The Theme Of Action Vs. Inaction In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

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In the shakespearean play Hamlet, Shakespeare illustrates the theme of action versus inaction by making Hamlet decide if killing Claudius, Hamlet 's uncle who killed Hamlet 's father to take over as king, while he is inside a confessional seeking forgiveness from god for his sins, or if he should kill him in a later time when Claudius is in the act of committing a sin or many sins. Shakespeare uses two rhetorical devices, a constant theme, and an appeal, to develope his beliefs that one should not jump at the first opportunity without logically analyzing the repercussions of each decision. The two rhetorical devices Shakespeare uses in Hamlet 's soliloquy in act 3, scene 2, are inductive reasoning and rhetorical questions; The repeating theme …show more content…
The rhetorical device that Shakespeare uses is a rhetorical question. Shakespeare makes Hamlet use a rhetorical question when he is planning out when he was going to kill Claudius to avenge his father. Hamlet asks himself “when he is fit and season 'd for his passage? No. Hamlet is asking himself if killing Claudius would really be revenge or if he would just be doing Claudius a favor. He then answers his own question by saying no, which completes the rhetorical question. In the same section Shakespeare makes Hamlet ask himself another rhetorical question. Hamlet questions if he truly gets “revenge‘ for killing Claudius in the confessional. He then again, answered his own question by essentially saying no. He realized killing Claudius in that moment would do even more harm than good. He realized Claudius would be relieved of the guilt of killing his brother, and would go to heaven, while Hamlet 's father would be stuck in Hell. Shakespeare achieves his goal of conveying a theme of action versus inaction by making Hamlet ask himself rhetorical questions that required him to logically think about the repercussions of killing Claudius in that moment. These rhetorical questions lead to Hamlet 's inaction of killing Claudius at time when he was most

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