William Shakespeare's Hamlet, is one of the best known tragedies in literature.
Hamlet, is charged by the spirit of his father to avenge his wrongful death. Previously
unaware of any foul play in the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet becomes suspicious for the
ghost said that "the serpent that did sting thy father's life/ Now wears his crown." (Act I
sc.v 46-7) He must now take revenge on his uncle Claudius to let the disturbed spirit rest
in peace. It would seem to most people that this is a rather simple task to execute, but it
proves to be the single most difficult thing for Hamlet to do in the play. His inanition in
murdering Claudius stems from his great cowardice.
Many people believe that the main reason that Hamlet takes so long to kill
Claudius is that he is constantly contemplating his morals. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
would have you believe that the reason for the inaction is caused by "endless reasoning
and hesitating- constant urging and solicitation of the mind to act, and constant escape
from action." Here we have poor young Hamlet, mourning the death of his father and
now must kill his uncle. His conscience is preventing him from taking any action to send
Claudius to his maker. Coleridge would also like the reader to feel that Hamlet was not a
coward. His reasoning is that for Hamlet is "drawn as one of the bravest of his time."
Agreeing with his statement would show that the reader did not pay close attention to
In his "rogue and peasant slave" soliloquy he mentions so plainly that even an
uneducated man could see that Hamlet is a coward for he admits it. Throughout the
soliloquy he refers to himself as many repugnant things, such as a John-a-dreams, a
muddy-mettled rascal, and a pidgeon-livered person lacking gall. How, one can look at
Hamlet's famous soliloquoy and get the message that Hamlet is not a coward. He ...