Hamlet, while not a man of many deeds, is a man of many words. Although like many others, Hamlet gets caught up in the moment; say or commit without fully understanding the consequences or what it will entail. When with the ghost of his father, Hamlet promises, “Let me know that I have wings as swift. As a meditation of the thought of love/May it drive me to my vengeance.”(1.5.35-37) Hamlet did not keep his word to his father, his actions were not swift nor an act of revenge. Hamlet strikes not in an act of revenge, but in an act of anger and self-preservation after the murder of his mother. He hesitates at the right moment, while the King prays, because Hamlet, engaging in the act of revenge, does not fully understand what is being asked of him. That he would not only have to take another man's life, but commit treason by slaughtering the king. Hamlet wrote a short scene describing how the late King Hamlet was murdered and requires the visiting actors to perform this scene in the King's presence. When the King suddenly leaves before the curtain closes; Hamlet believes it is a sign of guilt. Ready to slaughter the King after this revelation, Hamlet sneaks in behind Claudius while the man is alone, with his sworn oath unsheathed. However, before striking Hamlet he notices that Claudius is praying. Hamlet quickly justifies that if Claudius had been slaughtered while on his knees in repentance, his soul would have ascended to heaven: “And so it goes to heaven” (3.3.79). Postponing his revenge until such time as Claudius was: "When he is drunk in his sleep, or in anger. / Or in the pleasure of his bed, / During a match, swearing, or concerning some deed / That he has.. . middle of paper ......ge and self-defense. Hamlet's tragedy is complex and leads the audience more to questions than to solutions. While several elements lead Hamlet to strike the king, killing him the murder of the queen.The queen's blood staining King Claudius' already bloody hands and the sudden sense of self-preservation are the elements that lead Hamlet to become impulsive in his actions Since anger and self-preservation are the incentive for Hamlet to slaughter the king, it is obvious that Hamlet has broken his oath of revenge for his father's death, Hamlet ultimately lets the words slip when he promises himself to his father's ghost, leading to failure to deliver his promises. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A Mowat and Paul Werstine. 1. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2003.