#6

       Repentance is a theme explored in Shakespeare's Hamlet.  The first instance of repentance is seen when King Claudius attempts to pray after feeling conviction at watching his sins played in Hamlet's The Mousetrap.  Claudius is drawn to repentance but finds that he cannot, "O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven; / It hath the primal eldest curse upon't/ A brother's murder.  Pray can I not" (III.III.40-43).  King Claudius struggles with repentance in this scene.  He knows that his actions merit attrition.  He is aware that contriteness is the only way to redemption and relief from guilt after sin.  Yet in relation to Claudius's iniquity there is the question of whether or not his sin is forgivable.  Can mere repentance really save Claudius from the sulfurous flames of Hell?  This insecurity is what keeps Claudius from being able to repent and pray to God for forgiveness.  Claudius sees that the motives behind the murder of his brother do not justify it.  What he did was wicked.  Thus, it seems that mere repentance alone may not cure his soul.  This is where Young Hamlet becomes of importance.  If Hamlet were to kill King Claudius is still damned to Hell for the unnatural deed he committed, or would he gain entrance into Heaven depending on whether he repented or not.  In addition if King Claudius repents after committing such an atrocity, does God forgive him?  Claudius cannot even repent he is so overridden with guilt.  The afterlife was a major issue of the Renaissance period.  As the humanists found reason and rationality in the things of earth people questioned the existence of Heaven and Hell.  All of these issues are addressed in Claudius's struggle to repent and Young Hamlet's refusal to kill Claudius in the midst of prayer.  Hamlet wants to be sure that his father receives full retribution, and that means that he must be sure that Claudius is damned to Hell.