Coward

Firstly, more than once during William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the title character reflects upon his own character and ponders the problem that he, of all people, is a coward. In its usual context, a coward is one without courage. Hamlet hints that he may be a coward because his conscience leads him to a state of inaction, and that inaction bothers him. At first, Hamlet's action, or lack thereof, appears to support this argument. Overwhelmed by the corruption in his kingdom, Hamlet does not know how to handle the chaos he sees, so he retreats to a state of inaction. He approaches his problems by attempting reason. For instance, when he first finds out that his uncle, Claudius, murdered his fat...