Hamlet: Hamlet's Dilemma

        Hamlet is faced with an extraordinary conflict in this scene. He must decide whether to kill Claudius now (when he has a clear opportunity), or later. He decides to wait, and I personally think that that is a good idea. He decided to wait so that Claudius' soul would not go to Heaven, but rather plummet towards Hell. This is the right decision, because Claudius had killed Hamlet's father, his own brother, in order to attain power over the kingdom and Gertrude. Hamlet is right in his thinking that Claudius by no means deserves to go to Heaven.
        Either way, however, Hamlet is now in harms way. The entire kingdom assumes that he has gone mad. If word got out that he had murdered the king, or even thought about it, he would face grave consequences. Given the overwhelming effect of religion at that time, the people of the kingdom would not have taken this killing lightly. Despite this, Hamlet would go through with it simply for the reason of obligation to his father. This is the necessary thing to do, as his death should not go unavenged.
        By seeing this scene, I learn a lot more about Hamlet and Claudius. I learn that Hamlet, is not a person who does something before he thinks it over. He has a rational side, and that can be the difference between life and death for both him and Claudius. I also learned that Claudius is not afraid to pray, even after what he did to his brother. He does find shame in what he did, but he doesn't see how insincere it must be if he keeps all of the things that he has stolen from his brother. He killed his brother only to have the things he had. He wanted power, and he wanted the right to dominate his own sister in the bedroom at his convenience.