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Marae Smith
Mrs. Carter
6B
8 February 2015
Final Hamlet Essay
Hamlets character throughout the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is portrayed as
the revenger. Hamlets sole purpose is to get revenge against his uncle for killing his father.
Being the revenger has caused Hamlet to lose his sense of morality, become paranoid and
become so blinded by revenge he cannot see he is being misled by the Ghost.
At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is unsure of his path for revenge because he does
not want to commit sin and kill a man. He cares about his soul and whether killing a guilty man
would be seen as a sin in the eyes of God. His sense of morality is high and always looking to
make the most Christian-like decisions to honor God. He decides killing Claudius is the right
thing to do in order for his father to be honored and believes God will forgive him, since he is
killing a murderer. The turning point of Hamlets morality is the scene of the great hesitation;
Hamlet has the chance to kill his uncle but instead decides to wait until his uncle has committed
sins and not yet repent, in order to be punished to the fullest by God. Tis heavy with him; and
am I then revengd,/ To take him in the purging of his soul, (H III.iii). This scene is when Hamlet
goes from caring what his revenge will do to him, to not caring about his soul or Gods wrath.
Hamlets sense of morality diminishes and he turns into a soulless revenger who would do
anything to see his uncle dead. His vengeance clouds his moral judgment so much that when
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he kills Polonius, an innocent man, he did not even feel sorry. Hamlet became exactly who he
was trying to get revenge on; an unforgiving murderer.
Being a revenger causes Hamlet to become paranoid, feeling others are plotting
revenge against him. He never trusts anyone, including his closest friends who he ends up
having them killed. That on the view and knowing of these contents/ he should the bearers
put to sudden death, (H V. ii). Planning revenge has caused Hamlet to be consumed with the
idea of revenge and believe others are out to get him. Constantly thinking of revenge makes
Hamlet continuously think about his actions and the sins being committed, making him feel
guilty and shameful. Paranoia causes Hamlet to make irrational decisions, like killing Polonius,
impacting his ability to make competent decisions. These decisions cause the tragic death of
many. Being paranoid causes Hamlet to never let anyone in and murder those whom he does
not trust. This social isolation causes him to be depressed and feels sorry for himself And thus
the native hue of resolution/ is sicklied oer with the pale case of thought, (H III. i). Death is
the only way for Hamlet to get peace and allow his guilt and paranoia to disappear when God
forgives him.
Throughout the entire play, Hamlet listens and believes almost everything the Ghost
tells him. This causes the Ghost to be able to misled Hamlet into doing his own dirty work. And
shall I couple hell?/ Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat (H I. v).The Ghost is able
to get Hamlet to kill the king for his own selfish purpose. This misleading causes Hamlet to be
so focused on vengeance he cannot see himself losing his morality. The Ghost wanted the King
dead to get his own revenge for killing himself, the former king, then taking his beloved wife.
The Ghost misled Hamlet to believe he did not want his former wife to be hurt during his path
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of revenge but his real goal was to get revenge against her. He wanted her to be found sinful
and go to Hell for marrying again. In order for her to be punished by God, Hamlet could not kill
her like he would the King. The Ghost told Hamlet to not kill his mother, in order for him to get
the most revenge possible and send her to hell not heaven.
Hamlets goal of getting revenge on his uncle for killing his father causes him to become
a revenger. This causes him to lose his sense of morality, become paranoid and not be able to
tell the Ghost was misleading him. This contributes to the overall theme of the play; nothing
beneficial comes out of revenge on others.