Something was definitely rotten in the state of Denmark!

The king was dead of a terrible murder, a betrayal from his

own brother, and young Hamlet was enraged with a sense of

needing to seek revenge, which came with his father’s

passing. You might think that this sort of revenge would

come in the form of a crime of passion; something that would

be quick and bloody. This was not the case in Shakespeare’s

Hamlet, as the young prince unexpectedly drew out his plans

for revenge over a large amount of time due to his own

weakness of numbness. Hamlet was full of big ideas and

intentions, but he failed to act and to carry out the deed

of revenging the death of his father by killing Claudius.

Hamlet had his reasons for not acting. I think that partly

he wanted it to be unexpected. Hamlet was definitely a

smart guy, and throughout the play it seemed as though

everything was premeditated. He did nothing on a whim. I

think this was another reason for Hamlet prolonging a quick

revenge on Claudius. Nearly all of Hamlet’s actions, with

the exception of his outburst at Ophelia’s grave, were

preplanned. Although Hamlet was never quick to action, he

was always thinking aloud and giving those long speeches.

He probably thought too much for his own good at times. He

wrestled with many ideas, thoughts, and feelings over the

course of the play, delaying any real action until the time

was right.

Hamlet was a perfectionist in revenge. He wanted

everything to be perfect, and this caused him to take

unusual steps to gain his revenge on Claudius. Hamlet’s play

within a play caught the conscience of the king. Hamlet did

not only want to kill his father’s murderer; he wanted to

send him to an eternal punishment of damnation. This caused

Hamlet to move slowly and carefully in his revenge.

Hamlet’s delay of vengeance was necessary in order for

his ideal revenge to come about. Unfortunately Hamlet’s

ideal plans never came to be. Hamlet’s choice to remain

idle didn’t cause, but certainly helped bring a downfall to

himself. Had Hamlet remained inactive, he certainly would

have been able to complete his plans for revenge on

Claudius. When Hamlet revealed himself at Ophelia’s tomb, he

lost his element of surprise on the king, and causing most

of his plans to come apart at the seams. In the end,

Hamlet’s patient form of acting did not destroy his revenge,

but his action regarding his love for Opheila did. In some

ways, Hamlet let down his guard when he saw Ophelia in her

coffin during the dishonorable burial. That opened the door

for the current king to plan his own form of vengeance on

Hamlet before Hamlet had a chance to kill the king. In the

end, all was lost and no one had a happy ending.

Word Count: 482