Explication of Hamlet Act 3 Scene III
← Oedipus the King | Alice Walkers Life and Her Novels → |
The scene opens with King Claudius asking Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to accompany Hamlet to England, and deliver a letter with orders to have Hamlet killed. Later on, King Claudius is lest alone, and, perhaps as a consequence of his guilt, starts to pray for forgiveness for killing his brother, the late King Hamlet, and marrying the queen. Hamlet finds him praying, and changes his mind about killing him while in prayer because he believes Claudius will go to heaven instead of hell. He wants to avenge the death of his father, but he reckons that killing Claudius in his state of repentance is like “hire and salary, not revenge” (Act III. scene iii.95). Consequently, he postpones his plans with the intention of catching him when he is drunk or in rage, so that he will die in a state of sin and, accordingly, get condemned to hell.
This scene portrays human nature in relation to revenge and self-promoting interests. In terms of self-promoting interests, King Claudius is worried about his own condition after killing his brother. Yet, he is planning to have Hamlet killed so that he will rule Denmark without any opposition.
On his part, Hamlet wishes for the full damnation of King Claudius. For a long time, he had intended to avenge the death of his father by killing Claudius, his murderer. However, it took so long to execute this decision, because he wanted to expose his guilt beyond any doubt. Consequently, upon finding Claudius in player, he was held in check, not as a matter of cautiousness (he had earlier stabbed Ophelia’s father without any caution) but after contemplating the ineffectiveness of killing a person whose soul might be saved after all.
A moral issue that arises is the nature of retributive justice in society (punishing the offender through punishment without benefiting the victim). The fact that Claudius was praying suggested that his sins might be forgiven and he goes to heaven. On his part, Hamlet wanted even his soul to be tortured in hell. He figures that if he kills Claudius and his soul goes to heaven, then his revenge would be useless, because instead of condemning him to eternity in hell, he would have helped in sending it to heaven. It questions the moral relevance of retributive justice, such as revenge the offender, which does little to improve the condition of the wronged.
Therefore, Hamlet’s delay could be seen as a calculation aimed at delivering a blow that would give his adversary no chance of salivation. It reflects the destructive nature of human hatred, because Hamlet wishes for the worst that could happen to Claudius. In his reasoning, a villain who killed his father should not go to heaven. Regardless, at this very moment, he doubts the position of Claudius as regards to salivation. For that doubt alone- the uncertainty that his prayer and repentance may afford him remission of past deeds, he decides to postpone meting the punishment, so as to catch him when he is in a situation befitting condemnation to hell.
And indeed, he eventually did when he (Claudius) commissioned the poisoning that led to the death of Gertrude and Laertes. Only then was Hamlet certain that the soul of his father’s murderer will descend to the bottomless bit of hell.
![]() |
Mia W.
Amherst, MA
|
|
Dear EssaysEmpire.com, I would like to put in a good word for Writer #32412. He was really under the gun. I didn’t give him much notice because I had my dates mixed up and my paper was due sooner than I expected. He didn’t let me down, though. He wrote until the paper was perfected. I handed it in on time got an A+ and wish your writers could accept tips, because I would leave this guy a HUGE one! |
![]() |
Steve Y.
Ft. Worth, TX
|
|
I would just like to say that I am tremendously happy with the two papers that were written for me by the EssaysEmpire.com writers. They were just what I ordered….only better. |
![]() |
Delaine A.
Taos, NM
|
|
I had a question about the pricing. As I glanced through the EssaysEmpire.com website, I noticed that they were offering a lot for not all that much money. I spoke to a customer service person and she told me that the prices I saw on the website were accurate. Therefore, I ordered my first paper, not expecting all that much. What I got back was a brilliantly written essay that earned an A+ mark! Wow! I am impressed! |
![]() |
Phoebe K.
Madison, CT
|
|
I find your writing company to be professional, proficient and perfect. Your papers are always so good! They make good reading, in addition to being well written assignments. I can tell your writers really know their stuff! |
![]() |
Kris K.
San Francisco, CA
|
|
I would like to say thanks to writer #48376 for doing such an astonishing job on my paper. I really gave him very little to go on. Still, he was able to do the research and come up with a champion paper for me. I am speechless. I didn’t expect anything nearly this good. |
![]() |
Sanjaya K.
