Abstract
Focusing on the evidence in the Hamlet's first two soliloquies, this paper examines the psychological complexities that immobilize Hamlet and delay his revenge. It includes critical theories of T.S. Eliot and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Evidence is also presented to show that in modern terms Hamlet could be described as a manic depressive. A close analysis of the diction and imagery of the soliloquies is supplied.

From the Paper
"Hamlet is Shakespeare's adaptation of an old tale out of the "revenge" tradition. As such it was considered an "artistic failure" (Eliot) by T.S. Eliot and others who offered critical thoughts over the centuries. In opposition to Eliot, others, like Samuel Taylor Coleridge see in Hamlet a model of the psychological complexities that they imagine in themselves. Coleridge said, "I have a smack of Hamlet" (Kermode 1135). With these words he started generations of scholars and theatregoers on their introspective analysis of how Hamlet's delay in killing Claudius shows them something about their personal demons of delay. Hamlet had plenty of motive for killing Claudius, but the psychological perplexity of his character delays his revenge. If he just rushed ahead and killed Claudius, the play would be over way too soon and all those who read and watch Hamlet would lose the opportunity to see their own complicated psyches reflected in the central character. Believing that Shakespeare was concerned with deep questions of character and their universal application, rather than that he "tackled a problem which proved too much for him" (Eliot), this paper, siding with the Coleridge faction, will analyze Hamlet's first two soliloquies to show complex psychological factors that answer the question: Why Doesn't Hamlet Just Kill Claudius?"

Tags:Hamlet, revenge, Shakespeare, tragedy, revenge, phsychological, Samuel, Taylor, Coleridge

Abstract
This paper explores why Hamlet delayed the revenge of his father's death by killing Claudius, in William Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet". The author examines several possible explanations about why Hamlet did not take immediate revenge including fear of becoming king, suffering from an Oedipus complex, fear of the ghost and other factors that may have played a part in Hamlet's reluctance to exact revenge on the man who killed his father.

From the Paper
"Along those same lines have been arguments that Hamlet was mentally stable but to weak minded to make a decision as strong as deciding to commit murder. This theory is not one that is easily supported however because he shows in many instances during the play that he can make a decision when he needs to. He also does not display weakness when he first begins killing characters. Whatever caused him to delay in the killing of his stepfather probably had more to do with the task of killing Claudius than the act of killing in itself."

Tags:revenge, reluctance, father

Abstract
Traditionally the role of the ghost in Elizabethan plays was to act as the messenger. In this paper about "Hamlet", the ghost of Hamlet's father is portrayed as a messenger of his own death and represents the vengeful spirit. The ghost in this case has a much more specific role than is generally seen in Elizabethan plays. The writer presents that this ghost is a crucial part of the play and manipulates the plot to its tragic end. The paper covers the themes of Hamlets delay in seeking revenge for his fathers death, the relationship between father and son, the nature of the ghost and Hamlet's insanity. In the conclusion the writer explains that it is through the influence of the ghost that Hamlet is shown his full range of human attributes and thus a meaning is attached to his life.

From the Paper
"The role of the ghost in the Elizabethan play was a familiar occurrence in this tradition. A ghost would usually act as a messenger. In Hamlet the ghost of Hamlet's father acts as a messenger of his own death and as a representative of the vengeful spirit. Thus in Hamlet the ghost has a more specific role than is generally the case in Elizabethan plays. This ghost, as will be seen, is a crucial part of the play, and manipulates the plot to its tragic end".

Tags:elizabethan, messenger, shakespeare, father, spirit, plot, manipulates, portrayed, death

Abstract
This paper presents and discusses five possible reasons why Hamlet delays his revenge on Claudius even though Hamlet discovers early on that Claudius poisoned Hamlet's father.

From the Paper
"William Shakespeare's Hamlet is one of the most fascinating and complex plays ever written. Young Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is a man of intelligence and education, but the death of his father the king motivates him to seek revenge against his uncle Claudius. His uncle had succeeded Hamlet's father to the throne of Denmark and commits incest by marrying the King's widow Gertrude. Although Hamlet discovers early in the play that his uncle Claudius had poisoned his father, he delays his revenge until several acts later in the play."

Tags:revenge, Shakespeare

Abstract
This paper discusses that Hamlet's delay in acting questions whether Hamlet was a coward or a man worthy of admiration despite his flaws. The author points out that some critics believe that the complexity of Hamlet's character indicates that he is aware of his own indecision resulting from his inner turmoil. The paper concludes that Hamlet was suffering from "information overload"; his delay is not a crime, and Hamlet should still be viewed as the tragic hero of Denmark.

From the Paper
"Margreta Grazia notes the importance of this struggle. She also points out that in modern drama, "character is destiny" noting, "Action thus issues from character and is expressive of the agent's subjectivity." She believes that "Hamlet is held back by reservations bears witness to his compulsion to move forward." This conflict leads to Hamlet's glory and doom, according to Grazia. The doom is present from the beginning of the play when Hamlet realizes the world is "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable." Grazia claims that Hamlet's infinite spirit is mired in materiality through the entire play. He becomes the victim of his own "spirit's war with itself," which prevents him from making a step in any direction. This point cannot be argued. We begin to question Hamlet's character and it appears obvious that his struggle begins within his mind."

Tags:delay, turmoil, flaw, overload, hero

Abstract
This paper explains that the concept of revenge in Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" is significant. The author points out that revenge serves as a point of convergence for both the contributing literary traditions, which influenced Shakespeare's work, and the multiple modes through which audiences in his time and in later centuries interpreted the action of the drama. The author reviews some of the critical literature on the tradition of revenge tragedy. The paper relates that the question of revenge is integral to the play "Hamlet" in resolving such otherwise puzzling elements as Hamlet's apparent delay and reluctance to take action.

