Through Act 4 and 5, he becomes increasingly fixated on the physical aspect--the corruption--of death. In an allusion to Caesar and Alexander in Act 5, he remarks that, “O, that that earth which kept the earth in awe / Should patch a wall t’ expel the winter’s flaw!” (5.1.217-8). This is an expression of the futility of living only to end as dust and it addresses on the idea that corruption is inherent in the human body; Hamlet’s obsessive rumination has revealed to him that delaying a decision about his revenge has not changed the outcome for either his body or his soul. In fact, by feigning insanity and breaking tradition, he hastened the exposition of his own corruption. It is this understanding that spurs him to be able to overcome his indecision and act. Murdering Claudius is an act that damns him to hell, and he is only able to do it after realizing that he has already corrupted himself by existing outside of the bounds of
Through Act 4 and 5, he becomes increasingly fixated on the physical aspect--the corruption--of death. In an allusion to Caesar and Alexander in Act 5, he remarks that, “O, that that earth which kept the earth in awe / Should patch a wall t’ expel the winter’s flaw!” (5.1.217-8). This is an expression of the futility of living only to end as dust and it addresses on the idea that corruption is inherent in the human body; Hamlet’s obsessive rumination has revealed to him that delaying a decision about his revenge has not changed the outcome for either his body or his soul. In fact, by feigning insanity and breaking tradition, he hastened the exposition of his own corruption. It is this understanding that spurs him to be able to overcome his indecision and act. Murdering Claudius is an act that damns him to hell, and he is only able to do it after realizing that he has already corrupted himself by existing outside of the bounds of