Hamlets Moral Dilemma

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, a very clear moral order is established as the protagonist,

Hamlet, completes his journey through the phases which deine a Shakespearean tragedy!
"he play begins with Hamlet encountering his ather's ghost, at which point he learns his
ather had in act been murdered by his own brother, #laudius! It is Hamlet's wish to
avenge his ather that causes all other moral dilemmas in the play, and this is what
deines the play's particular moral order$ %s the play progresses, the gravity and
seriousness o #laudius sins lessen, and Hamlet's grow, although never reaching the
moral plateau on which #laudius rests! In the beginning o the play, Hamlet is morally
&in the right&, always taking precautions to ensure this remains so! #laudius, on the other
hand, not only murders Hamlet's ather, but then plots to do away with Hamlet as soon as
he eels threatened! %s the play progresses, Hamlet continues attempting to right the
original wrong, but only succeeds at the inish, with #laudius' death! Hamlet's words in
%ct III, Scene I' (( &thus bad begins, and worse remains behind& illustrate the moral
order well) the actions against him were wrong, but, to a lesser e*tent, so was his
revenge!
+ear the start o the play, "he ,host tells Hamlet o the crime committed by #laudius!
-hen Hamlet inds out his ather was murdered by his own brother, who then stole his
wie and crown, he immediately commits himsel to avenging the murder) &Haste me to
know't, that I, with wings as swit.%s meditation or the thoughts o love.May sweep to
my revenge!& %t this point, Hamlet is completely justiied in his eelings, and most
would agree that his revenge is morally right! %lthough the act o murder itsel is wrong,
an &eye or an eye& almost wholly justiies it! "he gravity o #laudius' crime grows when
one considers that all the deaths throughout the play would not have come i it were not
the murder! "he crime itsel is, in a sense, worse because o the circumstances) not a
simple murder, but the murder o one's brother wholly or personal gain, his crown and
/ueen! It is this which balances out any morally wrong actions Hamlet may take!
Hamlet, on the other hand, begins the play as a very rational and intelligent man!
%lthough it is shown he can be impulsive and rash, his rationality wins out ( at least in
the beginning o the play! -hen seeing his ather's ghost, he un/uestionably accepts all
he hears as truth, but doesn't act on it until he can veriy it in some way! His organi0ation
o the players' perormance o &"he Murder o ,on0ago& shows this well) only ater
seeing #laudius' reaction to the play does he prepare to act on the ,host's plea or
revenge! #laudius' reaction to the depiction o what were almost his e*act actions all but
announces his guilt, and Hamlet is morally justiied in any revenge he may wish to e*act!
%s the play progresses, each o #laudius' morally wrong acts is balanced by a morally
correct response by Hamlet! -hen #laudius' eels threatened by Hamlet, he arranges to
have Hamlet spied on by his riends, and eventually even to be e*iled in 1ngland, where
he is to be killed! Hamlet, on the other hand, spares #laudius' lie, rather than to kill him
at prayer! Hamlet's indecisiveness is born o his internal struggle to remain morally
correct!
%s the play continues, Hamlet's murder, a mistake, o 2olonius 3 a minor character (
serves to balance the moral wrongs committed against Hamlet by 2olonius and 4aertes,
5phelia's ather and brother! 6oth 4aertes and 2olonius had ridiculed 5phelia in thinking
that Hamlet was serious in his intentions to her, &In ew, 5phelia.Do not believe his vows
!!! but mere implorators o unholy suits!& Morally, this is not so morally wrong, but the
sum o these actions and others by 2olonius and 4aertes are balanced by Hamlet's killing
o 2olonius, mistaking him or #laudius! %s the play reaches it's conclusion, possibly the
most important events take place regarding the moral order! 4aertes and #laudius
conspire to kill Hamlet, who was returned rom abroad, in a rigged encing match or,
ailing that, with poisoned wine! #laudius virtually absolves himsel o all guilt in
2olonius' murder and uses his son to plot Hamlet's death! "hese actions, again, morally
wrong, once again outweigh Hamlet's! During t he duel between 4aertes and Hamlet,
ater Hamlet is wounded with the poisoned sword, their swords are e*changed in the
battle and 4aertes is mortally wounded by his own sword! %s he is dying, 4aertes
reali0es he is killed by his own treachery, and reali0es he was immoral! During the ight,
,ertrude drinks the poisoned glass o wine meant or Hamlet, and beore dying manages
to tell Hamlet the wine was poisoned! %s Hamlet attempts to ind the murderer, 4aertes
tells him they are both near death and the 7ing is to blame, at which point Hamlet inally
murders him, beore he himsel dies! "he conclusion o the play straightens out all moral
/uestions, especially the irst) #laudius' killing o the king! Since this irst wrong is now
righted, by the #laudius' death, Hamlet is not morally wrong in killing him! ,ertrude's
death due to poisoning is as punishment or her abandonment o her husband, and that
issue as well is resolved! 8inally, 4aertes' treachery towards Hamlet is paid or in his
death, and o nly Hamlet's own death remains as the tragic conse/uence to the morally
wrong actions taken by #laudius! Since Hamlet himsel commits a murder, this can be
viewed as the inal step in establishing a moral order!
In conclusion, Shakespeare's Hamlet contains a very deinitive moral order! 1ach crime
committed is punished, and each morally wrong action is balanced by one that is right!
#laudius' uncaring murders and plots are balanced by Hamlet's internal struggle with his
own conscience and morals as he attempts to right the wrongs committed against him!
4aertes, who does not have a counterpart as #laudius does Hamlet, eventually admits to
his wrongs and reali0es they are that, helping clear Hamlet's name in his dying moments!
Hamlet's indecisiveness and procrastination throughout the play were caused because o
his morals) even though #laudius murdered his ather, Hamlet could not kill him at
prayer! "his shows the opposite sides o the moral issue, and helps ensure that at the end,
there is no imbalance, and the se/uence leads up to a balanced end in which no single
side has triumphed!