Hamlet: Reasons for delay-various interpretations

Reasons for Delay: Various Interpretation

 “Hamlet” is a revenge tragedy by Shakespeare. It deals with a son’s revenge for his father’s murder. He is forced to take revenge by the ghost of his father. His father is killed by his uncle Claudius, and then his mother Gertrude marries with his uncle. This is the main plot of the play. The sub-plot is love-affair between Hamlet and Ophelia.

 It is very much discussed issue about this play, that ‘why Hamlet delays in taking revenge?’ This play is written in Elizabethan Age. It was the time of war and violence. So Revenge was considered as holly thing at that time. We know that at the end of the play, when most of the main characters die, then Claudius is murdered by Hamlet. So ‘Hamlet’s delay’ is given various interpretations and different approaches.

·       Moral Approach:

This is the prime reason given for Hamlet’s delay. Hamlet is portrayed as a ‘thinking person’. He is a person with high moral values and ideals. He wants to take revenge, but cannot because in his mind there is constant argument going. This argument is between his logic & his emotion. His emotion tells him to take revenge, while his logic and his morality stop him.

His one logic is about Ghost’s reality. Ghost’s appearance does not become inspiration for him, but it becomes question for him. So he says that, “The spirit I have seen may be a devil.” His ideals prevent to kill his uncle only on the base of that ghost. He feels fear that if that ghost is devil then he would be sinner. He is in search of proof, so delay occurs.

Another point from moral approach is that he fears. He thinks in such a way that “why should I take revenge?” Many times his virtues dry his anger and passion to take revenge. Means it seems that he is more in favour of ‘forgiveness’. His ideals deny him to be violent. May be doesn’t want to be another Claudius. He does not think revenge as a holly thing.

Then Claudius repents. At that time Hamlet’s anger was at its height. But his repent, his confession makes Hamlet weak. Yes, of course, it is not his forgiveness. It is his strong enmity. He thinks that if he kills him while he is repenting, then he (Claudius) will surely get heaven. Hamlet wants his fall. So, he doesn’t kill him at this time. He thinks that it will be considered as ‘salary’, not as ‘revenge’.

From this approach Hamlet can be called as a ‘Sacrificial Hero’. For peace he avoids revenge. His generosity makes him a human being not a cruel murderer.

·       Psychological Approach:

                 From this point the reason for his delay is different. We can find His ‘Oedipus Complex’ as the reason for his delay. This phase is first revealed by Ernest Jones, in the “American Journal of Psychology” his essay “Hamlet and Oedipus” was published in 1910.

                 Jones says Hamlet’s in this delay Hamlet’s internal conflict is more responsible than external circumstances. Hamlet’s conscious and unconscious mind plays main role. Jones says that”The play is mainly concerned with a hero’s unavailing fight against what can only be called a disordered mind.”

                 According to Jones Hamlet was suffering from ‘manic-depressive hysteria’. In short because of this uncontrolled mind he becomes indecisive person. And he finds way to escape from taking any decision. These all comes from Hamlet’s repressed oedipal feelings.

                 Hamlet is ambivalent towards his father’s ghost. Means he is having good and bad both feeling. The good feeling is he was his lovable father and bad is Claudius, who is tyrant and rival of his father. They both are Hamlet’s own conscious-unconscious ambivalence towards the father.

                 From childhood, because of this oedipal feeling, he was rearing the secret hatred towards his father. So, it is his suppressed hostility or enmity towards his father as a rival for his mother’s affection. Now, Claudius kills his father. So, his secret desire is fulfilled by Claudius. Murder of father and incest with mother are his unconscious motives. It is done by Claudius. So, now Hamlet sees himself in Claudius. So, if he kills Claudius, he would kill himself in a psychological sense. So, his delay to fulfil ghost’s demand is comes from his vengeance. In his internal fight he has to fight from the both side. Means one thought leads him to this oedipal feeling (incest & parricide) and another thought makes him to leave first thought. This dilemma leads him into melancholy.

                 So, his ‘Oedipus Complex’ is leading him towards delay. At the end also we can see that Hamlet can kill Claudius only after the death of Gertrude. Because of his ambivalent attitude we can compare him with pendulum. He doesn’t remain stable till circumstances play their role.

·       Feministic Approach:

Because of father’s death and mother’s “overhasty marriage” with his uncle, Hamlet was broken. And his mother’s deed hammered his ego. He resists action with doubt & delays. Another thing is because of mother’s remarriage, he finds two opposite image of father, and Hamlet directs his anger toward his mother and also towards his beloved Ophelia.

From feministic view the reason of his delay comes differently. His aim is to kill Claudius. But instead of Claudius, he perhaps prefers females for attacking, weather she is Gertrude or Ophelia. His such nature can be seen in “nunnery scene” or “bed chamber scene”. Both times he becomes so much furious towards the women. And Hamlet plants a doubt in his mind that his mother had a hand in his father’s murder and she is faulty for being an object of male desire. His dryness towards sensuality comes from this thing.

Another interesting thing is because of fear and woman like emotions he becomes at some extent ‘feminized’. His hatred of woman turns inwardly and destroys him. So, in the place of Claudius or rather in the option of Claudius Hamlet finds both the women as his hunt. At the end also we can see that all female characters died or murdered first, then Claudius and Hamlet. So Hamlet concentrates upon females instead of the real villain.

So these are some reasons and interpretations of his delay. His delay to kill or to revenge is very much discussed issue in literary world. But if we see out of such discussion, we can find that Hamlet simply becomes indecisive to the action. And this indecisiveness comes from the mental strokes that he gets continuously. First father’s death then mother’s marriage with his uncle then father’s ghost says that Claudius is murderer...and the act of revenge. May be because of this constant pain he would become mentally dumb. So, take action becomes difficult for him. And may be after such strokes he thinks revenge as meaningless activity. His morality dries his anger. So that Hamlet faces delay to take revenge for his father’s murder.