Hamlet's Delay

Hamlet's Delay

Some may say, Hamlet was just a scared little boy, others may say that he just wasn't manly enough to do such a deed, and then there are those who say that maybe he truly did not want to become a murderer. Then there are the facts about why our beloved Hamlet decided to wait before he struck his enemy in the name of his father. There are many different possibilities as to why Hamlet could not commit such a crime, and each of those reasons with plenty evidence to support the. The three main reasons that I am sure we can all agree on would be the that of Hamlet's internal reasons, external reasons as well as the reasons that author Robert R. Reed, Jr. have proposed. Now lets get a little more into debt about these three main theories as to why Hamlet denied his most famous opportunity to avenge his poor father.

Hamlet's internal reason could be that he delays killing others for the same reason he would delay killing himself. As told by author, Goethe who quotes Hamlet, "woe is me that I was born to set them straight again." Goethe goes on describing this quote as a symbol of Hamlet's conduct. While on the other end author A. W. Schlegel says, and I quote, "its purpose was to shew, that a deliberation which would exhaust to the farthest limits of human foresight all the possible contingencies and consequences of a particular act." (P.213-14) Goethe feels that Hamlet is a character born a true prince with nothing less than a good heart and tender soul. Schlegel however finds with Hamlet's weak willed characteristics. He feels that his weak will causes him to seem as though he is a coward who would rather rid himself of his enemies through ways of "accident" and trickery than becoming face to face with them and doing what he sees fit.