Hamlet is Not a Coward Essay -- Essays on Shakespeare Hamlet

Hamlet is Not a Coward      Ã‚   The first seven lines of Hamlet's soliloquy in the third scene of the third act have been the cause of debate for centuries as to what they reveal about Hamlet's character. Some say that he has chickened out of the prime opportunity to obtain the revenge that he has been commissioned to achieve by the ghost of his father. They accuse Hamlet of being a pacifist who hasn't the heart to put his thoughts into action-that he has merely talked himself out of the deed. My interruption of these lines, however, shows that just the opposite is true. The Prince of Denmark is indeed set upon avenging his father's death, and rather than backing away from the task at hand, he is going forward in away which is intended to bring dishonor to Claudius and maintain his own honor at the same time.    Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; And now I'll do't. And so 'a goes to heaven; And so am I reveng'd. that would be scann'd: A villain kills my father; and for that, I, sole son, do this same villain send To heaven. Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge.    --Hamlet III.iii.73-79       Hamlet becomes truly committed to revenging his father's murder after the Mouse Trap scene in Act II in which the guilt of Claudius is clearly brought forth. His little play had a two fold effect which spurs Hamlet forward. First of all, by mimicking the exact way in which Claudius killed his brother and married his sister-in-law, Claudius knew that Hamlet was on to him. The second effect may or may not have been intend by Hamlet, but the murderer in his play happened to be the nephew of the king, which may have been interrupted by Claudius as Hamlet's future intentions. Both of ... ...ational thought, for had he stopped and thought for a moment, he would have realized that it couldn't possibly have been the King-he had just left Claudius praying.    Revenge is a dangerous game to play as Hamlet well found out. In the end his father's death is avenged, yet the kingdom has been lost to Norway - a greater tragedy than the death of all the main characters.    Works Cited and Consulted: Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations Of Hamlet. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Charney, Maurice. All of Shakespeare. New York, NY. Columbia University Press. 1993. Evans, Gareth Lloyd. The Upstart Crow-An Intro. to Shakespeare's Plays. London, England: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1982. Magill, Frank N. Masterplots. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1995. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Garden City, NY: Garden City Books, 1936