Hamlet

             Along with being complicated himself, his life was also complicated. The death of his father and the marriage of his mother to Claudius are just two examples of the many conflicts Hamlet had to deal with. These issues lead Hamlet through hard times that he had to solve and do something about. Hamlet was both a man of thought and a man of action. This made it hard for Hamlet to act on his emotions; it made him procrastinate and think about things too much.
             Hamlet's character indicates that he is a man of thought by how he handles certain situations throughout the play. He reveals himself to be an over-analytical man who frequently procrastinates. Hamlet demonstrates his over-analytical tendencies when Claudius was praying: "Now might I do it pat, now he is praying./ And not I"ll do it. And so he goes to heaven./ And so am I revenged. That would be scanned:."(III, iii, 76-78). Hamlet did not want Claudius to go to heaven, so he did not kill him at that time. What Hamlet did not know was that Claudius was not sincere in his prayers. Claudius did not mean what he was praying. Hamlet's father was not expecting his death, so Hamlet wants Claudius to be caught off guard like his father was. Instead of just killing Claudius while he had the chance, he over-analyzed the situation and eventually decided not to kill him at that exact time. By doing this, Hamlet missed the best and only chance he had to kill Claudius for revenge in the whole play. Hamlet's procrastination is demonstrated in many ways throughout the play. Hamlet assures himself that his plan to add sixteen lines to the play and watch Claudius' reaction, rather than completing his task, is the best plan of action: "The guilty creatures sitting at a play/ Have by the very cunning of the scene/ Been struck so to the soul that presently/ They have proclaimed their malefactions."(II, ii, 601-604). Hamlet wanted to make the king feel his guilt so he would confess to the death of his father: "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.