The Flaw of Hamlet

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The Flaw of Hamlet

Many Shakespearean scholars, including A.C. Bradley, believe that the character Hamlet is an over analytical person, always "unmaking his world and rebuilding it in thought" (A.C. Bradley). It is argued by many that Hamlet's tragic flaw is his inability to accept things the way they are presented, thus criticizing everything in the world around him. Hamlet delves deep into what he believes is the reality of each of his given situations and searches for answers which he never finds.

According to Salvador de Madariaga, "the true tragedy of Hamlet [is] not his incapacity to avenge his father; not his frustrated ambition; but his incapacity to be Hamlet. He can think Hamlet; he cannot be Hamlet" (95). Through this statement, Madariaga is explaining that Hamlet's beliefs, his idea of reality, and his own perception of his existence does not go beyond his thoughts. At the end of Act II, during one of Hamlet's soliloquies, Hamlet "realises how foolish he has been; then calls his brain to act; and finds calm in action by deciding to test...

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