Hamlet is a revenge tragedy full of many characters portraying many different traits. Hamlet is just one character in this catastrophic Elizabethan tale. Each character contains a flaw, some that one might consider crazy or even tragic. A tragic flaw is a disastrous weakness that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero and in this case the tragic hero is Hamlet. In Hamlet, Shakespeare paints the perfect revenge tragedy, showcasing the main character, Hamlet, with an inability to act, his lack of trust, and his egocentric personality that brings him to his downfall Hamlet’s largest flaw is his inability to take action. The inability to take actions indicates that one has a hard time to complete tasks that their mind is telling them to do. …show more content…
His situation is widely surrounded by the idea of trust. First we see his issue with trusting someone when the ghost shares his message about Claudius, he doesn’t take action avenging his father's death because he has trouble believing at first that this ghost is honorable. Hamlet knows that if he believes the ghost and kills Claudius his soul might be lost to eternal damnation supposing that Claudius is found innocent. In addition to his skepticism with the ghost of his father, he has a hard time trusting Ophelia, the woman he loves. In reality, Ophelia must adhere to what her father and brother wants, which is that she doesn’t marry Hamlet. Due to his trust issues and his seeming madness he becomes cruel to Ophelia and tells her “you should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so (inoculate) our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not,” (act 3, scene 1). The audience knows his words aren’t true and that he does actually love Ophelia, but because of his lack of trust he has lost all capability to confide in others. He would rather keep the information only to himself not only for his father, but for his own selfishness pushing him further to his downfall and further away from the hearts of his …show more content…
Although his devotedness to his country and his people have given him a good reputation, his inability to acknowledge the situations of others makes him narcissistic and egocentric which drives him further to his collapse. As a result of his hatred toward the king, in act 3, scene 4, while Polonius is hiding behind a curtain and screams for help, Hamlet doesn’t think twice about who the man that is yelling is and stabs him in the back. He continues on to say to Gertrude “Nay, I know not. Is it the king?” This action displays his selfishness because he feels no remorse after. Hamlet shows no repentance for his treatment of others including Gertrude. Instead of feeling sorry for killing Polonius, he blames the death on Polonius himself. He also displays selfishness in his treatment of his mother, Gertrude. Throughout the entire play, he expresses extreme disappointment toward Gertrudes decision to remarry to Claudius without putting himself in her position. In act 3, scene 4, we especially see his rage toward his mother when he compares the late King Hamlet to King Claudius asserting that Hamlet was a real man and Claudius is “like a mildewed ear.” Hamlet is a man that only cares about himself, his treatment of others doesn’t phase him. Since the ghost’s request, his country is no longer a major concern to him and revenge is all that Hamlet can think about allowing his egocentricity to unconsciously be
Gertrude’s blindness to the whole situation is sickening. How she marries the brother of her former husband right after he kills him and never knows the truth is beyond me. She never cared about how her son felt before or after she married Claudius. She didn’t even wait very long after her husband died to get married again ( I; ii; 180-181. "Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables".). Therefore she is either a very slow, naïve woman or a very evil, coldhearted one. For someone to side with a person even after their own son has told them that the person they’re with has murdered their former lover is absolute lunacy ( III; iv; 29-30. "A bloody deed- almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king, and marry his brother".). Not knowing the truth in the first place is one thing, but turning your back on your own flesh and blood is another. Therefore without his mother on his side, Hamlet has lost all the family in his life that could have helped him get through his terrible time and he sinks lower than ever before.
One of Hamlet’s flaws is that he over thinks things a lot and it is first shown the most at the prayer scene with Claudius. Once Hamlet sees how Claudius reacts to the play he knows that Claudius killed his father and that the ghost was right, he has a chance to kill him and doesn’t take it . His only proof was the ghost and even though others saw the ghost no one else heard it talk except Hamlet. Hamlet was also considering a lot of other things at this time, like how if he killed Claudius now Claudius would be free of sin and would go to heaven. He was also thinking if his father didn’t get to die free of sin it wouldn’t be fair for Claudius to die free of sin either, which shows how vengeful Hamlet’s character is. At the same time, Hamlet has morals and understands the consequences so that’s why it’s harder for him to perform the act . After a l...
