Mel Gibson says that all the deaths throughout the play are the result of Hamlet's decision not to kill Claudius while he is praying. Agree or disagree and explain why. Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, one of the most famous plays written by William Shakespeare, is a story of tragedy, revenge, greed and love. Sure you might think it's disturbing, and maybe even a little gory, but why did William Shakespeare write such a terrible, dark play? He may have been inspired by a certain event in his life, perhaps he simply enjoyed leading his audience, one thing is for sure that Shakespeare made every incident within the play happen for an exact and specific reason. Mel Gibson, a famous actor, once said that the reason why so many people die in the play all comes back to the fact that Hamlet didn't kill Claudius, because Claudius was praying. This is a really nice statement. "Welcoming him into the purification of his soul, when he is fit and ready for his passage? No!" This is what Hamlet says when he finds his uncle kneeling in prayer, the man who killed his father, took over the kingdom, and corrupted his mother Gertrude. Hamlet cannot find it within himself to kill a man who is praying for forgiveness. When in reality Claudio is not praying for the forgiveness of his sins, for his murder, but is asking to keep what he has gained from his murderous past. Hamlet, unaware of the circumstance, lets his murderous uncle live another day in the hope of finding his sin so he can take revenge. This is where Mel Gibson expresses his point of view. If Hamlet had killed his uncle while he was praying, he could have saved many lives. Those lives include Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes, Gertrude, and Hamlet himself. Seven lives could have been saved if only Hamlet had had the courage and anger to kill his uncle when he had the first chance. Hamlet could have saved Polonius' life, even though you could imagine that Polonius was dead from the way he put himself on the scene, his life still could have been spared. Polonius was a mole, a deceiver, and was loyal to King Claudius, but even knowing all this Hamlet would not have killed him, if he had known who was really hiding behind all the curtains in his mother Gertrude's room..