Many a people would say Hamlet’s tragic flaw would be his cowardice “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all… And [we] lose the name of action” (I. I. 85). Some may even ask why he didn’t act sooner, thinking that his fear was hindering him. However I do think the descent of his circumstance began far earlier in the play. Previously all the kingdom had thought king Hamlet died from a snakes poison, only Hamlet knew the truth of his father’s passing. The ghost told Hamlet that his father’s death was brought upon by Claudius “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown.”(I. V. 39), and instructed him to avenge his death. After this point Hamlet’s spur to action was driven by the chance of retribution for his father’s deceptive demise, being kindled by the close accord between his father and himself. Hamlet had a respect for his father that was precedent to all father son relationships. When his father died he was propelled into a whirlwind of emotion that is evident in Act I Scene II when Hamlet tells Gertrude “I’ve got more real grief inside me that …show more content…
Now to my word” (I. V. 111). He successfully did this by organizing a play to reenact the death of his beloved father the way he knew it to be, the way the ghost told it. During the play Hamlet watched Claudius closely to observe his reaction, and to Hamlets avail the king did in fact react to the show saying “Turn on the lights. Get me out of here!” (III. II. 254). Hamlet’s mother Gertrude was upset and confused by Hamlet’s behavior and demanded she have a word with him alone sending Polonius to give word “My lord, the queen wants to speak with you right away” (III. II. 38). There Polonius hid behind tapestry to spy on their conversation, leading Hamlet to think Claudius was the one hiding. Hamlet then drew his sword and murdered Polonius “Oh, I am slain” (III. IV.
Hamlet loved his father the way that any child does. A part of him and his life was taken from him when he heard of his father’s death. Instead of spending time with her son like she should have been, Gertrude was spending more time with her quickly married husband, Claudius. This quick marriage to Claudius made Hamlet wonder if his father had just died, or if he was murdered. If his father was murdered, his mother must have known about the murder, or she would not have married Claudius so quickly. Gertrude was absent in Hamlets life too often, which turned him to acting like he was crazy.
By Act 3, Hamlet has made it is destiny to discover the truth of his father’s death: “Suit the action, the word to the action, with this special observance…reform it all together. And let those that play your clowns speak no more for what is down for them…” (Shakespeare Act 3 Lines 18-21, 40-2). Hamlet informs the players that he yearns for them to act the best they have ever acted in any play ever before. He needs the characters they portray to be as real and relatable as they can be so it could potentially strike emotions in Claudius as he watches the performance. Hamlet and Horatio believe that if Claudius has an anxious expression and/or body language then he is guilty of murdering the Ghost for selfish gain. If he has no reaction, he is innocent. King Claudius is guilty of the murder of King Hamlet: “The King rises…Give o’er the play. Give me some light. Away!” (Shakespeare Act 3 Lines 291, 294-5). The King expresses the reaction Hamlet is seeking. On the grounds that Claudius stops the play mid-performance, Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the culprit. Why would Claudius be overcome with so much anxiety that he was forced to stop the show? This is a question that Hamlet must continue answer. Shakespeare also gives depicts an ironic situation for readers. The common play that resembles the accusations of King
In William shakespeare’s book Hamlet, Hamlet himself was acting strange because of his obsession for revenge for his father’s death. At the beginning of Hamlet, Hamlet’s father made an appearance after his unfortunate death. Horatio and the two watchmen, Francisco and Bernardo, they were frightened of what they have witnessed that night. Next day, they went to the chamber of Prince Hamlet to tell him that they have witnessed of appearance of a ghost whom they identified as the prince’s father. Then Hamlet went watch with them on that night. The ghost appeared quickly, Hamlet was surprised and confused on why his father was there. Hamlet followed his father’s ghost until there’s nowhere to go for him.The ghost talked to him And told him that his death wasn’t an accident but it was a murder. Just when he learned who murdered his father, it was the someone he suspected and it was Claudius, his Uncle. Despite all of the hatred toward his uncle, this made him even want more revenge for his father than before. That night, Hamlet made Horatio and the two watchmen pledge under his sword
Of course, by his delaying his revenge, the entire plot of the play goes in a different direction. Immediately after this scene Hamlet speaks with his mother, unknowing of the fact that Polonius is hiding behind a curtain in the room with them. When the Queen becomes frightened by Hamlet's irate demeanor she cries out for help, as does Polonius. Hamlet mistakes Polonius for Claudius and stabs him to death.
