Hamlet An Enlightened State Of Mind

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet is often criticized for being a man of thought rather than a man of action. He is denounced for thinking too much and not acting on his thoughts, gaining him a reputation of a coward and a fool. However, being a man of thought symbolizes Hamlet’s superiority and enlightened state through his rumination about killing Claudius and his desire to be remembered. We blame Hamlet’s incisiveness and inability to act as the reasons to why he does not kill Claudius even when he had the perfect chance to. However, Hamlet’s rumination about when and how he should kill Claudius shows his deeper understanding about life and reveals his enlightened state. His deeper understanding about killing Claudius below the surface level of seeing this deed solely as revenge. As Claudius kneels before Hamlet, Hamlet says, “A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven.” (Act III, Scene iii, lines 81-83) Hamlet realizes that if he kills …show more content…
His view on death is contradictory with his last words when he asks Horatio to tell his story and preserve his legacy. At the end, Hamlet realizes that his honor is at stake and prioritizes this over his previous statements. Compared to a man of action, his change of ideas is not judged by us because Hamlet has not shown the world his contradictory statements and has not allowed the world to judge him. The importance of honor was established when Hamlet met Fortinbras. Hamlet said, “Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument, but greatly to find quarrel in a straw when honors at the stake.” (Act IV, Scene iiii, lines 56-59) Hamlet says that to be truly great, one should not stir or in this case allow oneself to be contradictory unless honor is at stake. Honor is indispensable even when you die and he must reestablish his honor through