Could procrastination be the real cause of Hamlet’s death?
It is no secret that Hamlet is one of the most exasperating characters in literature. Well at least, according to me and my limited knowledge of literature. His indecision to do almost anything and his treatment of the other characters made me very frustrated the first time I watched Hamlet (This was the 2009 version from RSC directed by Gregory Doran, with David Tennant playing as Hamlet). The biggest reason I disliked the character of Hamlet was because of his whiny nature. Throughout the play, I felt as though there were many opportunities for Hamlet to solve or confront many of the problems he had complained about, however, he was ever oblivious to these. This included multiple opportunities for him to exact revenge on Claudius and even improve on his relationship with Ophelia and Gertrude. The first example of a scenario like this that comes to mind is the scene where Claudius was praying and confessed to his sin, unaware of Hamlet’s presence. This was a prime time for Hamlet to do what he wanted to do, however, he convinced himself out of it at the time. Hamlet does this, by telling himself that if he were to kill Claudius when he was praying for forgiveness he might go to heaven. While this may seem like a genuine concern that worried Hamlet, I think otherwise. Could his indecisiveness be at play here and the excuse of Claudius going to heaven, be just another reason to procrastinate on avenging his father? Was Hamlet’s procrastination the real cause of his death? Taking a closer look at his actions through the play help us in answering this question.
Let’s begin by talking about the ghost of Hamlet’s father who appears in the first scene of the play and Hamlet then learns of him in Scene 2. In Scene 4, the ghost speaks to Hamlet while he is with Horatio and Marcellus, thus cementing the fact that it was very real and not just a hallucination. While some may argue that the ghost could have just been a figment of Hamlet’s imagination because of the trauma of his father’s murder, I think that three grown men of whom two did not have a close relationship with the deceased would not have experienced hallucinations relating to the trauma of the murder. This is important as Hamlet also begins to doubt the reality of the ghost and wonders if it was really a ghost or rather another spirit from hell, a “goblin” with wicked intents.
“Angels and ministers of grace defend us!
Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn’d,
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou comest in such a questionable shape”
(Act 1, Scene 4)
Despite such sound evidence that the ghost was real and that it had spoken to him and the others, again I feel that this was another excuse for Hamlet to procrastinate on the orders placed upon him by the ghost of his father which were to avenge him by killing Claudius.
Procrastination had not only stopped Hamlet from doing what needed to be done but rather it had other consequences as well. This was seen in his relationship with Ophelia. It is known that Hamlet had felt actual affection for Ophelia, however, since he was pretending to be mad, he could not tell her this or even give hints on this as it would not have been in character with his madness. This leads to him rejecting her, causing her to feel heartbroken and commit suicide. Had Hamlet not procrastinated, he would have killed Claudius and would not have needed to pretend to be mad. As after all, he knew that Claudius was guilty and the only reason he acted mad was not to investigate about Claudius’s guiltiness but rather another excuse for procrastination.
Finally, all of these previous actions tie up to the biggest consequence of his procrastination: his death. Hamlet’s death was a tragic one and quite astonishing as multiple people had died in the span of a few moments. Hamlet does end up killing his father, however, this was really only due to the fact that he discovered that he was also going to die following his mother’s death. Had Hamlet taken the chance that had shown up earlier to kill Claudius he could have prevented not only his death but his mother’s death. Ophelia’s death could also have been avoided had he not procrastinated.
Hamlet’s life is very different to the average person’s and this applies for me as well. The son of a king who has been murdered that pretends to act mad, to get revenge and is potentially attracted to his mother is quite a unique character and it would seem that such a character would not relate to many people. However, a part of Hamlet’s success as literature’s most successful character is his relatability to the audience.
This relatability comes from Hamlet’s personality and his nature as a character. Many people appreciate Hamlet due to his humane nature and the self-doubt and various mistakes he makes in the play reinforce this. His various soliloquies allow the audience to be empathetic to his dilemma and the harsh treatment he receives from the characters around him that he is not aware of, including his mother Gertrude allow the audience to be sympathetic towards him. Personally, these qualities of Hamlet are not quite relatable to me. Hamlet’s biggest trait that I relate to is procrastination and I have struggled with it for quite some time. However, unlike Hamlet I am taking the necessary steps to improve myself and not just whine about my problems.
Finally, some may argue that Hamlet did not seize the opportunities for revenge that were given to him because of the grief and solitude he may have felt due to his father’s passing and his mother’s swift marriage. While I do recognize the grief that Hamlet may have been facing, I find it difficult to believe that he would channel that into the antics he displayed throughout the play. These include the constant self-pity and sometimes even narcissistic behavior. I still firmly believe that Hamlet was too much of a cowardly character and that it was his constant indecisiveness and procrastination that eventually lead to his death.
Thank you for reading and I hope that I have provided you with an insight into a perspective that is not often considered when discussing the death of Hamlet.
Bibliography:
· Understanding Hamlet: Chapter Extracts
· eNotes. (n.d.). What are all the parts in Hamlet where the theme of procrastination is displayed? — eNotes.com. [online] Available at: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-are-all-the-parts-in-hamlet-where-the-theme-462039 [Accessed 12 Jul. 2021].
· Sparknotes.com. (2018). SparkNotes: Hamlet. [online] Available at: https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/ [Accessed 10 Jul. 2021].
· Shakespeare, W. (2018). Hamlet: Entire Play. [online] Mit.edu. Available at: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html [Accessed 10 Jul. 2021].