Calcutta, INDIA
|
|
I am fully satisfied with my research paper. It cannot have been easy for your writers to compose! The topic is called, "PARALLEL ALGORITHM FOR MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MATRIX MULTIPLICATION OPERATIONS REPRESENTATION USING KARNAUGH MAP”. That is a very difficult topic! However, your writers developed an algorithm, included a diagram and a graph and related multi-dimensional matrix multiplication perfectly. I am thrilled with the work I received and will be using your company again in the near future. Thank you for all of your hard work on this project. I love it! |
![]() |
Millie P.
Jackson, WY
|
|
Thanks goes out to the writer who filled my order. He did everything right the first time around. I had to ask for one tiny revision, but that was my own fault for leaving it out of the directions. |
![]() |
Marcella M.
Lexington, KY
|
|
Dear EssaysEmpire.com, I am very happy with the work that your writers did for me. I was impressed by the plagiarism report, too. Thanks for everything! |
![]() |
Fred H.
Berkeley, CA
|
|
Thank you for doing what you do. You helped a lot of my friends, and now you have helped me. You provide a valuable service to students who need to get over writing hurdles. |
![]() |
Terry M.
Sparta, NJ
|
|
I got an A+ on the paper that you guys wrote for me. I can’t believe it! THANKS!!!! Many, many thanks! This A+ added those few extra points that I needed to stay on the Dean’s Honor List. You’re the greatest, EssaysEmpire.com! |
![]() |
Celine H.
Calistoga, CA
|
|
Thanks for doing a great job on a paper that was an important part of my semester. You guys rock! |
![]() |
Kathy M.
Las Cruces, NM
|
|
To EssaysEmpire.com: Thank you for my outstanding paper. When I read it, I knew that I would get an A+ on it. Also, thanks for adding all of the pertinent details that I asked you to customize. You did a brilliant job. Just brilliant. |
![]() |
Lonnie K.
Falcon Crest, MA
|
|
I work very long hours. Therefore, I sometimes run behind in my school assignments. This is especially true for the long written assignments. It is so great to know that I can always count on EssaysEmpire.com to help me out. The papers that I buy from you are excellent, without fail. I really appreciate your help . Thanks for everything. |
![]() |
David H.
New York, NY
|
|
I want to thank each writer who participated in helping with my large project. I know they spent a lot of energy turning out an admirable product, and I feel good for having hired them to take on this important project. EssaysEmpire.com is reputed as the best writing company on the Internet. Now, I know first hand, that you live up to that reputation. I could not have asked for a better deal. |
![]() |
Langley R.
Los Angeles, CA
|
|
One of the things that I appreciate most about EssaysEmpire.com, is that they don’t resell your paper. Only you own it, if you hire them to write something. Other writing services that I have used, just circulate the same paper over and over, and if you get caught turning one in, too bad. You are expelled. EssaysEmpire.com will even give you a plagiarism report after they run it through their anti-plagiarism check. Such details set EssaysEmpire.com above the rest. |
![]() |
Glynnis H.
Ft. Smith, AR
|
|
Hello! I just had to stop what I was doing to let you know how grateful I am that I found your excellent writing service. I have had to use you three times now, and each time, I have been 100% satisfied with the work that you did. Your writers are absolutely outstanding. I am very, very happy with everything you have written for me. |
![]() |
Patti F.
Boulder, CO
|
|
I have complete confidence in the quality of the work that I order from your writing service. You have always been the prime example of what a writing service should be. |
![]() |
Mark R.
Seattle, WA
|
|
I am so happy with my term paper. The writer did a spectacular job!! Thanks to the writing team and also to the customer service team. |
![]() |
Josef H.
Houston, TX
|
|
The topic for my assigned essay was very intense. It involved a lot of research and knowledge of the subject. The writer who took care of it for me seemed to be a real expert. I found that so impressive! I just had to drop a line to let you know how much I appreciated the work he did. |
![]() |
Gaia W.
Lexington, OK
|
|
EssaysEmpire.com gets an A+ for being the best writing service a student could ever ask for! Thank you for your continued high quality work, guys. I have purchased 6 papers from you over the last two years and they have been exquisite in their workmanship and content. I really appreciate how hard you guys work to please your customers. I’m not surprised that you are reported to be the best writing company online or off. To me, you are exactly that. |