Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play full of moral dilemmas. Religious codes often conflict with the instinctive desires and feelings in the minds of characters, calling into question which courses of action are truly the right paths. In Hamlet's case, such conundrums are debilitating and cause frustrating, even fatal, inaction. Indeed, the lack of moral clarity in the play is undoubtedly the source of much of the tragedy that plays out in the final scenes. For this reason, the Hamlet numbers provide an excellent foundation from which to further explore how religion motivates human actions. The characters' dilemmas regarding two great moral questions, suicide and murder, demonstrate the centrality of this motivation, both within the confines of the play and within the broader framework of human society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hamlet's ambivalence about suicide introduces topics such as death, religion, and the afterlife as recurring themes throughout the work. His despair and confusion give rise to one of Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies, the eloquent verbalization of a mental battle between the forces of perseverance and suicide. Yet this oft-quoted "to be or not to be" speech in act three is preceded by some more obscure but extremely important lines two acts earlier. The lines express Hamlet's desire to die and his frustration with the fact that suicide is forbidden by Christianity: "Oh that this too-soiled flesh would melt and thaw and resolve into dew, or that the Lord had not fixed his cannon “against himself”. - massacre (Act 1, scene 2, lines 129-132). From these words we can see that, at the beginning of the play, Hamlet is very attentive to the letter of religious law. However, Hamlet does not specify why this religious prohibition actually prevents him from committing the act he so desires to accomplish. Does his scruple come solely from the desire to follow God's word, or is it motivated by the fear of being punished for his transgression? This point is unclear, but it is clear from the speech that, if religion were not a factor, Hamlet would choose to commit suicide. On the other hand, as the play progresses to act three and Hamlet's well-known soliloquy is delivered, the emphasis has shifted. of religion and even more towards personal reluctance towards suicide. Hamlet's language here clearly expresses anxiety and fear about what might happen after death, but it never refers to God's wrath or any punishment for sins. Indeed, no reference to the Christian concept of the afterlife is made in the speech; Rather, Hamlet speaks of death as an eternal sleep, dangerous in the possibility of unknown and perilous dreams. He lists at length the grievances of this world – “the whips and scorns of time, the wrongs of the oppressor, the scorns of the proud man, the pangs of love scorned… (Act 3, scene 1, lines 70 -72)” - and asserts that, surely, the only thing that prevents man from putting an end to his suffering is the fear of even greater suffering in this endless sleep. It is the fear of the unknown, not the assured punishment that religion promises. And while religious thought generally characterizes suicide as cowardly in its attempt to escape the suffering that man must endure on earth, Hamlet views suicide as the more courageous alternative. What is cowardly, he asserts, is not pursuing the possibility of greater happiness for fear of ending up in agreatest despair. Thus, over the course of the play, as Hamlet deepens his suicidal thoughts, he finds himself confronted more with fears he has imagined than with the torture promised by God. Hamlet provides additional material for the exploration of suicide as a theme of death and suicide. Ophelia's funeral. In this case, uncertainty arises as to what actually constitutes suicide. Queen Gertrude describes Ophelia as having gone mad with grief over her father's death and, after accidentally falling into the river, not having the presence of mind to escape. But was Ophelia's fall really accidental? And even if she did, does her letting the water wash over her amount to suicide? Shakespeare raises these questions using the conversation of two gravediggers who debate whether Ophelia should be allowed a full Christian burial. Their dialogue ("Should she be buried in a Christian burial while she willingly seeks her own salvation (Act 5, scene 1, lines 1-2)?") gives the sense that most observers believe Ophelia s He committed suicide, but most are also willing to ignore this fact in light of his unfortunate situation. Those who tacitly condone Ophelia's actions in this way navigate between the letter of religious law and what they believe is right in their hearts. While Hamlet struggled with this issue and chose to follow the law, Ophelia's funeral chose to follow their heart instead. Murder-related situations are closely related to these moral dilemmas involving suicide. Both actions involve the loss of human life, and one would think that the act of murder would require at least as much introspection as suicide. Yet the characters in the play show no hesitation when it comes to the moral basis of revenge killing; Even though Hamlet struggles with this act, he has no doubt that it is the right thing to do. Hamlet takes this zeal for vengeance even further than Claudius, killing with a single movement the hidden Polonius, whom Hamlet takes for a conspirator, or at least a sympathizer, with his father's murderer. Laertes seems to view revenge killing in a similarly straightforward manner. , necessary and even honorable light. Although the king has other reasons for quickly getting rid of Hamlet, he expresses Laertes' feelings well when he says, in reference to Hamlet's murder of Polonius: "And where the offense is, let the great axe” (Act 4, scene 5, line 213).” Depending on one's perspective, this mentality can be seen as either in conflict with religious guidelines or consistent with them. The sixth commandment states: “Thou shalt not kill,” yet Hamlet and Laertes only accept this rule in certain circumstances. Obviously, the biblical passage about “an eye for an eye” is more appealing to them and their sense of justice through vengeance. In these situations, the characters do not feel bound by religious prohibitions; in fact, beyond the simple thirst for blood, they feel a real moral compulsion to right wrongs by avenging them. As Laertes says, the questions surrounding his father's death "cry out to be heard, as from heaven to earth...(Act 4, scene 5, line 210)", and must be answered appropriately. A religious problem that hinders Hamlet from achieving his goal of killing Claudius is his belief that Claudius will go to heaven if he dies while praying. This belief is an example of Hamlet worrying about the letter of religious law rather than the spirit of religion. He does not consider Claudius' murder of the elder Hamlet to be morally repugnant and sinful; the simple act of praying is enough, in, 71(1), 67-78.