Blog 5 Betrayal Tina Radstone

Hamlet is a story that has dilemmas to which Hamlet encounters when he returns home to Denmark. He finds out that his father has been murdered by Claudius (Hamlet's uncle) who then takes over his father's throne. He also learns that his uncle marries his mother Gertrude. Hamlet wants to seek revenge for his father's death but isn't strong enough to do so. In the beginning of the story Marcellus and Horatio have seen the ghost of Hamlet's father and tell Hamlet that this ghost looks just like his father. Whether good bad or indifferent, Hamlet wants to go and see the ghost of his father. He learns from the Ghost that in fact he is the spirit of his father. The ghost clearly states this, "I am thy father's spirit..." (1.5.9). Hamlet is shocked but wants to know more and learns that his father's death is not only a murder but a dreadful one as well. His father's spirit explains to him, "Murder most foul, as in the best it is, But this most foul, strange and unnatural" (1.5.27-28). This tells the reader that Hamlet's father's spirit is explaining that his death was that of murder and it was absolutely horrible and unnatural at its best. The word unnatural describes to the reader that he didn't die naturally implying something out of the ordinary happened and wasn't an accident. Hamlet is distressed over his mother's marriage to his uncle who killed his father. He is affected by his mother's behavior because she married so quickly after his father's death and out of all people she married his uncle. Hamlet informs us that his mother is lustful and moved on to quickly, "Must I remember? why, she would hang on him as if increase of appetite had grown by what it fed on, and yet within a month...a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer..." (1.2.143-151). From this quote I feel like his mother was lusting Claudius for a long time and she knew well what she wanted to do. Futhermore for a woman that just lost her husband she didn't mourn for her husband for a long time. Although Hamlet wants revenge on his uncle, his sanity gets in the ways of his decision to take his uncle's life. He question's his own abilty to kill his uncle and feels that he is a coward. He says with emotion, "A damned defeat was made: am I a coward?" (2.2.545) I feel that Hamlet is weak not because he is a "weak" person but because he wants to confirm that his uncle murdered his father by looking at his expressions. Hamlet describes how he will prompt his uncle:
           For murder, though it have no tounge, will speak
           With most miraculous organ: I'll have these players
           Play something like the murder of my father
           Before mine uncle, I'll observe his looks,
           I'll tent him the quick, if a' do blench... (2.2.557-560).
He just has to see this for himself. He starts to distrust everyone and goes somewhat crazy maybe for the purpose that he didn't want anyone to know what he was doing.