Hamlet Essay
...igious because since he was not religious while he was alive, he has been punished for it. Another example is when Hamlet sees Claudius praying and says, “A villain killed my father, and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven” (I, 3, 81+). Hamlet is not religious in his everyday life, but when it comes to killing Claudius while he is praying, Hamlet shows some religious knowledge. Hamlet knows that Claudius will go to heaven if he is killed while praying, so the evil comes out inside of him and Hamlet decides to wait until he knows Claudius will go to hell. Killing brings out characteristics in people that are out of the ordinary to their regular personalities. Both Claudius and Hamlet have so much suffering that they consider taking life. One case of this is in Hamlet’s first soliloquy he asks, “To be or not to be- that is the question” (III, 1, 64). At this point in the play, Hamlet’s suffering is so great he does not think he can stand to live another moment. All of the pressures from being responsible for avenging his father is bearing too much of a burden on his shoulders. Another example is when Claudius is telling the audience that Hamlet is to be killed, he says, “Do it, England, for like the hectic in my blood he rages, and thou must cure me” (III, 4, 74+). Claudius is so jealous of Hamlet’s relationship with Gertrude that he is going through unbearable suffering. His brain is so focused on this one topic, Claudius doesn’t even think of any other possible answers of how to deal with this. Both of these men are rash in their decisions because of their suffering, and they do not contemplate any other options besides death. Hamlet and Laertes decide that in order to get revenge for their father’s deaths, they must kill the person responsible for killing them. When Hamlet is speaking to his father’s ghost for the first time, the ghost tells him, “If thou didst ever thy dear father love - revenge his foul and most natural murder” (I, 5, 23+). Hamlet feels that in order to prove h...