Theme Of Weakness In Hamlet

Shakespeare’s Hamlet explores the idea that dwelling on the mind’s troubles leads to cowardice and emotional weakness, two key characteristics of the play’s protagonist. Through A. C. Bradley’s book Shakespearean Tragedy, in the first two sections of his lecture on Hamlet, Bradley explores Hamlet’s emotion weakness and its effect on the plot of the play. The first section follows Hamlet’s journey throughout the play to demonstrate how Hamlet’s actions define his character. A. C. Bradley keeps a particular focus on Hamlet’s emotional changes, as he fluctuates between brooding depression and driven angers. Bradley only briefly covers Act I and II and skips to Act III to focus on The Murder of Gonzago, what Bradley calls one of Hamlet’s “healthier moments” (Bradley 109). At this pivotal moment, Hamlet confirms the validity of the Ghost in his mind, making any further

The first, although it does not contribute to the development of the plot, is Hamlet's repetition of words. For example, in speaking to Polonius he states “You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal: except my life, except my life, except my life” (II.II.233-235). Hamlet is the only character in all of Shakespeare's works to consistently exhibit this trait. The second is Hamlet’s usage of puns and wordplay, which demonstrate his “nimbleness and flexibility of mind which is characteristic of him” (Bradley 126). Hamlet’s dark humor through his manipulation of words is evident from the inception of the play, with lines like “A little more than kin and less than kind” and “Not so, my lord; I am too much in the sun” (I.II.67-69). Although other Shakespearean characters possess strong intellects as well, Hamlet's unique diction classifies him as one of the only characters in Shakespeare's tragedies to convey a sense of