2006-12-10 05:03:32 · 6 answers · asked by betterthanjesus3 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Theater & Acting
He wants Claudius to go to Hell, and he is afraid if he kills him while he is praying, he'll go to Heaven.
2006-12-10 05:09:20 · answer #1 · answered by Elven 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You've asked one of the vital questions of this play. Here's some answers:
1. A ghost tells him to revenge a murder. Is the ghost telling the truth, or is it trying to send Hamlet to hell for commiting murder?
2. Can Hamlet bring himself to take another's life?
3. Is there some evidence other than a ghostly visit that will prove Claudius' guilt?
4. Why should Hamlet be the one to take revenge? He's got problems enough with grief, with Ophelia, with a possible invasion...
5. Maybe Hamlet just can't decide what to do. ( A problem everyone has at sometime or other.)
6. When would be a good time to kill Claudius, if that's what needs to be done--when Hamlet would be charged for murdering the king? In secret? At a time when Claudius would be more apt to go to Heaven than Hell for his crimes?
7. The Queen loves Claudius---would Hamlet tear her heart apart by killing Claudius?
Lots of reasons, yes?
2006-12-10 13:29:49 · answer #2 · answered by Palmerpath 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well...
First, he needs to be 100% certain that the Ghost was telling him the truth about the circumstances surrounding his father's death. As he suggests, it MAY have been a devil tempting to do something that would damn him
THEN, after the "play within a play" sequence, when Hamlet knows for a fact that Claudius is guilty, he comes upon Claudius at prayer. He's about to kill him, but turns away at the last minute, reasoning that, if he kills Claudius while he's praying, he might actually be doing him a favor (by sending him to heaven). Instead, Hamlet decides to wait until Claudius is in the process of one of his evil deeds; killing him at that moment will ensure that he goes to hell.
2006-12-10 18:35:12 · answer #3 · answered by shkspr 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because hamlet is very indecisive on many different issues. for example, he also cannot decide whether or not to commit suicide. also, he needs to find the right time to kill him, he wants claudius to have to go through pergutory, just like his father had to. hamlet also reveals that he is unsure of whether or not the ghost was real, he thinks it might be a devil trying to make him sin, so he wants to be sure that claudius killed the king.
2006-12-10 21:46:57 · answer #4 · answered by xfashionc0rex 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because if he kills claudius when he was praying, claudius had already beg for forgiveness for his sin and thus he will go to heaven. hamlet decides to kill claudius right on the act when hes not doing anything religious
2006-12-10 13:18:24 · answer #5 · answered by katy7angel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
BECAUSE LIKE MOST PEOPLE ... HAMLET WAS IN A SITUATION WHERE ON ONE HAND HE WANTED REVENGE, HE WAS NOT A COLD BLOODED KILLER, HE DID WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE THEREFORE MAKING HIM A HERO BUT NOT A MURDERER
2006-12-10 13:13:29 · answer #6 · answered by crazeebitch2005 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