exiles Hamlet to England and sends sealed letters to the King of England telling him to kill Hamlet upon his arrival. Ophelia goes insane. Laertes, Hamlet’s brother, returns from France with an army, demanding to know why Polonius was killed. Claudius enlists Laertes to kill Hamlet. Ophelia commits suicide. Hamlet and Laertes duel at her funeral; both of them are mortally wounded, Gertrude kills herself and Hamlet kills Claudius. Laertes and Hamlet forgive each other, Hamlet names the Norwegian prince Fortinbras as successor to the throne, everyone dies, the end. It’s not quite so cut and dry as this, however. Hamlet the play and Hamlet the character are much more complex than this. Throughout the play we are given the impression that Hamlet is one moody, melancholy dude. Consider his situation: his father died. His father’s ghost appears and speaks to him and tells him he has been murdered, and his poor son must avenge his death. This right here is one big problem in and of itself: how is Hamlet supposed to know if this is even his father? How does he know the ghost is not some demon from hell? What if he’s going crazy and hallucinating? Another problem: the women in his life. Ophelia isn’t exactly a grounding force; she ends up losing her mind and committing suicide. He dares not hurt his mother Gertrude, as the ghost told him not to harm her in getting his revenge. Is he really helping his country by killing the king? Does that do Denmark any good? And murder, of course, is not exactly easy. Already a thoughtful, complex man, whom I might diagnose as manic depressive; Hamlet’s slow unraveling throughout the course of the play is due to the many factors that are constantly pressing down on him.So, when he decides not to kill Claudius in Act 3 Scene 3, is it really because of his need to see the King burn in hell, or is that just an excuse for Hamlet’s doubts and misgivings in order to delay e...
