Carter Haskel
Dr. Demarco
April 29, 2019
Hamlet’s Seven Deadly Sins
The tragedy Hamlet bases its entire premise upon the ambition of the royal family and how many sins a party is willing to commit before receiving what they so desire which is ultimately, power. The antagonist, Claudius, does whatever he deems necessary to gain access to the throne, doing so mostly through greed, wrath, and envy. However, the sins depicted in this play are not singularly limited to the man infamously guilty of fratricide. Every other character is depicted sinning in one way or another and the audience is left to their own devices and ideologies when considering whether Hamlet, Gertrude, King Claudius, and even minor supporting characters such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are themselves guilty or innocent within the world of Hamlet.
The seven deadly sins are considered to be Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. When Shakespeare wrote this tragedy, it would not have been published had it contained explicit references to the Bible. As the 17th century world found itself infiltrated by successions of Protestant groups, such dynamic changes presented an opportunity: “Would not the English audience of the early seventeenth century-still troubled by conflicting spiritual and theological claims after successive phases of Protestant reform-have noted the tragedy’s mixed signs as well?” (Endnote, Watson) Though Shakespeare had knowledge of the repercussions that he would face, including the censorship of his literature, the Bard ultimately found ways in which to circumvent the system. One such included using disparate tactics such as puns and “slippery words” that could be marked as something distinct from anything bible-related. (Endnote, Watson). In this, we can observe that such is also the reason why there is not a priest present in the play which potentially could have helped the audience understand some of the more labyrinthine symbolic references. However, Shakespeare includes obvious biblical references throughout. Set in Elsinore, Denmark, the story is based around the 14th-15th centuries in which the late King Hamlet was Roman Catholic, while young Hamlet can be heeded as Protestant. After all, quotes used by Polonius (Friend of Claudius and father of Laertes and Ophelia) are discerningly similar to those used in the Geneva Bible. (Endnote, Shaheen) Verbal parallels are seen multiple times in Polonius’ lines including: “A double blessing is a double grace”, which are used in Isaiah 40.3 and 40.2. (Endnote, Shaheen) Assuming the Geneva bible was the one that Shakespeare took heed from, we can assume that the play was purposely infused with biblical references as a means of alluding to characters and the sins that they all commit.
Hamlet: a young prince who is living his life to the fullest and without a worry is suddenly struck by the tragedy of his father’s death and his uncle’s marriage to his mother Gertrude. Seen as an egregious, incestuous act via Hamlet’s eyes, he unwillingly finds himself converted into a sardonic and conniving pessimist who slowly goes insane throughout the play. Perhaps the least flawed but most also the most indecisive character in the book, Hamlet is always scheming to find a way to exact revenge upon Claudius. No agenda is written in stone for Hamlet, however he sees his future as predestined to only achieve vengeance for the ghost of his father who had told him of Claudius’ heinous crime and eventual road to the throne. This event preceded the play as a means of storyline development to which Hamlet has to decide when to strike, acting upon his vengeance and how he should act as a scourge. Throughout the tragedy, Hamlet is forced to sin multiple times even though he is characterized as an essentially non-evil character. Imaginably, the only sin that Hamlet would not have committed if it weren’t for Claudius and his desire for revenge would be that of his lust for Ophelia. Though not written conspicuously, it can be construed through Ophelia’s intentional pandering and songs in Act IV that she had indeed slept with Hamlet: “Then up he rose and donn’ d his clothes, And dupp’ d the chamber-door, Let in the maid, that out a maid Never departed more.” (Endnote, Act IV sc.V). In this, the audience can thereby infer that Ophelia had slept with Hamlet and therein sinned. Whether the audience believes that this would’ve happened without the tragedy committed by Claudius is ambiguous, however it still doesn’t deny the fact that it occurred.
