A Critical Analysis of Shakespeare's Hamlet

Dave Beaston

Hamlet. Is he an insane madman or a revengeful, scheming, genius? There are many conflicting ideas and theories on this subject, and hopefully this paper may be of some assistance in clearing up the confusion. The paper is divided into three separate analytic sections beginning with the beginning of
Hamlet's so called madness, and why it may have occurred. Next, is an analysis of why Hamlet delays revenging his father's death. To conclude the paper,
Hamlet's incestuous acts towards his mother are discussed, in William
Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the first act Hamlet seems to be in a perfectly sane state of mind throughout all five scenes. It is in the second scene
Hamlet stages the Murder of Gonzago in which the actor who is playing the part of the king is murdered in the same manner that Claudius killed Hamlet's father. At the moment that the actor playing the part of the king is killed Claudius leaps from his seat and rushes out of the theater infuriated. This violent action by the king overjoys Hamlet for now he knows that it was Claudius who murdered his father. More than the fact that he knows that Claudius is the murderer, Hamlet is slowly and painfully gaining his revenge of his fathers death. The other instance where Hamlet could have killed Claudius was in act three scene three. In this particular scene Hamlet comes upon Claudius while he is knelt in prayer. Hamlet draws his sword and intends to kill Claudius there in prayer but then decides to wait. Hamlet comes to the conclusion that he should wait until Claudius is commuting a sin so he will go to hell, as opposed to killing him in prayer where he would then go to heaven. This is another example as to why Hamlet procrastinates revenging his father's death. The obvious reason Hamlet waits is to bring more than just the pain of his sword to Claudius and torture him until the end. Finally, Hamlet's sexual attraction towards his mother is to be discussed.
In act three scene four, Hamlet enters his mothers bedroom at her wish and first kills Polonius, then proceeds to make love to his mother. This action is