Hamlet's 6th Soliloquy (Act 3 Scene 3):
Now might I do it pat now he is praying,
And now I'll do it, and so he goes to heaven.
And so am I revenged, that would be scanned.
A villain kills my father; and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven.
O, this is hire and salary, not revenge.
He took my father grossly, full of bread -
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May.
And how his audit stands, who knows save heaven?
But in our circumstance and course of thought,
'Tis heavy with him, and am I, then, revenged;
To take him in the purging of his soul,
When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?
No.
Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent:
When he is drunk asleep or in his rage;
Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed;
At gaming, swearing or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in it.
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,
And that his soul may be as damned and black
As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays,
This physic but prolongs thy sickly days.
During this Soliloquy, Hamlet is deciding whether to kill King Claudius now, or wait for another, better chance. When Hamlet sees the King alone, he's at the chapel praying. But, if Hamlet kills him while he's praying, he thinks that he will be sent to heaven because he died praying to God. In Hamlet's eyes, the king is a villain who took his father away from him, and so it's Hamlet's duty to right the wrong that has been done. But if he kills the King while praying, and he goes to heaven, what kind of revenge would that be? So he decides to wait for a better moment, when Hamlet catches the king in some kind of sin, where he cannot be salvaged and will not be allowed in heaven and will be forced into hell.
I think Hamlet's reasoning for choosing not to kill his uncle in that moment is very interesting, I don't think it would've made a difference what he was doing, he already committed a sin by killing another human. Hamlet's hatred for his father's murderer is very apparent in this soliloquy, because he wants to make sure he kills the king to ensure he's punished for all eternity for his crimes. Hamlet wants King Claudius to suffer.
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis of this soliloquy. It's very forward and gets straight to the point. I agree with your idea on Hamlet's reasoning for killing his uncle. I don't think killing him at that moment would have made a difference in what happened to him in his afterlife. Part of me wants to think that Hamlet didn't kill his uncle while he was praying for his own sake. If he killed a praying man people would view him in a negative way (maybe he would go to hell), but if he killed a sinner he would be seen as a hero (maybe this could lead him to heaven). Hamlet seems like a selfish individual, so this could have also been motivation for him to wait to kill his uncle. I really liked your post! Good job!
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI like how you summarized the essence of this soliloquy as well as shared your opinion about his actions. I agree with both you and Gabby that I don't think that it would have much of an impact on the fate of the person being murdered. Although, the difference in our opinions from that of Shakespeare may just be the time frame. Nowadays, people don't always differentiate between the times when they are sinning and the times they are not, whereas in the more religion-based culture that Shakespeare lived in, they may have. Another possible reason behind this soliloquy that I thought of while reading your blog post is that it shows that Hamlet still has some sanity. It proves to the reader/viewer that he isn't completely insane, and still has enough sense to reason through an issue such as this. It proves that he isn't so driven by revenge that it clouds his judgement completely.
As Shakespeare seems a sensible sort of man, I do not believe that Hamlet's speech is designed to bring to light the medieval opinion that if you are smitten while praying you will go directly to heaven, but rather, Hamlet's descent into madness and the overwhelming anger and thirst for justice he has for his beloved uncle, the king.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, in that era, people believed said religious rule, but I think not. Since the beginning of Christian religions, sin has only ever been washed away by Confession and/or Baptism. Hamlet is so infatuated with the idea that Claudius must go to hell because it is what he deserves that he is not thinking rationally. He has forgotten his rudimentary Christian teaching and replaced the recently vacated area with a furious, and often blinding, loathing for the King. Hamlet has gone crazy with bloodlust, or is beginning to at least, and I believe that this is one of the first instances we see.