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Hamlet kills Polonius
Why did Hamlet do it?
If Hamlet killed Polonius deliberately it would be murder but Hamlet is not a murderer any more than you or I are murderers.
Hamlet lives by his Christian faith, including the commandment "Thou shalt not kill."
Claudius is a different case. He is a murderer and therefore should pay for his crime. The Ghost persuades Hamlet to not only
execute Claudius but, more importantly, to revenge the murder by ensuring Claudius goes to hell rather than heaven. When
Hamlet has an opportunity to kill Claudius, he finds Claudius kneeling in prayer. To kill him whilst praying, according to
Hamlet's Christian beliefs, would sent Claudius direct to heaven and fail to attain the Ghost's revenge. Hamlet defers
killing Claudius until he can catch him in sin and send him to hell:
'When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed;
At gaming, swearing; or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in 't -
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,
And that his soul may be as damn'd and black
As hell, whereto it goes.'
Only a few minutes later, Hamlet stabs and kills the person behind the arras. If Hamlet had thought it was Claudius, would he
have killed him? No! No way! Claudius is the last person on Earth that Hamlet would kill, simply because it would not only
be against the very reasons he has just stated, but Claudius would go to heaven, entirely freed from sin, having just prayed.
So why did Hamlet stab the 'voice'? Most likely it was self-defence. Surely, Hamlet would realise the revelations in "The
Mousetrap" would provoke Claudius to seek his death. He would be a fool to ignore that likelihood. Claudius has, indeed,
planned to have Hamlet murdered. Hamlet, though aware of the threat, can has no idea where an attempt on his life may take
place. All he can do is be prepared and constantly alert. Claudius's man, Guildenstern, tells Hamlet his mother wants to see
him. Then Polonius says the same thing. He doesn't trust them, and it could be a trap. Hamlet deliberately delays and then
goes armed with a sword. Obviously, Claudius could easily have put assassins in hiding behind the arras in Gertrude's bedroom
ready to leap out and kill Hamlet the moment they got a signal. When the voice behind the arras calls out "What, ho! help,
help, help!" Hamlet may think he is about to be attacked, and his instant action is to protect his life and defend Gertrude.
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