Literary Essay Sample: Hamlet's Internal Conflict and Inability to Revenge

"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" is one of Shakespeare's greatest arts whereby a man is seemingly looking for his real identity. Through soliloquies, we learn about the true feelings and emotions that Hamlet has suppressed inside himself. Although the soliloquies are different from one another, they all show the internal conflicts that Hamlets is facing that eventually make it difficult for him to take revenge against anybody that he feels has offended him. Hamlet is one of the complex characters in the play. However, through the internal conflicts, we realize the reasons behind his lack of taking revenge.

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At the beginning of the play we Hamlets' feelings towards her mother are clearly brought presented. For example, he is not celebrating the manner in which his mother gets married to Claudius. Hamlet is proclaiming with a lot of anger, "with such dexterity to incestuous sheets (Shakespeare and Hubler)." Consequently, he fails to understand why would on earth his mother marries Claudius in such a hurry which leads him to get troubled internally. In line 1 he says, 'little more kin with less than kind" (Shakespeare 1.2.65). Hamlet is having a difficult time to stomach the idea that his mother has betrayed his father.

According to Hamlet, the marriage between his mother and the uncle shows lack of matrimonial respect for his father which at the same time troubles him because of the desires that he does not understand. The betrayal of the father affects him because he does not know how to deal with this feelings about the mother which he cannot express in addition to the significant animosity towards his uncle. Additionally, the psychological shock of the death of his father is augmented by the perceived betrayal to family and marriage values. It is worth noting that Hamlet has hatred towards Claudius while on the other hand he loves his biological father and the fact that he died makes him deeply sad. He in fact considers committing suicide as shown in the beginning lines of the first soliloquy but goes ahead to do nothing. Consequently, his decision not to act sets the pace for a series of his undecidedness to avenge.

Hamlet talks with the ghost and he is angered upon realization that Claudius has killed his father. Through the soliloquies, Hamlet is promising himself that he will do nothing but revenge. It is worth noting that he fails to take action immediately because he is not sure whether the King committed the murder or not. However, at the end of it all he crafts a play which he will perform to suggest that the King killed his father to test his reactions to the allegations. It is evident when he says, "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king (Shakespeare and Hubler)." On top of that after the murder of Gonzago takes place, he does not take action. Consequently, the clashing of his inner feelings makes him not to revenge for his father's death.

As the play progresses, feelings of guilt and shame are slowly eating him up because he has not avenged his father's death despite the fact that he is certain that it is Claudius that takes his father's life. He is planning to take his life but ends up not doing so because he is not sure what happens after death. Hamlet is not happy with his mother but reveals that he is not obsessed with harming anybody which is evidenced by the sentiments, "speak daggers to her, but none." The internal conflicts that he undergoing portray him as a passive character who is not ready kill but rather think about it thoroughly.

However, in the seventh internal conflict, Hamlet masters the courage to seek revenge for the father's death. This happens to him after he comes across the Fortinbras's soldiers in which he realizes that they are having a fight over a piece of land that is not worth the fight. He hates the fact that he has delayed avenging for the death of his father. Consequently, he finds a new determination that he swears, "O, from this time forth, my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth.

The birthright that Hamlet is asking about is not only his father's position but also the replacement of the father in relation to his mother. It was worth noting that Hamlet is longing to take the throne and the person he wants to have removed is the uncle and not the father. The inner conflicts that he is struggling with are seen in the postponement of the revenge on behalf of the death of his father. There is inner confusion of his mind amidst his hate for the uncle who got the father killed.At the same time we get to know his admiration for what he anticipates to as evidenced in the text when doubts the ghost.

The most significant internal feeling that Hamlet harbors is shown by Hamlet's suppressed desires and the fact that he doubts the ghost of his father but turns to avenge him very fast. Hamlet is facing an Oedipal complex and therefore is he crashed between the hidden desire for his mother, as well as, the envy of the father or the uncle. It is worth noting that through the soliloquies the reader gets to understand who Hamlet is in the real sense and not the false being that he portrays externally. The reader gets to track his emotions from the passive acts until finally he avenges for the death of his father. The major weakness that Hamlet has is the inability to take action which sees the death of many characters and finally himself. It is worth noting that soliloquy helps us to understand why Hamlet does act in a certain way or fails to take action at all. The make it possible to for the reader to know the feelings of Hamlet which would have not been possible.

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William, and Edward Hubler. The Tragedy Of Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark. New York: New American Library, 1987. Print.

Javed, Tabassum. "Perfect Idealism in Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet." Dialogue (Pakistan) 8.3 (2013): 327-333.