Hamlet #6

            Despite their obvious differences, Claudius and Hamlet both share a certain reluctance to act. After the play, Claudius has a soliloquy in which he admits to murdering King Hamlet. Claudius is aware of the severity of his actions, likening his situation to the story of Cain and Abel and noting that “It hath the primal eldest curse upon ’t” (3.3.41). Realizing that his only possible means for salvation is through repentance, Claudius desperately tries to convince himself to pray. Channeling his inner Lady Macbeth, Claudius imagines his hand coated in his brother’s blood. He asks himself, “Is there not enough rain in the sweet heavens / To wash it white as snow?” (3.3.49-50). Claudius is attempting to reconcile contradictory views about forgiveness. On the one hand (the bloody one), Claudius can point to the fact that Cain was severely punished for murdering Abel, and he can expect similar repercussions. On the other hand, the Bible promises forgiveness for those who repent their sins. Claudius asks himself questions that logically lead him to the conclusion that he should ask for forgiveness from God: “Then I’ll look up” (3.3.54). However, he immediately regresses and begins to question his ability to repent. Not only does Claudius find it difficult to ask, “Forgive me my foul murder” (3.3.56), but he also finds himself reluctant to give up the gains he has since achieved. He may desire forgiveness, but he also desires his current power. Claudius points to corruption in the world in which people do benefit from their evil actions. However, he then reminds himself that God is not fooled by evasion. Claudius seems to work himself into a frenzy as he uses short questions and exclamatory sentences to convince himself to pray. He commands, “Bow, stubborn knees, and heart with strings of steel / Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe” (3.3.74-5). Claudius wants himself to want forgiveness, but he has difficulty bringing this desire to fruition.

            Claudius’ oscillation between thought and action remind the reader of Hamlet’s struggles throughout the play. Staying true to character, Hamlet has a soliloquy immediately following Claudius’ that talks himself out of taking action. Just as he is about to stab Claudius, Hamlet realizes that by murdering Claudius in prayer, “I […] this same villain send / To heaven” (3.3.83-4). Hamlet’s logic seems to be slightly lacking. As Claudius just pointed out, Cain was punished for murdering Abel; murdering a brother is not a sin easily forgiven. Shakespeare wants the audience to recognize that Hamlet’s justification for postponing the murder is flimsy at best. Here is Hamlet with the perfect opportunity, a perfect justification, and in a perfect state of mind, and he still convinces himself not to follow through with the murder. Fittingly, at the end of the scene Claudius admits that he was unable to pray. Both characters fail to follow through with their intended actions, and, for both of them, “This physic but prolongs thy sickly days” (3.3.101).