d have the opportunity to go to heaven. Hamlet therefore decides to wait for a moment "When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, or in th incestuous pleasure of his bed, at game a-swearing, or about some act that has no relish of salvation in t then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven, and that his soul may be as damned and black as hell, whereto it goes" (3.4. 94-100). Despite his original intentions, Hamlet does not carry out his scheme and, instead, delays the killing of the king. Hamlets belief in religion and his fear that Claudius might be sent to heaven force him to defer from his original intention. Had Hamlet acted without such beliefs he might have avoided much heartache as well as his own untimely death.Hamlets delay of avenging his fathers murder is also due to his problem of introspection. Throughout the play, Hamlet is concerned about integrity and righteousness of his action, a concern the ghost recollects when he says to Hamlet, "taint not thy mind" (1.5.92). Hamlet realizes that few taints are more permanent than the murder of an innocent man. If Claudius is guilty, Hamlet wants to carry out his revenge properly. Hamlet has no desire to become a clone of Claudius, the cold-blooded murderer of a relative. All of this thought is what causes Hamlet to delay so much in the action that he promises to take. Hamlet leaps into the role of the avenger without thinking. He swears his allegiance without the introspection that later delays him from fulfilling his promise. However, towards the end of the play, Hamlets emotions are less passionate. Hamlets thoughts about his role begin to become less self-assured. "The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!"(1.5.210-211). Although he feels it is his duty, he is resentful of his apparent fate, and he sees his revenge as a problematic task. Hamlet is a man of philosophy rather than heroic action, he thinks deeply about his feelings and action...
