He has failed to take action to the request of his father. .
Secondly, Hamlet uses these actors to discover whether Claudius is guilty for the death of his father. Hamlet is doubtful of whether the ghost of his father was real. He believes that he might have been the devil, attempting to make Hamlet commit sin by killing his uncle, and his soul being lost forever. Hamlet needs further proof to decide whether or not to kill Claudius, so he asks the actors to insert a scene into The Murder of Gonzago. The scene was to closely resemble what happened to King Hamlet when he was murdered. "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." Using Horatio's help to judge Claudius' reaction would determine whether Hamlet would take revenge. .
Hamlet is clearly a man of thought and little action. Early in Act 3 he continues to debate whether to kill Claudius. He even begins to think about taking his own life. "To be or not to be-- that is the question: Whether "tis nobler the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end them." He does not know whether he wants to live or die. Knowing that his mother might have been possibly in on the death of his father, he questions what is more noble. Should he take his own life and end the burden of revenge? Hamlet talks himself out of suicide because of his fear of what happens after death. Claudius' reaction to the play that takes place later was enough to let Hamlet know that he needed to take revenge. .
Hamlet almost takes revenge when he comes across Claudius praying in Act 3, scene 3. He sees Claudius kneeling, showing his remorse for killing his brother, and trying to pray. Hamlet draws his sword, but then stops to think. "And so he goes to heaven, and so am I revenged. That would be scanned: A villain kills my father, and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven.
