Tragic Flaw Of Hamlet Research Paper

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 tragic 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. People who

fail to take control of their actions are often seen as cowards.

In act 1, scene 5, the ghost of King Hamlet comes through to Hamlet in order to share something surrounding his death. The Ghost says “the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” (act 1 scene 5) making sure it is known to Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother, the man that now holds power. Although Hamlet is extremely angered toward this news and knows that his father wants revenge over his death, he has a hard time taking action because he doesn’t know all of the details. This is just one instance where Hamlet’s inability to take action goes against what someone else wants. Due to the message from the ghost, Hamlet’s fury towards King Claudius worsens. His hatred and upset toward Claudius and his mother Gertrude causes him to contemplate suicide. In Hamlet’s “to be or not

to be” soliloquy he says “to be or not to be - that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against the sea of troubles,” (act 3, scene 1). This quote is where he really tells the audience of his contemplation of committing suicide. He states that a man is more noble if he suffers through his pain rather than to give up and fall further into destruction. It is easy to tell that he has been considering this action for awhile, causing it to be just another instance of his inability to act.
Along with his inability to take actions we also see Hamlet’s inability to trust others. 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 trustworthy. Hamlet knows that if he believes the ghost and kills Claudius when he ends up to be innocent his soul might be lost to eternal damnation. Along with his distrust in the ghost of his father, he also has a hard time trusting Ophelia, the woman he loves. In reality, Ophelia must adhere to what her father and brother want, 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 does actually love Ophelia but because of his lack of trust he has lost all capability to confide in others. He would rather keep 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 people.
Hamlet’s third flaw is his egocentric personality. Although his devotedness to his country and his people have given him a good reputation, his inability to consider the situations of others makes him selfish and egocentric driving him to his collapse. As a result for his hatred toward the king, in act 3 scene 4 when he is acting insane toward his mother and Polonius from around the curtain yells for help, Hamlet doesn’t think twice about who is the man yelling and stabs him. He continues on to say to Gertrude “Nay, I know not. Is it the king?” This action shows 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. 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 of himself, his treatment of others doesn’t phase him. Since the ghosts 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 shown.
Throughout Hamlet there is a lot of tragedy that occurs between the characters. Through Hamlet’s actions towards Ophelia, Polonius, his mother, and others we see the three main flaws he possesses. His inability to take action is shown through his failure to complete revenge on Claudius and through committing suicide. Along with his incompetence to complete actions comes his lack of trust that is demonstrated through his distrust in the ghost and in that Ophelia would choose to not abide by her father’s wish. His last flaw that is seen a lot throughout the play is Hamlet’s egocentric personality exhibited by his inability to consider the situations of others. All three of these flaws directly relate to his downfall in the kingdom because he is no longer putting his people first and is focused on the revenge of his father and on himself.