month and does not give sufficient time for mourning to be over. Hamlet feels the injustice that his mother has done to his deceased father and himself. He considers the union of his mother and her brother-in-law incestuous. That is another injustice that weighs on his mind. In Act 1, Scene 5, Hamlet meets and talks with his father's ghost, who reveals to him that he has been murdered by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. The Ghost says; 'So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.' It assumes that Hamlet will take revenge. It tells Hamlet that Claudius murdered the former King Hamlet and what it thinks are the injustices of Claudius and Gertrude. Barnet says that; 'Conscience, which permits passive disobedience, forbids murder, and thus makes cowards of some revengers.' (Barnet 234) This is shown in Hamlet's famous soliloquy when he debates with his conscience on whether to let things as they are or to take action to seek justice. Hamlet says; 'To be, or not to be: that is the question: 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.....' (Act 3. Scene 1). Hamlet's conscience interferes with his desire for justice. He cannot kill King Claudius while he is praying. Barnet says that; 'When Hamlet differentiates revenge from hire and salary (Act 3. Scene 3. Line 79), he specifies the gap between vengeance and justice. Revenge is always in excess of justice.' (Barnet 234). In Act 3, Scene 3, Hamlet wants to kill King Claudius while he is praying but he changes his mind because he thinks that being killed while praying will surely send the soul into Heaven. Hamlet does not desire that his uncle Claudius should be accepted into Heaven so he forgoes this opportunity. His conscience does not allow him to kill a defenseless man. Hamlet thinks that to do justice by his father, King Claudius should not be allowed redemption and enter Heaven. Killing for the sake of killing without considering the true meaning of revenge would not be real revenge but is 'hire and salary'. Hamlet means that a mercenary kills mindlessly without considering the goal of exacting true revenge. Hamlet may seem like a coward because he is afraid of the judgment of Heaven if he kills King Claudius