The Concept of Morality in Hamlet: Literary Essay Sample

Introduction

The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare demonstrates a constant struggle with the influence of consciousness. The characters face the temptation to satisfy their evil personal desires as they consider vengeance, which is against their religious beliefs. The perception of morality is administered by societal principles that provide a clear distinction between good and evil. The play expresses the dilemma in justifying the commitment of a malicious act to eliminate greater evil. It questions the price for justice as the characters attempt to determine whether to act or avoid revenge. The play examines the significance of morality in the quest for justice by portraying evil at the expense of ethics.

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The Influence of Consciousness: Struggles With Evil Desires and Religious Beliefs

Upon the King's assassination, his son Hamlet decides to seek vengeance. Hamlet's conscious, however, stops him from actualizing. He contemplates suicide but dismisses the thoughts by considering it a sinful act. An encounter with his late father's spirit advances his inner struggles, and he decides to kill Claudius, the suspected murderer (Shakespeare 8). Again, his religious beliefs prevent him from acting. His moral spectrum delays his decision, and he opts to determine the legitimacy of the King's murder before taking action. Hamlet only pursues his father's will after the alienation from his aspect of morality.

Hamlet continues to deliberate on what amounts to justice. In as much as he feels he is justified to kill Claudius, he stops for a moment to ponder upon the repercussions. He decides to stop Claudius's evil from spreading in the kingdom. Hamlet's capability of stopping Claudius is an authority given to him by the ghost and moral duty. This act he does is considered an exchange for the evil act of murder, which he intended to commit. The good deed represents a more significant gain for the greater good.

Additionally, Hamlets agrees with the ghost and considers the spirit to be a source of authority because he trusts it. However, Hamlet fills with agony after much thought on fulfilling the duties imposed on him by the ghost (Shakespeare 16). Claudius confesses to the audience about killing the King. Hamlet is, however, unaware of this. The audience feels the tension when Hamlet gets on stage when Claudius is about to complete his confession. He is indeed the murderer. However, Hamlet still believes in the ghost's and is still uncertain. He, therefore, decided to make a moral decision despite the struggle with his conscience.

Hamlet's Inner Struggles: Delayed Decision-Making and Moral Spectrum

Similarly, the play's remaining characters experience internal conflict while determining actions against their rivals. The struggle amid immorality and morality is utilized to develop the depth of individual characters. Laertes conflict with his conscious is witnessed on his pursuit to avenge his father's murder. His return from France propels his anger, and he decides to abandon his instinct. He ignores his moral stance to satisfy his craving for justice (Lewis). Hatred overcomes him to the extent that he is willing to murder Hamlet in church, the holiest place. Later he is overwhelmed by guilt.

Claudius also suffers from a conflicting conscience. The struggle reveals him as a true character rather than an antagonist. Claudius ignores this conscience when he executes his plans by murdering the King as he's asleep (Shakespeare 9). The ghost labels Claudius conscience as a villain. Later on, Claudius ponders over his actions. His actions show that he is struggling with his moral effects. Claudius feels guilty of his actions because of the realization that they are immoral. He compares his acts of deception to that of a prostitute who masks her sexually transmitted diseases with heavy makeup. His struggle with his conscience portrays in his prayer. He unleashes evil through the horrible actions of killing his brother to take his crown, and ultimately his wife. Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, also pursues evil by marrying his husband's brother as soon as the King dies.

Claudius believes that he has wronged the critic of moral principles, Heaven. Nevertheless, he fails to repent because he feels that he is undeserving of mercy. His conscience kills him because of the murder committed (Shakespeare 7). Claudius demonstrates that he has both immorality and guilt in his gut. He struggles with deciding between what is moral and what his conscience approves. When he gets a chance to address the audience, he proves that he is not just a villain but one with a troubled conscience.

