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
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Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul to his own conceit
(II.ii 42 505-509)
Once this is stated, it becomes more evident that Hamlet has the tendency to rely on his own beliefs and thoughts to answer his questions, instead of acting upon his curiosities.
Madariaga also quotes Bradley and states that "in Hamlet's procrastination [he sees] the tragedy of reflection" (97). Hamlets' view of the world around him is different from the views of everyone else's in that he takes what he sees, analyzes each situation, and ends up with a conclusion that is different from the actual truths. For example, in one of Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies, Hamlet states,
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,
And by opposing end them. (III.i 45 56-60)
Hamlet is constantly wondering but never uncovering truths he works so hard to find.
Madariaga also points out that Hamlet's flaw is partly due to his constant train of thought, but lack of action derived from his thoughts. He states "It is now common ground that the soliloquies and other utterances in which Hamlet puts forward reasons for adjourning his vengeance are but sublimations of his inability to act" (99).
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