Sara Virostek

Mr. Palcsey

Honors English

October 16, 2017

The Conscience of Prince Hamlet

“To be or not to be,” that is the question. Is Prince Hamlet of Denmark meant to be the

one who murders his uncle for causing the death of his father, or is Hamlet not meant to be that

person? As humans, everyone has a conscience that sometimes eats away at them. Will Hamlet

be someone who gives into temptation, or will he be able to preserve his soul? Many factors tie

in to Hamlet’s decision-making. Three main factors that affect Hamlet’s decision-making

process are his conscience, morals, and his insanity throughout the play.

One primary theme of the play is Hamlet’s struggle with his conscience, which

Shakespeare incorporates into decision-making. Hamlet is a complex character. He is informed

that his own uncle, Claudius murdered his father so that Claudius could be king and marry

Queen, Gertrude. Hamlet becomes mentally unstable, after hearing the shocking news about his

father’s murder by his own uncle. Towards the end of the book after he is certain about the

murder and, Hamlet grapples with the choice of either avenging his father’s death by killing his

uncle, or preserving his purity in hopes of going to heaven.

By preserving his soul and choosing not to kill his uncle, Shakespeare shows Hamlet’s

morals, and reveals the significance of his religion to Hamlet. Faith is mentioned repeatedly

throughout the play, and is important to other characters in addition to Hamlet. Morals, and

religion also affect Hamlet’s decision-making. For instance, Hamlet develops hatred for his uncle

after he discovers that Claudius murdered his father. Hamlet is constantly tortured over the
concept of bringing justice for his father by killing his uncle. In the end, Hamlet tries his best to

avoid going through with it due to his faith. Hamlet was given the ample opportunity to kill

Claudius. After Hamlet suggests his awareness to Claudius that he killed Hamlet’s father

discreetly, Claudius starts to panic. He even starts praying and asking God for forgiveness to

spare his soul. While Hamlet contemplates killing Claudius in that moment due to rage and

anger, he does not go through with it. His choice to spare Claudius stems in part from his belief

that if he kills Claudius while he is praying, Claudius will go to heaven. Shakespeare’s sparing of

Claudius through Hamlet in this scene demonstrates how actions have consequences in terms of

eternity by doing good or bad deeds. Hamlet truly cares about his soul and does not want to be

stuck in purgatory. Hamlet is concerned for his eternal salvation, as he reflects many times that

worth killing Claudius may not be worth the risk of not going to heaven.

Hamlet’s constant wavering in his decision drives him insane. Hamlet has moments

where he seems normal or stable, only to revert to unstable or insane moments in other parts of

the play. His mental instability is caused by both family conflicts, and internal conflicts. Hamlet

constantly grapples with whether he should face his father’s murdered now or have God address

Claudius in the afterlife. Hamlet often discusses his inability to act and his lack of self-

confidence. Hamlet eventually becomes envious of other characters such as Laertes and

Fortinbras, who are his counterparts who show their courage to make decisions and act upon

them. At times, Hamlet’s jealousy of individuals such as Laertes and Fortinbras contributes to

Hamlet’s mentally instability as well as his family crisis.

In sum, Hamlet reveals great angst and turmoil in his decision-making, impacted by

Shakespeare’s themes of conscience, morals, as well as his insanity. These factors all reveal

Hamlet’s conscience throughout the play, and in the end Hamlet got his revenge. Even though
his soul necessarily was not pure or saved, Hamlet got what he wanted, and surely was satisfied

with what he chose to do.