This is epitomized in Hamlet’s excessive mourning for the dead king, being the last person in the kingdom to still wear mourning clothes, or dress in “nighted color.” Indecision also is a result of his melancholia, which results in his stalling in relation to killing the king. One of the most widely researched reasons for Hamlet’s indecisiveness is the relation between Hamlet’s situation and that of Oedipus, who wanted to kill his father and marry his mother. Hamlet often conveys his love for his mother, as he does when he berates her for marrying Claudius. However, his hesitation in relation to killing his stepfather stems from his unconsciously identifying with Claudius, since he has done the very thing Hamlet himself wishes to do. Hamlet is indecisive as well because of his fear that the gods are lying to him. This is exemplified when he questions the validity of his dead father’s ghost’s assessment that Claudius had killed his father. Indeed, Hamlet continues to verify that as the truth late into the book, which seems merely an excuse to
This is epitomized in Hamlet’s excessive mourning for the dead king, being the last person in the kingdom to still wear mourning clothes, or dress in “nighted color.” Indecision also is a result of his melancholia, which results in his stalling in relation to killing the king. One of the most widely researched reasons for Hamlet’s indecisiveness is the relation between Hamlet’s situation and that of Oedipus, who wanted to kill his father and marry his mother. Hamlet often conveys his love for his mother, as he does when he berates her for marrying Claudius. However, his hesitation in relation to killing his stepfather stems from his unconsciously identifying with Claudius, since he has done the very thing Hamlet himself wishes to do. Hamlet is indecisive as well because of his fear that the gods are lying to him. This is exemplified when he questions the validity of his dead father’s ghost’s assessment that Claudius had killed his father. Indeed, Hamlet continues to verify that as the truth late into the book, which seems merely an excuse to