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Hamlet Essay Any given character can be viewed in more than one fashion and just as one interpretation may be common to many readers, others may hold a different point of view. Within Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the title character can be seen as either a man of action or a man or procrastination. Several believe that Hamlet was a weak man; a procrastinator, whereas other critics, like Werder, believe Hamlet to be a man of action with a different purpose. Hamlet is very concerned about his own soul and therefore must be certain of Claudius’ guilt before he can to take action. In the end, Hamlet’s ultimate task was not to kill King Claudius, but to bring the King to confession and convict him in the eyes of God, and the State of Denmark. Bringing the King to confession took a lot of strategic planning along with logical thinking. According to the Shakespearean portrayal of ghosts, Hamlet was faced with a supernatural confrontation, where he had to decide whether the ghost was an evil omen or a truthful message from the dead. The ghost claimed to be Hamlet’s father and stated to be murdered by his own brother, who presently was wearing the crown. After some thought, an opportunity arose for Hamlet to catch the guilt of King Claudius. The play preformed by the Elizabethan travelling actors was an opportunity Hamlet could not turn down. He was quick to act when he asked the players if they could act out a short scene that he would write for them. After making sure that the players agreed to the insert in the play, Hamlet later states in his soliloquy the purpose of the inserted scene, “The play’s the thing/ Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King (II, ii, 600-601)”.
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