Think v. Act in Shakespeare's Hamlet

Hamlet: Thinking v. Acting Riddled with doubt, haunted by sorrow, and sluggish in dealings of fate, Hamlet chooses slow demise in the Shakespearean play rightly titled, Hamlet. His delay of revenge upon Claudius prompted William Hazlitt to write of Hamlet in 1817: "His ruling passion is to think, not act." Indeed, it is not for lack of instruction or opportunity that Hamlet fails in his mission. The further he strays from his purpose, the more muddied …

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