After Hamlet has a moving conversation with his father's ghost, he hesitates to act upon the ghost's request out of fear that the ghost is actually an agent of the devil with the intention of dooming his soul. Hamlet does not trust the ghost and wants proof that Claudius actually assassinated his father by pouring poison in his ear while he was sleeping in the orchard. Hamlet is also a God-fearing Christian and does not want to damn his soul by murdering an innocent man. In addition to not fully trusting his father's ghost and worrying about damning his soul, Hamlet is a passive, inactive individual, who would rather discuss his thoughts and argue with himself rather than take action. Hamlet decides to spy on Claudius during the play The Murder of Gonzago to confirm whether or not the ghost was telling the truth. It is important to note that even after Hamlet receives proof that Claudius assassinated his father, he refuses to take action and continues to hesitate.
Hamlet usually prefers to think before rushing into a course of action. Therefore, although he is upset by the ghost's words, it occurs to him that the spirit he saw might not actually be the ghost of his father. It might, instead, be a demonic figure sent by Satan to tempt him into killing an innocent man. Hamlet, as a person of conscience, doesn't want to kill his uncle if his uncle hasn't murdered his father. It would be a terrible crime to do so, and it would endanger his own soul.
Hamlet, therefore, though depressed, rouses himself to try to test whether or not the ghost is telling the truth. He wants to do something that will startle Claudius into betraying his guilt—if, indeed, he is guilty. When the actors comes to the castle, Hamlet has the idea of having them reenact his father's murder as the ghost described it to him. Hamlet wants to see if Claudius reacts to it in a guilty manner—which, of course, he does.
No comments:
Post a Comment