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Essay The Central Question of Hamlet
The Central Question of Hamlet
Hamlet's tragedy is a tragedy of failure–the failure of a man placed in critical circumstances to deal successfully
with those circumstances. In some ways, Hamlet reminds us of Brutus in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." Hamlet
and Brutus are both good men who live in trying times; both are intellectual, even philosophical; both men want to
do the right thing; both men intellectualize over what the right thing is; neither man yields to passion. But here the
comparison ends, for though both Brutus and Hamlet reflect at length over the need to act, Brutus is able
immediately to act while Hamlet is not. Hamlet is stuck "thinking too precisely on th' event–".
Hamlet's father, the king of Denmark, has...show more content...
(Act 5, scene 2 . . . to Horatio)
Yet he delays. It is this delay in performing the act he has sworn to accomplish which leads to Hamlet's death. The
poison on the tip of Laertes' sword is but a metaphor for the poison of procrastination which has been coursing
through Hamlet's system throughout the play.
Hamlet's thoughts focus upon death rather than upon action. His words show an intense longing for death:
O that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the everlasting had not fixed
His canon 'gainst self–slaughter.
(Act I, scene 2)
In Act 3, Scene 1 Hamlet restates this theme:
To be, or not to be, that is the question–
The answer eludes Hamlet throughout the play, perhaps because it is the wrong question. Hamlet is alive and to be
alive means 'to do,' not merely to be. It is his inability to 'do,' his tendency to reflect rather than to act which
poisons Hamlet's resolve and causes his tragic death.
If the central question of the play is Why doesn't Hamlet kill Claudius immediately upon hearing the ghost's
accusation? the easiest answer is that if Hamlet had done so, the play would have ended in Act I. And then
"Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" would be a tragedy of plot management.
In his 1904 work "Shakespearean Tragedy,"* A. C. Bradley describes "Hamlet" as a play which includes eight
violent deaths, adultery, a ghost, a mad woman, and a fight in a grave. Here are
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Essay The Central Question Of Hamlet

  • 1. Essay The Central Question of Hamlet The Central Question of Hamlet Hamlet's tragedy is a tragedy of failure–the failure of a man placed in critical circumstances to deal successfully with those circumstances. In some ways, Hamlet reminds us of Brutus in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." Hamlet and Brutus are both good men who live in trying times; both are intellectual, even philosophical; both men want to do the right thing; both men intellectualize over what the right thing is; neither man yields to passion. But here the comparison ends, for though both Brutus and Hamlet reflect at length over the need to act, Brutus is able immediately to act while Hamlet is not. Hamlet is stuck "thinking too precisely on th' event–". Hamlet's father, the king of Denmark, has...show more content... (Act 5, scene 2 . . . to Horatio) Yet he delays. It is this delay in performing the act he has sworn to accomplish which leads to Hamlet's death. The poison on the tip of Laertes' sword is but a metaphor for the poison of procrastination which has been coursing through Hamlet's system throughout the play. Hamlet's thoughts focus upon death rather than upon action. His words show an intense longing for death: O that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self–slaughter. (Act I, scene 2) In Act 3, Scene 1 Hamlet restates this theme: To be, or not to be, that is the question– The answer eludes Hamlet throughout the play, perhaps because it is the wrong question. Hamlet is alive and to be alive means 'to do,' not merely to be. It is his inability to 'do,' his tendency to reflect rather than to act which poisons Hamlet's resolve and causes his tragic death. If the central question of the play is Why doesn't Hamlet kill Claudius immediately upon hearing the ghost's accusation? the easiest answer is that if Hamlet had done so, the play would have ended in Act I. And then "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" would be a tragedy of plot management. In his 1904 work "Shakespearean Tragedy,"* A. C. Bradley describes "Hamlet" as a play which includes eight violent deaths, adultery, a ghost, a mad woman, and a fight in a grave. Here are Get more content on HelpWriting.net