Title: Thought vs. Action
Date: 11 September 2011
Class: IB English HL
Category: Other Classes

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            In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Hamlet faces the internal conflict of thought vs. action. He must put on the role of the avenging son, yet his moral values cause him to hesitate and delay action. Because he doesn’t have the personality of an avenging son, Hamlet tries to act like one, thus bringing up the main theme of the play: appearance vs. reality. What is the difference between appearance and reality? Is there a difference? If we start to believe appearance is reality, does appearance really become reality? What is reality? [Wonderings/Knowledge Issue] Perhaps Hamlet is putting on the act of not being courageous and bold because he knows it’s ethically wrong to murder. Can we manipulate our identity to suit our practical needs? [Wonderings] Hamlet may be too religious and too moral-driven that he is mentally unable to perform this revenge. However, Hamlet could think that by killing Claudius, he is obeying his father and thus, is not sinning. If this was the case, Hamlet would be religious and the avenging son. The play brings up the conflict between obligation and moral values. Which is more important? I feel that the person undergoing this struggle is likely to reason out their emotion. With obligation, they may feel fearful by not obeying whereas with moral values, they may feel guilty by going against their ethics. With both having an emotion associated with it, is emotion always a reliable way of knowledge? [Wonderings]