Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play full of moral dilemmas. Religious codes often clash with the instinctive desires and feelings in the minds of characters, calling into question which courses of action are truly the right paths. In Hamlet's case, such conundrums are debilitating and cause a frustrating, and ultimately fatal, lack of action. Indeed, the absence of moral clarity in the play is probably the root of most of the tragedy that unfolds in the final scenes. For this reason, Hamlet's themes provide a great foundation from which to further explore how religion motivates human actions. The characters' dilemmas regarding two major moral issues, suicide and murder, demonstrate the centrality of this motivation, both within the confines of the play and in the broader scope of human society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Hamlet's ambivalence regarding suicide introduces topics such as death, religion, and the afterlife as recurring themes throughout the work. His desperation and confusion produce one of Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies, the eloquent verbalization of a mental wrestling match between the forces of perseverance and suicide. Yet this oft-quoted “to be or not to be” speech in the third act is preceded by some more obscure but extremely important lines two acts earlier. The lines express Hamlet's desire to die and frustration that suicide is prohibited by Christianity: "Oh, if this too-stained flesh would melt, melt and resolve itself into dew, or if the LORD had not set his canon 'against himself" -slaughter (Act 1, Scene 2, lines 129-132).” From these words we can see that, at the beginning of the play, Hamlet is very attentive to the letter of religious law. However, Hamlet does not explain why this religious prohibition actually prevents him from performing the act he so desires to perform. Does his compunction arise purely from a desire to follow God's word, or is he motivated by fear of being punished for his transgression? This point is unclear, but it is clear from the speech that if religion were not a factor, Hamlet would choose to kill himself. Instead, as the play progresses to the third act and Hamlet's well-known soliloquy is uttered, the emphasis has shifted elsewhere. from religion and more to personal doubts about suicide. Hamlet's language here clearly conveys anxiety and fear about what might happen after death, but never refers to God's wrath or any punishment for sins. In the speech, in fact, no reference is made to the Christian concept of the afterlife; rather, Hamlet speaks of death as an eternal sleep, dangerous in the possibility of unknown and dangerous dreams. He lists at length the grievances of this world - "the whips and taunts of time, the wrong of the oppressor, the contumelies of the proud man, the pangs of love scorned... (Act 3, scene 1, lines 70- 72)" - and states that, surely, the only thing that prevents man from ending his suffering is the fear of even greater suffering in that endless sleep. This is fear of the unknown, not the sure punishment that religion promises. And, while religious thought usually characterizes suicide as a cowardly act in an attempt to escape the suffering that man must endure on earth, Hamlet sees suicide as the bravest alternative. What is cowardly, he claims, is not pursuing the possibility of greater happiness for fear of finding greater despair. So over the course of the play, as Hamlet delves into thesuicidal thoughts, he finds himself dealing more with the fears of his own imagination than with the torture promised by God. Hamlet provides further material for the exploration of suicide as a theme with death and dying. burial of Ophelia. In this case uncertainty arises as to what, in fact, constitutes suicide. Queen Gertrude describes Ophelia as having gone mad with grief over her father's death and, having accidentally fallen into the river, not having had the presence of mind to extricate herself. But was Ophelia's fall really accidental? And even if she was, does letting the water get to her amount to suicide? Shakespeare raises these questions using the conversation of two gravediggers who question whether to allow Ophelia a full Christian burial. Their dialogue ("Should she be buried in a Christian burial when she voluntarily seeks her own salvation (Act 5, scene 1, lines 1-2)?") conveys the sense that most observers believe Ophelia killed herself, but most are even willing to overlook this fact in light of its unfortunate circumstances. Those who tacitly condone Ophelia's actions in this way are navigating the rift between the letter of religious law and what they feel is right in their hearts. While Hamlet was grappling with this problem and choosing to follow the law, Ophelia's burialers chose to follow their hearts instead. Closely related to these moral dilemmas involving suicide are situations involving homicide. Both actions involve the taking of a human life, and one might think that the act of murder requires at least as much soul searching as a suicide. Yet the characters in the play show no hesitation when it comes to the moral underpinnings of revenge killing; even though Hamlet has difficulty actually doing the deed, he does not doubt that it is the right thing to do. Hamlet takes this zeal for revenge even further than just Claudius, killing in one swift motion the hidden Polonius, whom Hamlet considers a conspirator, or at least a sympathizer, of his father's murderer. Laertes seems to view revenge killing equally straightforwardly. necessary and even honorable light. Although the king has other reasons to quickly get rid of Hamlet, he expresses Laertes' feelings well when he states, in reference to Hamlet's killing of Polonius, "And where the offense is, let the great ax fall (Act 4 , Scene 5, line 213).” Depending on your perspective, this mindset can be seen as conflicting with religious guidelines or as agreeing with them. The sixth commandment states, “Thou shalt not kill,” yet Hamlet and Laertes only accept this rule in some circumstances attractive to them and to their sense of justice through revenge is the biblical passage regarding "an eye for an eye". In these situations the characters do not feel bound by religious prohibitions; in fact, beyond the simple thirst for blood, they feel a true moral compulsion to do good by avenging wrongs. As Laertes says, the questions about his father's death "cry to be heard, as if from heaven to earth... (Act 4, scene 5, line 210)" , and they must be given a proper answer. Religious issue that hinders Hamlet from achieving his goal of killing Claudius is his belief that Claudius will go to heaven if he dies while praying of religious law rather than the spirit of religion. He does not believe that Claudius' murder of Hamlet the Elder is morally repugnant and sinful; the simple act of praying is enough, in Hamlet's mind, to redeem Claudius before God: “Now I could do it, now it's a, 71(1), 67-78.