Hamlet is obsessed with revenging his fathers murder; destroying Claudius and it is evident in the play. This obsession initiates Hamlet's behavior. The reasons for Hamlet's obsession with exacting revenge against Claudius are fairly straightforward. The ghost of Hamlet informed him that Claudius killed Hamlet Sr., seized his throne and robbed him of his father. After the ghost informs Hamlet of Claudius' crime, Hamlet realizes that if he does not kill Claudius, he may forever be locked in the painfully stressful mental state in which his obsession puts him. If he attempts or succeeds in killing Claudius, he risks experiencing psychological estrangement so intense that it could destroy his sense of identity. Whether he does or does not kill Claudius, he faces enormous psychological pain.The second to last decision that Hamlet makes with regard to Claudius is to not kill him, but to allow fate and divine forces to take over his responsibility. He makes this decision mainly as a means of escaping the intense madness under which he finds himself and, instead, entering a much more psychologically peaceful state; denial. Although this reason may seem illogical, Shakespeare clearly emphasizes the importance of such a motivation to escape pain in Hamlet's decision-making. He does so in the Player's scene, which emphasizes that Hamlet is obsessed with disproving Claudius’ guilt. The advantage of disproving such guilt is that it resolves Hamlet's pain, showing that the motivation to escape the pain of his obsession is prominent in Hamlet's decision-making. Escaping in denial also seems to be Hamlet's best option at this point since, having previously confronted Gertrude with the premises of Claudius' crime, she failed to respond with recognition of them and disapproval of Claudius. Ultimately, Hamlet does decide to kill Claudius. He does so for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, his mother; in drinking Claudius' drink and poisoning ...
