Farrahlee Gerasta

ENG 2800/ Prof. Peer

November 28, 2017

Essay #2 Draft

Cover Letter

In this essay, I am hoping to prove that Hamlet is waiting so long to get revenge for his father’s death because he is unsure if his father’s ghost is telling the truth or not. I am also hoping to prove that it is because he wants to put on an act that he is crazy before he takes any action to make it justified. I developed my ideas by listing places in the play I can use as evidence. I need to work on getting more evidence and expanding the analysis for my evidence to connect it more to my thesis. I will also work on solidifying and altering my thesis once I get all of my evidence to have it all come together.

First Draft: Hamlet and His Revenge?

Throughout the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet contemplates if his father’s ghost is telling the truth or not and if she should take action and get revenge for his death based on this information. In this essay I will prove that Hamlet is waiting to get his revenge for his father’s death because he wants to confirm that the information of his death is accurate. He also wants to put on an act and make everyone think he is crazy before he takes any action so that it would be justified. This is evident from his actions throughout the play.

In act two, scene 2, Hamlet comes up with a plan to find out if Cladius is guilty or not. He wants to put on a play similar to how his father died to see the reaction on Cladius’ face if he looks guilty or not. He says “I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my father before mine uncle: I’ll observe his looks; I’ll tent him to the quick: if he but blench, I know my course” (549-553). Hamlet is also scared to take action and get revenge because he does not think that he can do it. In this same speech, he says “Am I a coward? Who calls me villain?” (524-525). He is unsure of himself if he can do this or not so he has to make sure he has all the right information to continue with his revenge to assure himself he doing the right thing.

He is waiting to get his revenge because first he is putting on an act and making everyone think he is crazy before he takes action so it would be justified. Right after he speaks to his father’s ghost his tells Horatio and Marcellus that he may be acting crazy, but to not say anything. At the end of act 1, scene 5, he tells them “How strange or odd soe’er I bear myself, as I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on, that you, at such times seeing me, never shall” (168-171).  So from this point in the play as soon as he found out that Cladius killed his father, he started to plot that he will put on an act to act crazy and build up to getting his revenge. He first has to put on a show to everyone.

Other types of evidence I will use:

• Act 2, scene 1 – pg. 678, line 75 – “O, my lord, my lord, I have been so affrighted”
  • Hamlet acts crazy in front of Ophelia to show more people that he is crazy so that everyone will beieve it
• Act 1, Scene 5 (line 167-) – “Here, as before, never, so help you mercy…”