Conflict and Turning Points in Shakespeares Hamlet - Book Report/Review Example

His internal conflict reflects the individual against the world and nothing matters but that he achieves his goal by killing Claudius. He has a moral dilemma, for he cannot seem to take that action and carry out the deed. He is surrounded by lies, deceit, and subterfuge, all of which add to his conflict, and in fact, he is even tempted by suicide, a significant idea as to the force of internal conflict. His play within a play, The Mousetrap, helps to confirm his suspicions, when Claudius reacts with guilt, but still, he waivers.

Shakespeare is showing us a man who wants justice but is not certain that the means justify the ends. With other main characters, such as Claudius, Shakespeare shows conflicts between greed and family loyalty, love and lust, jealousy and brotherly love. Ophelia represents the conflict between hope and despair, self-worth and rejection, life and death, choosing death in her madness and despair. Hamlet's conflicts drove him to become a destroyer, who, at the final catastrophe, understood that revenge is neither sweet nor morally right, it could only end in tragedy and loss.

Throughout the play, the obsessive desire to kill the king was delayed by that moral dilemma, and perhaps his depression and self-doubt. After confirmation of guilt, during the play, Hamlet's character seemed to become more cruel and vindictive, as his treatment of Ophelia, earlier in Act 111 showed. There are still some feelings of justice and the moral high ground for Hamlet, but he failed to take action when he found Claudius at prayer. "Now I might do it pat, now a' is a-praying" (Act 111, Sc. 4, v. 73)He did not want his father's murderer to go to Heaven.

From here on, things turned against Hamlet, as the balance of power shifts to Claudius, and his plans to avenge lost momentum, while Claudius looked for ways to do away with him. But Hamlet's treatment of his mother and killing of Polonius showed a remorseless lack of humanity, suggesting that right was no longer on his side. Shakespeare expresses the idea that once a person loses his humanity, commits himself to evil, they have become corrupt. They no longer command respect or sympathy, their status is diminished and they will ultimately be left with nothing.

In his book on Hamlet, Kenneth Chan put Hamlet's condition into this perspective: "Hamlet has the courage to face the unknown and to seek the truth unflinchingly. If he follows this path with the ideals of love and compassion, new spiritual heights will be open to him. Tragically, he chooses instead to transform his mind into one obsessed with avenging his father. This mind of bitterness and hatred has disastrous consequences." (Chan, 2004)The turning point eroded Hamlet's character as a heroic figure, caught up in a tragic set of circumstances.