Although Polonius had shown great servitude to King Hamlet, Gertrude, and Prince Hamlet, he now serves the very man that killed his former master. Presenting himself to Claudius, this vacillating subject gives the new ruler his utmost respect: “I assure my good liege, I hold my duty as I hold my soul, both to God and to my gracious king” (2.2.46-48). Yes, Polonius does not know that Claudius murdered his own brother. Still, Polonius never questioned how King Hamlet died so abruptly and why his brother married his widow. Without hesitation, this once ...
Hamlet is still in mourning of his father’s death but feels that most of the people have moved on much quickly with the death of his father. And after a couple months his mother is remarried and a twist of turned events to find out that it is his uncle, Claudius which is his new step Father. Filled with anger he does not know how to digest this news. To top it off is visit buy the Ghost of Hamlet (hamlets father) to tell Prince Hamlet that his uncle Claudius is the murderer. And demand that he takes revenge upon him and kill Claudius. “To be or not to be,’ (3.1.56) true to himself or carry on bloody traditions of his war like father. But being visited by his father’s warlike spirit triggered him to be lunatic and he is lunatic because he was compared to the moon shining with the bloody borrow sheen of his warlike father (2.2.52). However, before he had even spoken to the Ghost of Hamlet he had been warned by Haratio...
Foremost, is the character of Hamlet: the causes and effects of his actions, or lack thereof. Hamlet is a very thoughtful person by nature, and often spends more time thinking than acting. However, Hamlet does realize that "...conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought"(III.i.84-85). Although Hamlet recognizes the fact that too much reflection could end poorly, he does it nonetheless. Every situation he is faced with he insists upon planning it out first, and rarely actually acting upon these plans. Additionally, since Hamlet is considered to be a tragedy, there must be a tragic hero. All tragic heroes have some kind of flaw or blemish, which, according to the article "Characters", "Hamlet's weakness may be that he 'thinks too much' and cannot make up his mind. The resulting inactions leads to his death" ("Characters"). Because Hamlet spends so much time pondering his surroundings, he sometimes misses the chance to act on them. This inability to accomplish anything slowly pulls Hamlet to a point where no amount of thought or action could possibly help him. However, at one point in the play Hamlet comes very near to followin...
Polonius takes this opportunity to spy on Hamlet and informs Gertrude that he will hide behind a tapestry and eavesdrop on their conversation. During their conversation Hamlet forces his mother in front of a mirror as to literally reflect on herself and the betrayal she’s caused him to feel. He tells her that he wants to reveal the figurative inmost part of her, but she takes this literally and thinks that he means he is going to murder her. She cries out for help which causes Polonius to cry out as well. Hamlet, thinking that the voice of the man who had just cried out for help belonged to his uncle, stabs Polonius through the curtain and kills him. Gertrude laments the murder of Polonius calling it a bloody deed and Hamlet retorts, “A bloody deed! Almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king and marry with his brother” (Shakespeare 1862). In this scene, Hamlet reaps revenge on Gertrude by emotionally torturing her so she may feel the utmost guilt for betraying her son and husband. Then, Hamlet’s unremorseful character is revealed in his ability to murder Polonius when he thought it was Claudius he had heard behind the curtain. Hamlet then justifies his murdering Polonius by equating it to Gertrude’s sin of marrying the man, her brother in law, who killed her
The first quote that shows that Hamlet’s tragic flaw is procrastination is, “Haste me to know’t; that O, with wings as swift/As mediation or the thoughts of love, / May sweep to my revenge.” (Act I: Scene v, 29-31). This quote is spoken by Hamlet. This quote shows that Hamlet’s tragic flaw is procrastination, because Hamlet is very passionate about getting
During Act One, Scene Two, Hamlet admits to being depressed over the death of his father and mother’s remarriage. The death of Polonius does not even seem to bother Hamlet the slightest bit. Soon after he commits the unforgivable act of murder against Polonius, Hamlet says, “Thou wretched rash, intruding fool, farewell. I took thee for thy good” (3.4.32-33).
