Why didn't Hamlet kill Claudius? Hamlet, in the play named after him, was given the opportunity to kill Claudius in scene three of Act 3 in the play of the same name. If Hamlet had committed the deed, not only would his father have been avenged, but the deaths of Ophelia, Gertrude, Laertes, and Hamlet himself would not have taken place. But why didn't he do it? Based on two essays written by Scott Locklear, the reasons for Hamlet's delay were because the play would have been much shorter, ending at what is now the beginning, along with Hamlet's personal reasoning for not killing Claudius. This is true, because the opera at the time would have been considered very dull and boring, with little action. In Locklear's first essay, "Hamlet's Delay", Locklear discusses six theories as to the reason for Hamlet's hesitation, the first of which explains that Shakespeare would have had a tale that would have been very difficult to expand as the basis of the plot was that of avenging a murdered father and king. Hamlet's character development would also be in jeopardy because as the story progresses, we begin to see a change in Hamlet that brings out a more philosophical, yet mad man bent on exacting revenge for his father. The second reason for Hamlet's uncertainty, according to the essay, states that Hamlet has already committed many acts to avenge his father; setting up the play for Claudius' reaction, killing Polonius, and sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to die in England are not actions Hamlet would have committed before encountering his father's ghost. Hamlet, before meeting the ghost of his father, was preparing to become king, attending the Wittenburg school for the necessary education. Before… middle of paper… but again and again he holds back. The climactic scene where he catches Claudius alone in Act 3 was the perfect moment to kill his uncle, except Hamlet stopped himself, thinking that killing Claudius right then and there would send him to Heaven. The internal battle within himself does not end until he finally, in his soliloquy "To be or not to be", sees that it is time to act on his father's wish. The numerous obstacles and problems that Hamlet faced were also viable, seeing as he is a monarch with duties that fit the description. Ophelia was a lost search for a wife that did not end under the right circumstances, fueling Laertes' anger and desire to seek advice from Claudius, causing them both to plot against Hamlet. Denmark's evil is felt throughout the court, and especially by the future heir, Hamlet, even though he doesn't help the situation by killing three people..