Hamlet's Frustration and Disappointment

Hamlet is disappointed in his inability to act without moral considerations. He is frustrated with his failure to complete his father's wishes. He, therefore, decides to move after many deliberations. However, his conscience stops him from fulfilling these plans, and he derives much joy from the achievement. With this ability to control his moves, he decides to invoke similar reactions in Claudius to ascertain that he is indeed the killer of his father.

The Cost of Justice

Hamlet tries to use his conscience to ascertain that the ghost was telling the truth. However, he falls prey to his immorality by totally ignoring his conscience and murders Polonius in an angry encounter. He goes ahead to justify his murder, completely ignoring his conscience. Hamlet loses the respect of his audience by his actions. His audience is also astounded by his lack of moral perfection at this point.

Hamlet suffers from what is justice and what is not. When he decides to send his friends Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to their deaths in England, and loses his morality to the audience. Hamlet has a long monologue stating the inadequacies of his actions. In this case, he does not consider the moral implications of his actions and instead, justifies their execution. The audience feels that any punishment to his friends for betrayal is reasonable (Shakespeare 11). However, punishment by death was too severe and sad for the friendship they had initially shared.

Hamlet has an encounter with Fortinbras's Captain. The Captain reveals to him that the piece of land Norway is fighting for is not worth the fight. Hamlet goes ahead to assume that Poland may also not defend the nation because of his worthlessness. Hamlet is undecided, and his conscience destabilizes (Shakespeare 10) after the Captain tells him the piece of land his garrisoned. Hamlet is wary of Norway and does not want to spend a lot on a worthless piece of land. He realizes that many Norwegians may die in the battle against the Polish. His only win will be the King's death. Hamlet, therefore, decides to get justice for his father despite the cost he has to pay.

When Laertes returns to Denmark, he realizes that not only has his father been murdered but that her sister is also losing her mind. This scene brings in the discussion on the sacrifice of morals, cost of justice, and the significance and origin of authority. Laertes conspires with Claudius to kill Hamlet (Shakespeare 12). Hamlet, on the other hand, handles the situation by reasoning. He reasons out his options before taking any action. Hamlet brings his conscience into play as he decides to take action against Claudius.

Decision-Making Complexity

Laertes must decide on whether to exercise his conscience through judgment on who to trust. The play shows that Laertes bases his opinion on the action as opposed to reason. Making the decision enables him to make a better development on his conscience.

When Laertes trusts Claudius's authority in the plot to kill Hamlet, he does this to get justice for his father. Laertes is aware that he will be a participant of an immoral and unethical act. Laertes's cost of fairness is his morals as Hamlet's revenge. Laertes is not making the plot for any good as contrasted with Hamlet (Lewis). Laertes motives are selfish, and he admits to their sinful nature. However, Hamlet is adamant to accept that his actions are selfish too. Hamlet believes that the revenge he is seeking is for the greater good.

The above scenes prove that the characters found the decision-making process complicated. Laertes and Hamlet based their decisions on the question of justice, the applicable authority, and their morals. The actions of Hamlet are neither good nor evil. Laertes does not practice judgment on his actions. He decides to trust Claudius leading to tragic results for everyone. Laertes should have practiced more conscience on his actions rather than trusting Claudius. Morality in Shakespeare's Hamlet demonstrated through the ethical struggles of Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet. These characters face their struggles differently. Claudius later realizes the influence of his conscience after he commits a crime. His conscience kills him after the murder. Laertes disregards his integrity until that instant when he is about to commit an immoral act.

Conclusion

Hamlet has the character with the most profound realization of his conscience. His conscience has proved to be part of him throughout the play begins. He shows a perfect conscience. But as the game continues, he distances himself to fulfill his father's wishes and avenge his death. Hamlet's character shows what we go through in real life. Morality restores once Hamlet pursues revenge and murders King Claudius. Ethics conquer evil, and conscious thinking takes over once again. We are lukewarm when it comes to morality and keep shifting based on the situation. The conquering of sin restores morality and natural environmental order.

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Vol. 8. Ediciones Brontes, 2019.

Lewis, Rhodri. Hamlet and the Vision of Darkness. Princeton University Press, 2017.