THE PROBLEM OF DELAY IN HAMLET:

Hamlet’s delays in carrying out the command of the ghost by killing his uncle and its
causes have been the subject of endless controversy among critics. Some modern critics like
T.S Eliot refused to take notice of it. According to them it is certainly an artistic flaw.
Others like German critic Hanner and American critic Stoil explain this matter in a very
simple way by saying that if Hamlet had killed the king, the story would have ended
somewhere in Act-II. Shakespeare was therefore forced to delay his revenge. Suppose he
had done so, there would have been no tragedy of Hamlet. Some critics argue that there is
no delay at all, every thing that hero does is calculated and deliberate. German critic
Werder remarks that Hamlet is intelligent and passive. Passive in the sense that he
understands the difficulty of his task, he goes to the mark straight in the heart of crime and
by no mean slowly.
These are, no doubt, two extreme views. When we study the plays we feel that there has
been delay on the part of Hamlet. When we say that there is delay, the question arises what
were the causes? To answer this question, a number of theories have been advanced. These
theories can be divided into two groups: External Causes; Internal Causes. Those who
believe in external causes hold the circumstances responsible for the delay of Hamlet.
While those who believe in internal causes are in majority and hold Hamlet responsible for
this delay:
External Causes:
This theory of Hamlet’s delay due to external difficulties was expounded by the German
critic Werder. The main arguments advanced in favour of this theory are, what was
Hamlet to do when ghost had left him with its command of vengeance? The king was
surrounded not merely by courtiers but also by Swiss body guards. How was Hamlet to get
at him? Was he able to accuse him for murder publicly? If he did what would happen?
How would he prove the charge? All that he had to offer in proof was a ghost story. Others,
to be sure, had seen the ghost but no one else had heard its revelations. If the court is
honest it would vote for Hamlet’s madness or would punish him.
It is true that immediately after “The Mouse Trap”, he got a chance. He found the king
defenseless. But what Hamlet wanted was not a private revenge He wanted a public justice
with the king, so he spared the king. But, on the voyage, he discovered the king’s
commandment to the king of England to put him immediately to death. He with this letter
in his pocket comes back to Denmark. He had now a solid proof that the king attempted to
kill him. This would also provide him a proof for his father’s death but his enemy was
quick enough. This public indictment of his enemy can also go with his own death.
Though this story was rejected by the late critics on the plea that no where in the play does
Hamlet make the slightest reference to any external difficulty. On the contrary, he has
asserted many times that he can obey the ghost as he says in his mothers closet: “I shall lug
the guts into the neighbour room.”
But this theory we can not ignore. Firstly, it is quite probable that when Hamlet was
thinking quite precisely on the event, he was considering other things, the question, how
could he avenge his father without sacrificing his own life. Secondly, he was anxious that
his act of vengeance should not be misconstructed. In the end, he requests his friend
Horatio to explain his act .Hamlet says:
“Horatio, I am dead,
Thou livest, report me and my cause aright
To the unsatisfied.”
Internal Causes:
When we take internal causes of Hamlet’s delay, we see four important theories.
(i) Sentimental theory presented by Goethe.
(ii) Weakness of will theory presented by Coleridge.

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(iii) Conscience theory presented by Ulrich
(iv) Melancholic theory presented by Bradley.
Sentimental Theory: Sentimental theory is outdated It presents the picture of Hamlet as a
graceful youth, sensitive, full of delicate sympathies and aspirations, shrinking from the
touch of every thing gross and earthly. He is frail and weak. This picture of Hamlet though
not rootless, yet is certainly untrue. This picture of Hamlet is not fit to be the hero of the
tragedy.
The Weakness of the Will: “The weakness of will theory” is widely accepted. According
to this theory, the cause of Hamlet’s delay is irresolution, that is, excess of reflective or
speculative habit of mind. Hamlet is an intellectual and prefers to live in the world of
idealism and thus he is unfit to perform the duties of the world. He cannot concentrate his
attention on the work in hand. He is never satisfied, never resolute and always remains in
state of “to be or not to be.”
“Thus conscience does make coward of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied over with the pale cast of thought.”
Though this theory is supported by Hamlet’s own words in his soliloquies, yet it is a partial
theory and leaves much unexplained. This theory does not take into view the element of
fate, which instead of helping him, conspires to paralyse him.
Conscience Theory: According to conscience theory, it is not the will that renders him a
coward. The king, after all, is his uncle, brother of his father and husband of his mother.
He cannot kill him without thinking over the matter from all sides. He is scrupulous. The
ghost also seems to him doubtful.
“The spirit that I have seen
May be a devil, and the devil hath power,
T’ assume a pleasing shape.”
This is the main reason for his designing the play scene. He wanted to trap the king’s
conscience. He cannot kill Claudius while he is praying because his conscience is not
satisfied. Conscience theory explains the cause of Hamlet’s delay to a certain extent. But
obviously, we cannot say that conscience is the chief hindrance in his action.
The melancholy theory: The melancholy theory of Hamlet’s delay was advanced by
Bradley. In his book “Shakespearean Tragedy”, he says: “Melancholy accounts for
Hamlet’s inaction.”
The immediate cause of this is simply his feelings and ideas full of disgust with life, and
every thing in it. Such a state of feeling is inevitably adverse to any kind of decided action.
His body is inert; the mind is averse to response. His killing of the king is a violent,
dangerous and a difficult task. But It sinks into the sea of his diseased feelings.
None of the above theories explains completely the cause of Hamlet’s delay. As Hamlet is a
complex character, his delay may also be due to several causes. Every critic has given his
own interpretation of character and causes. But however, in the end of the whole
discussion, we may come to the conclusion that Hamlet hesitates not because he is devoured
by nervous reflexes and apathy but because he is afraid of taking a false step. Hence “the
weakness of the will theory” is the most widely accepted theory.

Written&Composed By:
Prof.A.R.Somroo
M.A.English&Education.
0661-610063

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