Essay about Hamlet's Fatal Flaw

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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

    Hamlet is many things: scholar, speaker, actor, and prince. His greatness shows in all of activities, save one: his inability to act. Hamlet is not able to avenge his father's death without considerable delay. There is a flaw in Hamlet's character that causes him to postpone the murder of Claudius - this flaw is Hamlet's idealism. While idealism is normally a good trait, in this case, because of the unusual circumstances, Hamlet's idealism causes great conflicts within him.

Hamlet decided to create a plan to get revenge for his father’s death. He planned on pretending he was crazy so that he could easily create his revenge plans. As time went on with him creating his plan, Hamlet became more and more lonely. As Shakespeare says, "...it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'er hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire-why it appears nothing to me but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors...( act 2 scene 1 289)." Hamlet didn’t care much about anything else but getting his revenge. He totally ignored everyone around him while trying to figure out what he was going to do next.

Hamlet has a tragic flaw in his personality and behavior. His flaw is that he is overly concerned with death and tragedy. This flaw or weakness in Hamlet leads him into a world of chaotic surroundings and madness. Hamlet's flaw and his mad personality led to the death of several people, including his mother and the King of Denmark! If Hamlet did not have this fascination with death and tragedy, the deaths of the several people would not have occurred--including his own.

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular character struggles to engage in his desired plan of revenge. Hamlet shows throughout the play that he is inconsistent, indecisive, and unsure of himself, as well as his actions. The play focuses on Hamlet’s revenge; however, he continuously fails to happen at opportunistic moments. Throughout the play, Hamlet insists that he intends to avenge his father’s death through the murder of Claudius, but Hamlet fails to act on occasion because of his indecisive personality.

Why Does Hamlet delay so long in achieving his revenge- what is really stopping him? There is an inner battle inside Hamlet that no one knows about, good versus evil, stuck between both worlds. Hamlet is the only one who can decided which world to want to be apart of. Hamlet, the story, reveals that the individual can only find meaning by looking inward and living according to his or her own beliefs and including values. Being and thinking independently is the key to purpose and inner peace. Unfortunately most human beings fail to find this inner peace because of the need conform to the group and act according to the desire of others. Why does is

Hamlet soon resolves to take action. He sets up a play to trap Claudius so he can find out if the ghost was telling the truth. This is his intelligence and craft. He will not impulsively commit murder because of the word of a ghost who seemed to be his dead father. When he meets with his mother later, he is very angry and emotional and kills Polonius believing it was Claudius. Hamlet shows himself to be a man of action before thought in this case. He is rather cold that he is not terribly sorry about this accidental death but does show genuine concern for his mother which leads him to fits of intense emotion.

Although Hamlet knows well enough that he must avenge his fathers’ death, the action of revenge does not come easily to him. Hamlet throughout Hamlet is contemplating the revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet is indecisive, hesitant, and contemplative yet at other times impulsive. He is still, as it is, being influenced by his reason taking into consideration that Hamlet is a scholar. He does not act upon his feelings immediately but decides to investigate further on the suspicions he has about Claudius and his fathers’ death. This attitude tends to make Hamlet procrastinate and only until he has done away with his scholastic characters will he actually play out his Acton.

    Hamlet is a character that we love to read about and analyze. His character is so realistic, and he is so romantic and idealistic that it is hard not to like him. He is the typical young scholar facing the harsh reality of the real world. In this play, Hamlet has come to a time in his life where he has to see things as they really are. Hamlet is an initiation story. Mordecai Marcus states "some initiations take their protagonists across a threshold of maturity and understanding but leave them enmeshed in a struggle for certainty"(234).  And this is what happens to Hamlet.

