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Nicholas Tirch

Mrs. Dietrich

Honors English 10

22 October 2018

Conscience in The Tragedy of Hamlet; Prince of Denmark

In, The Tragedy of Hamlet; Prince of Denmark, there are many characters used to set

the tragic plot of Hamlet’s story. Along with physical characters, the book uses unseen, hidden

characters to develop the story. One unseen character in the play is the conscience of Hamlet.

The conscience of Hamlet plays a leading role and creates conflict throughout the story.

Throughout the book, Hamlet contemplates if the devil is tempting him with the ghost of his

father, if he should trust anyone, and if he really should kill Claudius.

In the opening of the book, the ghost of dead King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father, appears to

Horatio and Marcellus. Not knowing exactly who the ghost is, Marcellus and Horatio ask Hamlet

to come see the ghost with them. At the entrance the ghost of King Hamlet claims to be killed by

his brother, King Claudius. King Hamlet’s ghost claims that Hamlet must avenge his father’s

death. Hamlet contemplates throughout the book whether or not he should kill King Claudius. It

also occurs, to Hamlet, that the ghost may not be his father but may be the spirit of the devil

tempting him, “May be a devil, and the devil hath power” (II. ii. 628). Hamlet thinks the ghost is,

in fact, evil spirits. In order to see if the information from King Hamlet was true, Hamlet gathers

the players and requests the players to act out the Murder of Gonzaga, to test King Claudius’

conscience. The internal struggle of whether or not the ghost was real along with thoughts of the

devil’s temptations greatly effect Hamlet’s throughout this part of the story.
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Another struggle in Hamlet’s inner voice is if he can really trust the people he knows.

Near the end of the book, trust is very low between Hamlet and his family and friends in the

book. Hamlet finds out that the King and Queen had sent his childhood friends, Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern to check up on him and get to the bottom of why Hamlet has been acting crazy.

Hamlet, wishing they were there to support him through his tough times, feels betrayed that the

King and Queen are behind their actions. Hamlet calls attention to their actions, comparing them

to sponges, “…Besides, to be demanded of a sponge, what replication should be made by the son

of the King?” (IV. ii. 12-5). He uses the example of a sponge by saying they soak up all of the

King’s false information and will eventually wring it out like a sponge would water. Hamlet is

angry that the King and his childhood friends would do this to him. Hamlet becomes enraged by

the actions of his friends and his inner voice in a state of disorder. Hamlet decides he must not

trust anyone from that point on, no matter how close.

The main battle Hamlet has with his conscience is whether or not to kill his uncle, King

Claudius. Many factors come into play with Hamlet’s decision-making. Hamlet’s conscience

causes a major delay in the killing of Claudius. During one scene in the story, Hamlet has a

perfect chance to kill Claudius but holds himself back as Claudius is in prayer. Claudius falls to

his knees in prayer, looking for forgiveness. Hamlet stands behind him with his sword, ready to

kill Claudius, but ultimately his conscience holds him back. As Claudius is praying, Hamlet

considers that Claudius could be forgiven of his sins and he kills him, Claudius has the chance of

going to heaven. “Now might I do it, now he is a-praying, and now I’ll do’t. And so he goes to

heaven,” (III. iii. 77-9). Another delay caused by Hamlet’s conscience is his catholic faith.
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Knowing murder is a sin in the Catholic faith, Hamlet holds himself back contemplating that he

could be cast to hell if he kills Claudius. Scared of dying and being sent to hell, Hamlet delays

the killing of Claudius and considers not killing him at all. Overall, Hamlet’s conscience causes a

great delay in the killing of King Claudius.

In conclusion, conscience is a major hidden character in The Tragedy of Hamlet; Prince

of Denmark. Hamlet’s conscience creates many plot changes throughout the story and makes

Hamlet’s decision-making difficult for him. His conscience creates problems in trusting

relationships. Hamlet does not know who, if anyone, he is able to trust. In addition, his

conscience causes him to contemplate his life after death and if he kills the kills his uncle, the

murderer of dead King Hamlet. Ultimately, Hamlet’s conscience delays the killing of Claudius.

Altogether, Hamlet’s conscience plays a major role throughout the story effecting almost every

turn.