Revised Essay.

Not gonna lie, this is a lot better than the first rough draft.  Let's hope P thinks so, too.

In Hamlet, the main character is torn between avenging his father’s murder and delaying until the right moment, which may possibly be never.  In this Shakespeare play, Hamlet discovers that his father is murdered by his uncle, Claudius, who becomes his step-father.  His first thought is to immediately kill Claudius, but as the play progresses, the reader becomes aware that Hamlet may not ever intend to do it.  Hamlet has every reason to kill him this man.  Claudius stole his father’s crown and wife and reaps the rewards of his terrible crime.  However, Hamlet constantly finds reasons to not act.  At one point, his reasoning is that if he kills Claudius at a specific time, Claudius will go to Heaven and the violent action will be pointless.  It is vital that Hamlet kills Claudius without delay, but he chooses to not act when it is his duty.  This internal conflict and the way it is handled continues the plot, shows theme, addresses characterization of Hamlet, and ultimately ends the play in disaster and death which could have all been avoided had Hamlet done what he originally felt and knew was the necessary course of action.

Hamlet’s indecision keeps the reader interested, the plot moving along, reveals theme, and adds characterization.  If Hamlet had killed Claudius as soon as he discovered that he was the murderer, the play would only be one act long, and many of the questions posed by Shakespeare, through Hamlet, would not have been revealed.  Also, no lesson would have been learned about the necessity of fulfilling ones’ obligations.  There is a very common theme of being secretive within this play as well.   Once Hamlet learns about his father’s death, he refuses to tell Horatio and Marcellus upon them asking.  Perhaps Hamlet keeps this scandal a secret so there is no witness if he chooses to irresponsibly neglect what most would consider his duty.  This theme is repeated throughout for other characters as well, such as Claudius who is hiding his big secret, and Reynaldo, who is asked to spy on Laertes.  Aside from plot and theme, this inner-battle contributes to a large amount of characterization.  Hamlet’s soliloquies, after he is enlightened, express his darker qualities that the reader may not be aware of and gives greater depth to his character.  This helps the reader see another view point on all the activities that take place in the play.  When one views the world more cynically, more truth may be revealed.  Hamlet seems to have a peaceful nature which is interrupted with rash decisions, due to his inability to actually murder Claudius.   This erratic behavior contradicts what he appears to be on the outside.  Continuing on, the reader begins to understand Hamlet and his struggle, but also discovers the consequences of inaction.   

His indecision causes action to be delayed and others to get involved.  None of the other problems that the characters face would have arisen had Hamlet avenged his father’s death like he should have from the start.  While Hamlet is biding time, he decides to act insane.  This causes more problems than necessary.  His mother worries about him, Claudius feels as though he must get rid of him, perhaps even kill him, and his friends no longer trust him.  If Hamlet ever truly planned on murdering Claudius, he should have done the opposite and drawn attention to the quick marriage of his mother and his recently deceased father’s brother instead of attracting attention to his self.  The deflection of attention Hamlet creates has direct connection to the fact that he does not want to have to choose what to do.  Instead of doing what he should have, he allows the situation to get out of hand.  Claudius and Laertes wind up tricking him into a deadly sword fight that kills more people than intended.  Ultimately, Hamlet’s indecision leads to the death of multiple characters, including him self.  This relays the message that inaction in times of crisis is unacceptable and decisions must be made and put into practice in a prompt manner.