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One of the most confusing problems in Shakespeare's Hamlet is what takes him so long to act on the Ghost's request for revenge? If Hamlet did act sooner then this story would have been a short story. There are many valid reasons for Hamlet's slow behavior. Among them are Hamlet's self doubt, his concerns about the Ghost, his own psychological character, and the politics of Denmark.
Hamlet's delayed action is reinforced by his own words of self doubt. The Prince criticizes himself as a coward in three of the central soliloquies. In Act II, scene ii, he declares, "O, what a rogue and a peasant slave am I!" (II.ii.550), and then asks the question, "Am I a coward?" (II.ii.571). Then, he reprimands himself for not acting in the famous "To be or not to be" speech of Act II, scene i. Later, when Hamlet comes across Fortinbras and contrasts the bravery of his men at arms with his own indecisiveness, exclaiming, "How all my occasions do inform against me,/ And spur my dull revenge!" (IV.iv.-).
Another cause of Hamlet's delay are his uncertainties about the Ghost and the story he tells in the last scene of Act I. After hearing that his father's death was at the hands of Claudius, it is obvious that the Prince did not suspect the true depth of his uncle's evil. Hamlet needed a plan to have "grounds/ More relative than this" (II.ii.555). Hamlet was unsure if this is "a spirit of health or goblin damned" (I.iv.40). He uses the players to act out the play "Murder of Gonzago". It is only after watching the king's guilt during the play that Hamlet has any confirmation that what the Ghost has told him is true. With this little evidence, Hamlet's hesitation to kill his uncle because a ghost has told him to do so is understandable.
There are some psychological bases that are sources of Hamlet's procrastination. First, even before he learns of his uncle's evilness, Hamlet is in a depressed state of mind, saying "How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable/ Seems to me all the uses of this world!" (I.ii.1-14). Right from the beginning of the play, Hamlet is in a state of crisis that has weakened his desire and capability to take meaningful action. Second, there is a permanent flaw in Hamlet's character that holds him back from killing Claudius. Hamlet is more of a "thinker" than a "doer". He thinks about what the Ghost says and thinks about killing Claudius as he is praying. Hamlet should just listen to the ghost and just do it. Lastly, Hamlet can only act after he gains a sense of his own identity, announcing himself to be "Hamlet the Dane" in the graveyard scene (V.i.51).
Political forces outside the royal family do play a big role in Hamlet's delay. For example, Claudius tells his Lords that Hamlet must be exiled because his popularity with the people poses a danger to his reign. Then, he tells Laertes that they cannot punish Hamlet for killing Polonius because of the threat of a rebellion by the Prince's supporters. The same goes for Hamlet. Killing Claudius would be a political act of treason. These political views are absent from Hamlet's speeches, but they do come forth at the very end as the dying Hamlet directs Horatio to tell his story and appoints Fortinbras as the new king of Denmark. Hamlet may be unwilling to act because doing so is an offense not only to heaven but to the state and peace of Denmark.
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (I.iv.0). The disorder of the whole situation has been noticed even down to the guards, one like Marcellus. It is no wonder that Hamlet takes so long to take action. He had to overcome his own self doubt, he had to test the story of the Ghost, he had to grow into "Hamlet the Dane", and consider the political aspect of killing his uncle. Hamlet's failure to act sooner is legitimate and understandable. Without the hesitation, there would be no Hamlet The Classic.
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