In this case, Hamlet is obsessed with yet unable to act out his revenge since he is a man of thought and reflection, not of action and impulsiveness. "Revenge, said Francis Bacon in his essay on the subject, is a kind of wild justice, and something in Hamlet is too civilized for stealthy murder," says Northrop Frye (Frye). While he knows it is his duty to avenge his father's murder, Hamlet's desire to fulfill this obligation constantly wavers. In self-pity he cries, "O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right!" (1.5. 188-189), and yet in rage he utters, "Now could I drink hot blood / and do such bitter business as the day / Would quake to loot on," (3.2. 397-399). Hamlet hesitates numerous times to fulfill his duty to avenge his father, and in the end he must actually convince himself to kill Claudius. "... I do not know / Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do', / Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means / To do't... / ... / O, from this time forth, / My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!" (4.4. 43-46, 65-66). This unusual flaw leads to Hamlet's inevitable demise, and is the most convincing evidence that Hamlet is, indeed, a tragedy. The protagonist, however, is not the only character in the play that experiences a want for revenge. Shakespeare uses all three of the sons seeking vengeance to reveal the complexity of the human yearning for

With Hamlet being generally labeled as the best tragic hero ever created, it is ironic that his tragic flaw has never been as solidly confirmed as those of most of his fellow protagonists. There is Macbeth with his ambition, Oedipus with his pride, Othello with his jealousy, and all the others with their particular odd spots. Then there is Hamlet. He has been accused of everything and of nothing, and neither seems to stick. Flaws are carved out of obscure conversations when he may or may not be speaking truthfully and alleged from instances of his own self-discipline. They are bored into him with the bits of psychological drills invented long after Shakespeare's hand crafted

Hamlet faces challenges throughout the play that try his inner strengths and test his ability to handle the situation. He is torn between wanting to seek justice, and avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is also caught up in an intricate web of lies and deceit, he is considered mad by most characters when in all actuality it is just playing off of the actions of others to benefit himself. He puts on different acts trying to hide the truth, which makes him seem sincerely mad to the people around him. The truth of the matter is that Hamlet can’t decide whether or not his convictions are accurate. This dilemma ultimately leads to not only the deaths of the main characters, but the downfall of the kingdom.

“One may smile, and smile, and be a villain”, said in Act 1, shows Hamlet's will to gain control. Using phrases like this portray a controversy between the doing the right thing and trying the right thing. Narcissistic behavior like this is common when trying to achieve power. A person for instance has an inflated sense of own importance over the people that surround them. Although, he could have chosen to do nothing about the betrayal toward him, it wasn’t morally in his will to act in such way. His actions displayed ways that acting out was seen as a defense mechanism. Hamlet regularly isolates himself prior to wanting something. Not only does isolation happen frequently, but it is rare for Hamlet to share any information he has gained, but uses it against others in a way of having control over them, Having so many emotions and feelings built up inside, gives an additive toward unruly, and controlling behavior. A Google article stated, “Shakespeare’s play arises not from the structure of revenge itself, but from the grafting on to it of a complex of acute anxieties revolving around a vision of endemic human corruption” (pg.3). Protagonist use revenge as a way of significant act toward control. In this case, Hamlet seeks this type of revenger after experiencing many failed attempts to obtain the justice he felt he so deserved.

Every tragic hero has a tragic flaw.  Macbeth's tragic flaw is his ambition.  There is no other reason for the evil he does besides his "vaulting ambition, which o'er leaps itself" (1.7.27).  Macbeth has such a strong desire to be king; he would kill his friends and loved ones to succeed in his task.  Macbeth would not have been inclined to take action in murdering without the help of the witches and Lady Macbeth.  These women push Macbeth to the idea of becoming king, but because of his tragic flaw, ambition, Macbeth proceeds with the plan on his own, which leads to corruption.  Hamlet's tragic flaw is his indecisiveness.  He promises his father he will "sweep to [his] revenge" (1.5.31) "with wings as swift/ as meditation," (1.5.30) but does not kill Claudius till the end of the play.  This lack of action shows he is incapable of acting on his word even though his father was the one who was murdered.  Hamlet consistently makes excuses to avoid dealing with his promise.  Even when he had the chance to kill Claudius while he was praying, his indecision kept him from doing so.  Also, Hamlet avoided revenge by not trusting the ghost and scheduling the play.  Macbeth's and Hamlet's tragic flaws led them to their utter destruction.