Hamlet to kill or not to kill
Hamlet to kill or not to killHamlet promises to the ghost of his father to kill the man who killed former King Hamlet. From that day, Hamlet has been trying to figure out a way to kill Claudius, his uncle, and present King of Denmark. It takes Hamlet a long time to kill him, speaking that he had at least one good chance to kill him, but he hesitates at every point he has to kill him except for the last. When he comes to a point where he could kill him, his conscience comes into play, which causes Hamlet to think twice.
His first instance of hesitation was during his meeting with the players, where he had the players add a part that reenacted the exact scenario that Hamlet was told by the ghost. By doing this, he could see the actions of Claudius while he saw the acted killing in front of his own eyes.
I'll have the grounds
More relative than this. The play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.
-Hamlet, Act II, Scene ii 615-617
If the king went into an outrage, Hamlet would know that he was the killer of his father, therefor proving to himself that Claudius was indeed the killer, and the ghost wasn't part of his imagination. Of course then again, if he didn't have to prove it to himself, then he could have killed Claudius right away.
The play did come with a success. Claudius did show his disapproval of the play, proving to Hamlet that he was the killer.
Give me some light. Away!
-Claudius, Act III, Scene ii 275
But this leads to Hamlet's second hesitation moment. While Claudius is trying to confess his sins, Hamlet sees a window of opportunity. He could kill Claudius with no one around and no one to witness,...
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