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Hamlet slips quietly into the room and steels himself to kill the unseeing Claudius. But suddenly it occurs to him that if he kills Claudius while he is praying, he will be effectively sending his murderous uncle to heaven as a reward for killing his father, who is enduring a painful purgatory because he didn't receive the benefits of a pre-mortem absolution.

Unfortunately, this isn't very relevant to the question as it stands, because, in spite of Hamlet's motivation to kill Claudius, he is never actually forced to do so; by the time he finally takes action in the last scene, he is almost frantically trying to get the job done before Laertes' poison does him in.

In fact, Hamlet is not forced to kill a single person in the play. Check out everyone whose death Hamlet is responsible for:

1. Polonius is killed by accident. When Hamlet speaks with his mother in her chamber after the play-within-a-play, his passionate condemnation makes the hidden Polonius think that Gertrude is in danger, so he calls for help. Hamlet, believing the man behind the curtain to be his uncle, stabs him through it. Of course, he is disappointed when he realizes who it actually is.

2. Laertes is killed because, in the energetic sword fight of Act V, scene ii, his poisoned sword is exchanged with Hamlet's and, as a result, he is himself wounded and, therefore, poisoned.

3 & 4. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern accompany Hamlet to England and are unaware that they are supposed to be carrying a letter commanding Hamlet's immediate execution. On the voyage, Hamlet discovers the letter, substitutes one that commands the immediate execution of the bearers of the letter, and then is fortuitously carried off by pirates before he can have second thoughts about causing the death of his school fellows.

5. Although Ophelia technically is responsible for her own death--given that she makes no effort to save herself when she falls into the water and subsequently drowns--her madness could conceivably be blamed on Hamlet, because he is brutally blunt and hostile when he transfers his anger with his own mother onto his ex-girlfriend in the infamous "Get thee to a nunnery" scene. Even so, nobody could conclude that Hamlet is directly responsible for her death.

Nope. Hamlet isn't forced to kill anyone.

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Q: Who is Hamlet forced to kill?
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Related questions

In the movie Hamlet what characters died and how did the characters die?

Laertes dies by his own poisoned blade at the hand of hamlet hamlet dies from laertes poisoned blade Gertrude takes a drink of the wine intended for hamlet by Claudius that poisoned her Claudius is forced to drink the poisoned wine by hamlet Rosencrantz and Guildenstern take a letter to England that tells the king to kill them and it is signed by hamlet Ophelia drownds her self Polonius is stabed by hamlet


Who is plotting Hamlet's death?

Claudius and Laertes plot to kill Hamlet.


What is the horatio dose to Hamlet?

he tells king cladios that hamlet want to kill his and King claudiouse kills hamlet


What is the plot of Hamlet ?

Hamlet is about a young man (Hamlet) who is told by the ghost of his father that Hamlet's uncle and stepfather murdered him. Hamlet acts crazy while waiting for the right moment to kill his uncle, but his uncle is spying on him and guesses the truth. In the end the uncle's plot to kill Hamlet almost succeeds, but before he dies, Hamlet completes his revenge.


Is it true or false Hamlet is the reason rosencrantz and guildenstern are put to death?

True. Hamlet changed the king's orders to the English from "Kill Hamlet" to "Kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern." He didn't have to do that; he could have changed the orders to "Give Hamlet some flowers".


What line spoken by Gertrude indicates that she was not involved in King Hamlet's murder?

"Hamlet: To kill a king and marry with his brother. Gertrude: To kill a king? Hamlet: Ay, lady, that was my word."


How didn't anyone know Hamlet was going to kill king Claudius?

Claudius knew. That's why he conspired with Laertes to kill Hamlet first.


True or false Horatio and Marcellus share Hamlet's secret?

If the secret is that Hamlet intends to kill Claudius, the correct answer is "false." We learn during the play that Hamlet has told Horatio, but there's nothing about Hamlet telling Marcellus of his intent to kill Claudius.


Who does hamlet first kill in the play'?

Polonius.


Whom does laertes try to kill?

Laertes tries to kill Hamlet and is successful.


What is Hamlet trying to decide in his To be?

Hamlet is contemplating suicide. He is deciding whether he should kill himself, "not to be", or to live, "to be". He doesn't kill himself because it would be a sin.


How was act you of Hamlet from first to last based on when they occur in the story?

Hamlet gives his "To be, or not to be" soliloquy. Hamlet tells Ophelia, "Get thee to a nunnery!" Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius while he prays. Hamlet kills Polonius.