Hamlet's tragic flaw was that he either considered things too much, or he acted on impulse but out of passion and not reason, which leads to his downfall. Hamlet was an over thinker and a complex philosopher who wanted revenge on his father’s death. Things don’t go as planned as Hamlet’s two opposite flaws change things. One of Hamlet’s flaws, procrastination, is shown in the prayer scene when he has the opportunity to kill Claudius and get revenge on his father’s death, and he doesn’t take it. His second flaw completely opposite from the first, was acting on impulse out of passion making him kill the wrong man, Polonius. Hamlet’s acting out of passion and anger not only killed the wrong man but it was also Ophelia’s father, causing her to commit suicide. Hamlet was a hero trying to do the right thing, but his tragic flaws turn everything around when everyone including himself dies .
Whenever Hamlet denies his true nature, his actions are very harsh. During a heated discussion with his mother Gertrude, he accidentally slays Laertes’ father, Polonius, thinking it to be Claudius. Hamlet quickly brushes it aside. He also sends his friends , Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to their deaths when he learns of Claudius’ plot to have him put to death when he arrived in England as a so called diplomat.
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
In the beginning of Hamlet, the Prince behaves as any normal person would following the death of a loved one. Not only is this a loved one, but an extra special someone; it is his loving father whom he adored. Hamlet is grief stricken, depressed, and even angry that his mother remarried so soon after his father’s death. Having witnessed how his father had treated his mother with great love and respect, Hamlet cannot understand how his mother could shorten the grieving period so greatly to marry someone like Uncle Claudius. He is incapable of rationalizing her deeds and he is obsessed by her actions.
Hamlet's Hesitation as his Tragic Flaw in Hamlet by Shakespeare. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet is described as daring, brave, loyal, and intelligent. However, he is always consumed by his own thoughts, this being his tragic flaw. There are numerous times Hamlet does not act when he should, like his inability to act on his father's murder, his mother's marriage, and his uncle's assuming of the throne.
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.
Taking revenge against his enemy can be a difficult task for young Hamlet, especially when the circumstances and conditions he is under require him to reevaluate his morals of life and soul. The delay in Hamlet’s revenge of his father’s death is caused by three main reasons: he is under strict and almost impossible guidelines laid out by the ghost of his father, King Hamlet, he is afraid of death either suffering it or inflicting it on someone else, and his lack of reasoning in committing a murder that he did not witness himself. When the ghost of King Hamlet first appears to young Hamlet, he injunctions three requirements he needs Hamlet to act upon. Revenge his father’s death, do not emotionally affect his mother, Gertrude, with the killing of her new husband, Claudius, and to not let himself go insane by trying to accomplish these vital tasks. Hamlet is bewildered, overwhelmed, and shocked with what the ghost of his father told him, and responds with, “haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift as mediation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge” (1.5.29-31).
“The serpent that did sting my father’s life / Now wears his crown.” (Hamlet 1.4.38-39). In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the protagonist Claudius is an evil and cunning villain. Shortly after the king of Denmark dies rather suddenly his brother Claudius took over his position as king. Claudius married his wife and instantly gained access to all his wealth and power. There was no evidence to suggest that the king had died of anything other than natural causes except for what a ghost told his son Hamlet. The ghost of the king told Hamlet that he had been murdered and betrayed by his own brother Claudius, the one person that he trusted the most. Hamlet vowed to take his revenge on
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.
One soon realizes that this later turns into anger and spite. This is seen by how Hamlet became extremely mournful after the loss of his father and goes on to say that “Tis not alone my inky cloak good mother. But I have that within which passes show, these but the trappings and suits of woe” [I, ii, 90]. He has a dark emotion trapped in his being that he expresses through his apparel. Hamlet is feeling a deep depression due to his father’s death, but it is not until he speaks with the ghost of his father that his emotions escalate. King Hamlet’s ghost goes on to say that “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” [I, v, 47]. This making Hamlet’s heart clench, he allows his emotions to escalate even further causing a sense of hopelessness in the world around him. Due to Claudius’ ambitious killing of the King, Hamlet feels the loss rather deeply but is now faced with a new emotion. He feels anger and resentment towards the smiling, damned villain and now has to decide whether it is just to avenge his father’s
In my opinion, Hamlet’s procrastination led to his downfall and death, as well as the deaths of many others.