From the Paper
"The concept of "revenge" in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is significant as it serves as a point of convergence for not only the contributing literary traditions that influenced Shakespeare's work, but also of the multiple modes through which audiences in his time and in later centuries interpreted the action of the drama. Indeed, as even a brief review of the critical literature on the tradition of "revenge tragedy" and Hamlet reveal, the question of revenge is integral not only in resolving such otherwise puzzling elements such as Hamlet's apparent "delay" and reluctance to take action."

Tags:shakespeare, hamlet, revenge

Abstract
The paper relates that the character of Hamlet, from William Shakespeare's "The Tragical History of Hamlet Prince of Denmark", is arguably the most analyzed yet elusive fictional character in world literature. This paper attempts to explore Shakespeare's character within a description-analysis-interpretation framework. The thesis is argued that Hamlet's brooding, almost depressive, state and hyper-critical character is central to the (in)action of Hamlet and to our understanding of why his character significantly delays taking his revenge throughout the course of the drama.

From the Paper
"The character of Hamlet, from William Shakespeare's "The Tragical History of Hamlet Prince of Denmark," is arguably the most analyzed yet elusive fictional character in world literature. This essay will attempt to explore Shakespeare's character within a description-analysis-interpretation framework. The thesis will be argued that Hamlet's brooding, almost depressive, state and hyper-critical character is central to the (in)action of Hamlet and to our understanding of why his character significantly delays taking his revenge throughout..."

Tags:shakespeare, hamlet, drama

Abstract
This paper discusses how Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" is, first and foremost, a revenge play--the entire plot revolves around Prince Hamlet's desire to exact revenge for his father's death. In particular, the paper discusses how like most revenge plays, the actual act is not achieved until the very end due to a series of unexpected delays in an effort to delay the momentum of the play. Through an analysis of the play, the paper attempts to theorize that Hamlet's delay is due to several points such as the ghost's origins giving him dubious reasons to follow its advice and Hamlet's nature which does not allow him to act in a manner without engaging all aspects of his emotional state. The paper also looks at how Hamlet's delay is simply because he wishes to wreak utter havoc upon the Danish court in order to achieve ultimate catharsis for himself.

From the Paper
"Readers have also argued that it is Hamlet's very nature that disallows him to exact revenge. It is true that Hamlet is a compulsive talker. It is also true that he is unlike anyone else in that bright, corrupt court--his education, physical distance, and introspective nature coincide to make him an alien in his native land. Hamlet uses words to protect, and to protest himself. While many readers assert that this is a symbol of Hamlet's innate profundity, it seems too that he speaks in order to delay action. He is not a coward--his later decisive actions belie this. It is, perhaps, his tragic flaw to be intelligent enough to know that he cannot act yet unable to stop himself from analyzing every aspect of his revenge plot (Johnston 15)."

Tags:ghost, revenge, Claudius

Abstract
This paper examines how William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is a play about revenge and indecision and how, because Hamlet's father is wronged, Hamlet himself spends most of the play deliberating on the subject of his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has killed his father, married his mother, and assumed the throne. It looks at how his father's ghost pushes him to seek revenge, although he does not want to, and how there are many possible reasons for his delay in vengeance, among them Hamlet's own mercurial nature and his desire to protect his mother. It examines Hamlet's quest for vengeance by looking at the text directly and taking cues from secondary sources and concludes that Hamlet's delay in taking vengeance is primarily based on his indecision, his self-interest, and his desire to protect Gertrude.

From the Paper
"Throughout the play, Hamlet makes his own choices regarding his plan for avenging his father, and these choices are affected by his own personal ideas about fate and what he sees himself as being chosen for (vengeance). Hamlet represents reluctance to carry out what he sees as his destined goal of getting rid of his father's murderer and his mother's seducer: "O cursed spite/ That ever I was born to set it right!" (Shakespeare, I,v, 188-9), he cries upon making Horatio and Marcellus swear to help him in his plans to oust Claudius. Hamlet is not just following the orders of his father's ghost; he is struggling with his own goals and ideas about what is right and wrong; his conscience is at war with his need for vengeance. He passes up many opportunities to either escape his fate of having to avenge his father and quiet his ghost or assure it. He chooses to make his vendetta intensely personal. This personal vendetta makes Hamlet a dangerous character because he is working on the whims of his own emotions."

Tags:ghost, gertrude, vengeance

Abstract
The paper relates that although critics and scholars have offered many different reasons for Hamlet's delay in avenging the death of Denmark's King, none of these possible causes have received unanimous acceptance. The paper then examines the various plausible explanations for Hamlet's delay in killing Claudius. The paper also explains that there is some degree of certainty that Hamlet's obvious madness, whether it was feigned or real, had a great deal of influence on his actions.

From the Paper
"It has also been said that Hamlet's delay was caused by doubt about Claudius's action or the motive of the ghost. It is seen that Hamlet does suspect the motives of the ghost when he wonders if it could be a devil trying to lure him to commit the hideous crime. But this doubt is soon settled during the play scene and Hamlet is still unsure of his reaction and leaves for England. Morality is also out of question as the possible cause because Hamlet feels no remorse or burden on his conscience when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern die. (V.ii.58) This shows that he fully understood the difference between killing an innocent man and killing an offender."

Tags:king, Denmark, revenge, madness