Blog Post #2 Hamlet 1-3

Based on the first three acts in Hamlet, the point appears to be that when certain actions must be taken in order to avenge a wrongful act, a character’s anger, love, and grief can lead to indecisiveness and the failure to act when the time comes. In the opening act of the play, the reader is made aware of Hamlet’s intense grief for his father. While it appears as if his mother has moved on in her life and even married her late husband’s brother, Hamlet still holds onto his father’s memory. After encountering his father’s ghost and learning of his murder, Hamlet focuses his attention on avenging his father’s death. While Hamlet’s subsequent actions are clear, his failure to take the appropriate steps when the time comes results from a combination of his anger, love, and grief.

            When the Ghost’s first appears to Hamlet, the reader becomes aware of Hamlet’s duty to avenge the death of his father. While it is clear that Hamlet accepts this, his judgment is often times clouded in such a way that he does not take action when it appears that he should. The first signs of Claudius’ guilt appear when they are watching the play Hamlet has devised. While this is a clear indicator of his responsibility for his brother’s murder, Hamlet does nothing. Following Claudius’ exit, Hamlet encounters him alone praying. This is the perfect opportunity to kill him, but Hamlet again does not take action for fear of sending him straight to heaven. While the reader believes that the late king Hamlet’s death will ultimately be avenged, the actions taken by Hamlet appear to be overly cautious. Similar to other plays that we have read thus far, the tragedy as presented by Shakespeare seems to suggest that fate will ultimately prevail no matter a character’s actions. While Claudius’ death seems to be inevitable, based on the three acts presented here, it appears as if Hamlet will not kill Claudius at all. With this in mind, Shakespeare seems to suggest that characters must act in a certain way so that wrongful deeds will not go unpunished. However, Hamlet’s actions appear to diverge slightly in that he accepts his duty to kill Claudius, but when the time comes, it appears as if he cannot go through with it. Nevertheless, the play suggests that fate will prevail even if a character does not take the necessary steps in order to gain a desired results.

Hamlet: Ay, thou poor ghost, whiles memory holds a seat

In this distracted globe. Remember thee?

Yea, from the table of my memory

I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records,

All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past

That youth and observation copied there,

And they commandment all alone shall live

Within the book and volume of my brain

Unmixed with baser matter. Yes, by heaven!

O most pernicious woman!

O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!

My tables—meet it is I set id down

That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain

At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.

So uncle, there you are. Now to my word:

It is ‘Adieu, adieu! Remember me,’

I have sworn

Based on the context of this passage, the reader has been made aware of Hamlet’s father’s murder. Out of his anger towards Claudius and love and grief for his father, this passage allows the reader to understand why Hamlet takes on this duty. While his beliefs on the course of action are in line with Shakespeare’s beliefs, Hamlet’s subsequent actions demonstrate to the reader that his anger, love, and grief may be preventing him from avenging his father’s death until undeniable proof is presented. While at times it appears as if Hamlet will not go through with is at all, the play foreshadows that fate will ultimately take over when a character is un