The Rotten State

Written around 1600, a ghost tells Prince Hamlet his father was murdered by his uncle Claudius, who has married Hamlet's mother and seized the throne. Shakespeare's great innovation was creating a protagonist who cannot stop deliberating when action is demanded.

In any other revenge play of the era, the hero acts immediately after learning the truth. Hamlet instead verifies, stages elaborate plays, philosophizes about mortality, and delays — making the audience question whether thought itself can become a trap.