PART IV
Now Hamlet knows the truth: his father was kidnapped on the orders of his brother Claudius and is probably dead by now. Hamlet knows the truth but he has no proof. His knowledge is purely intuitive. His sense of justice tells him what he should do: he must punish Claudius and thus restore moral order both to the family and to the shoelace factory. He can’t go to the police because he has no positive evidence of his uncle’s guilt. He must take justice into his own hands.
Hamlet knows that he should act at once but he can’t make up his mind as to what exactly he should do. He waits. He hesitates. And he listens to Ophelia’s songs. Why is he unable to act? Why is he incapable of making a decision? Why doesn’t he behave like a man? Maybe he doesn’t want to get involved in family affairs? Perhaps he wants to live is own life free from the burden of judging other people?
Hamlet was reluctant to act, but circumstances forced him to do so. The end result of the whole situation was tragic.
on the orders of – z rozkazu
proof – dowód
thus – tak, w ten sposób
restore – przywracać
moral order – porządek moralny
he has no positive evidence of – nie ma konkretnych dowodów na
hesitate – wahać się
be incapable of doing something – nie być w stanie (nie potrafić) czegoś zrobić
end result – wynik ostateczny
1. Describe the kind of knowledge that Hamlet had.
2. Explain what Hamlet felt he should do and why.
3. Explain why Hamlet was reluctant to act.