Once Polonius informs Ophelia, his daughter, of Hamlet’s madness, Polonius directly goes to King Claudius and discloses that he has the reason for Hamlet 's madness. Gertrude answers, "I doubt it no other but the main,/ His father 's death and our o 'erhasty marriage" (Shakespeare 2.2 56-57). As Hamlet 's mother, Hamlet 's father 's wife, and Hamlet 's father 's brother 's wife, Gertrude is blind to all other reason that is not Hamlets father’s death and her quick remarriage. However, Polonius believes differently and tells Claudius how Ophelia obeyed his advice to "lock herself from his resort,/ Admit no messengers, receive no tokens...into the madness wherein now [Hamlet] raves" (Shakespeare 2.2. 142-149). Polonius presumes that Hamlet 's disillusioned love for Ophelia causes his madness. With not one person knowing Hamlet’s true inspiration, everybody’s opinion on his madness is biased. Gertrude bases her reason on Hamlet 's experience over his father 's death and her fault in her quick marriage with her son 's uncle. On the other hand, Polonius bases his reason on his knowledge of and interference in the relationship between his daughter and Hamlet. At first glance, Hamlet 's madness is regarded as innocent and thought to be from the problems that are already present. Nonetheless, with the assassination of Polonius by Hamlet, his madness interprets a different meaning. When Gertrude tells Claudius of this,
In the first place, he does not respect his mother and verbally hurts her by saying, “A horrible act- almost as bad, my good mother, a killing a king and marrying his brother.” (3.4 29-30) After that, Gertrude says, “O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart into twain.” However, Hamlet feels no shame and guilt about what he said and what he did to his dearest mother, showing he lacks conscience and responsibility. Furthermore, Hamlet says, “And so he goes to heaven, and so am I revenged. That would be scanned: A villain kills my father, and I, my father’s only son, send this same villain to heaven. Seems like I just did him a favor.” (3.3 75-79) He does not want to murder Claudius since he is thinking about sending him to the hell. Due to the revenge, he has become a man who is full of
Hamlet's fatal flaw is his delay in avenging his father's death. Hamlet is still devastated by his father's death when the ghost appears to him, and he is unable to carry through with his reprisal until the end of the play. Hamlet's delay in killing Claudius not only causes his own death, but the deaths of everyone else in his life except for Horatio and Fortinbras.
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder, says the ghost of Hamlet. The fact that his own uncle could kill his father leaves Hamlet dumbfounded and confused. Although Hamlet knows something is wrong in Denmark, he begins to question everything that the ghost has told him. When something needs to be done, Hamlet is too busy thinking about his problems. An example of this is when Hamlet has his knife over the head of Claudius, and is prepared to murder him.
Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.
The tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most popular and greatest tragedy, presents his genius as a playwright and includes many numbers of themes and literary techniques. In all tragedies, the main character, called a tragic hero, suffers and usually dies at the end. Prince Hamlet is a model example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Every tragedy must have a tragic hero. A tragic hero must own many good traits, but has a flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. If not for this tragic flaw, the hero would be able to survive at the end of the play. A tragic hero must have free will and also have the characteristics of being brave and noble. In addition, the audience must feel some sympathy for the tragic hero.
While reading Hamlet, I came to the conclusion that even though this is a tragedy, the hero's supposed flaw is not like those in classical tragedies. To the best of my knowledge, the flaw that I could pick out that best fit Hamlet was sloth . . . as well as the critics themselves.