Causes and Results of Hamlet's Indecisiveness

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the causes and results of the agonizing indecisiveness of Hamlet in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". The paper shows how Hamlet's failure to act sooner and more decisively in avenging his father's death leads to an unfortunate series of ill-timed, poorly executed events that ultimately result in many deaths, most importantly that of Hamlet himself.

From the Paper:

"William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet focuses on causes and results of agonizing indecisiveness by Hamlet, teenage heir to the throne of Denmark who returns from England, his father having died suddenly and mysteriously. Here Hamlet immediately faces two unpleasant, closely related facts: first his mother Queen Gertrude has quickly married his uncle Claudius; and second, as a result Hamlet is denied his birthright. As Marcellus states early on (even before the ghost of Hamlet's father appears and asks his son to avenge his death): "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (Act 1.4.91)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Eliot, T.S. "Hamlet and his Problems." The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry andCriticism. London: Methuen, 1922. 74-88.
• Lawall, Sarah, et al. "William Shakespeare 1564-1616." The Norton Anthologyof World Literature, Vol. C (Pkg. 1). New York: Norton, 2002. 2821-2825.
• Levy, Eric P. "The mind of man in Hamlet." Renascence. July 1, 2002. 219-223.
• Russell, John. Hamlet and Narcissus. Newark: University of Delaware Press,1995. 72.
• Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In The Norton Anthologyof World Literature, Vol. C (Pkg. 1). (Eds. Sarah Lawall et al.). New York:Norton, 2002. 2828-2918.

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