Though Hamlet himself has little desire for the throne, it does not leave him exempt from avarice or unaffected by sloth (the avoidance of spiritual and/or physical work). Unlike Claudius and most other tragic characters that only seek power, Hamlet is benevolent in this regard. All that he aspires to do is avenge his father and achieve his father’s path of reaching heaven as a means of finding a path from eternal purgatory. The tragedy of the father’s untimely death stagnates Hamlet’s ambition, leaving him with the singular goal of revenge: “the melancholy man was not only ‘prone to spectral visitations,’ but was also aggravated in his condition by thwarted ambition; further, he ‘ponders and debates long, and does not act until his blood is up: then acts vigorously.’ ”(Endnote, Stabler) Hamlet’s greed is shown via the affection that he still holds for his father. This affection is what drives Hamlet to recklessly meander throughout the play, acting mad, and eventually murdering Polonius during a search for Claudius. Hamlet himself foreshadows his kind-nature and desperation for revenge and pronounces his intentions in the beginning of the book: “Haste me to know ‘t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love,May sweep to my revenge. ”(Endnote, Hamlet Act I sc. V). Hamlet’s greed is not caused by himself, but rather by the wishes of his deceased father. However, because of Hamlet’s buildup of ambition throughout the play and his spiritual acts towards the end of the play, he does not fit the stereotype for sloth, as such is the act of avoiding work overall and being lazy. This coupled with not doing spiritual work is considered to be one of the seven deadly sins. Although it takes until the final act of the tragedy, Hamlet not only gets out of his laze, but also repents for the sins that he has committed. After mistakenly murdering Polonius, Hamlet apologizes, “For this same lord I do repent.” even though it did take some egging on from Gertrude. (Endnote, Hamlet Act III sc. IV). Repenting is one of the penultimate ways to condemn what you have done and ask for forgiveness. It can also be argued that Hamlet was only repenting because he feared death at the hands of someone (Claudius or Laertes) and wanted to make sure his ticket to heaven was stamped. However, Hamlet is too religious of a man and sees his life as only a scourge. The argument articulating that he is only repenting for his death is a little bit dubious due to Hamlet’s established religious background.
Hamlet’s lust for vengeance encompasses the whole narrative of the book; what is to be said for the Christian values represented? The Geneva Bible was also comprised of the New Testament which essentially includes the revenge clause of the holy text. In The Book of Matthew in the New Testament it states: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” (Endnote, Matthew 5:38) This effectively parades the notion that if one is done wrong, he is not unjust for doing wrong to the other in return. This ideology can be applied to Shakespeare’s use of the ghost of King Hamlet as well. Seen by Hamlet in Act I and Act III, the ghost advises Hamlet of his death (done unto him by Claudius) and also not to hurt or blame his mother. The most important component of this monologue is that the ghost of King Hamlet commands that Hamlet must enact revenge upon Claudius. The conversations led by the ghost also give insight for the audience in identifying Hamlet’s flaws: “Commonly, a hero’s tragic flaw is to be found within the noblest gift he possesses-in Antigone’s loyalty, Brutus’ sense of honor, Coriolanus’ bravery. Hamlet’s noblest gift plainly, is a capacity for speculation… Hamlet thinks too much.” (Endnote, Battenhouse). Though the King was likely a Roman Catholic, he still usurps the position of pacifism (from the Bible) mandating that Hamlet’s sin upon his behalf to execute his plan for vengeance. This creates one of the biggest quandaries of the tragedy. Is Hamlet to achieve his father’s ascent to heaven and gain revenge against Claudius as a scourge, or is he to stand idle and allow everything to happen without questioning it, thereby avoiding the act of sin?
Inexorably, the two deadly sins that Hamlet is most guilty of are pride and wrath. Hamlet’s character develops immensely over the course of the tragedy. He began as a cordial, good-willed prince that was perhaps a little shaken by his father’s death but was slowly started to develop a sense of privilege and self-indulgence that wasn’t prevalent in the beginning. Seemingly after the discussion with Hamlet Sr. (the ghost) Hamlet advances his mental-state to rely on anger and the pride of his father. He projects this onto Ophelia, Horatio, and even his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Not only was he rude at times to the people that were closest to him, but he also suspected everyone of wrongdoing without analyzing himself. Hamlets mental state causes him to never realize that he was looking too deep into the message from his father and too deep into his religion. These notions are what Hamlet used to develop his thesis that his life was simply that of a scourge. A life that was used only for god to mettle in the mortal world and to accomplish things that he could not do himself. The pride and anger evolved by Hamlet can be shown in Act III when he castigates Ophelia: “Get thee to a nunnery, farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them.” (Endnote, Hamlet Act III sc.I) In this scene he conclusively tells her that she needs to be chaste for the rest of her life so that she cannot turn another man into a monster, as women were frequently believed to be the cause of. His anger is projecting onto others with little to no filter. This is the ultimate proof of self-pride and narcissism that Hamlet develops over the course of the tragedy; and chiefly through anger.