Peggy Enriquez
Mrs. Maloney
AP Literature
November 13, 2015
The Irresoluteness of Hamlet
“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, is one of the most popular and influential tragedies in English literature. In his most famous play, the tragic figure is represented through Hamlet. The protagonist, Hamlet, possesses a tragic flaw which alters the result of his goal to achieve revenge for the murder of the former King of Denmark which is also his father. This tragic trait labels him as a character who is destroyed because of a major weakness, due to the fact his death that occurs later on could have possibly been avoided. Hamlet’s flaw of being indecisive, not having or showing the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively, is illustrated when he states his third, second, and sixth soliloquy. First, Hamlet’s flaw of being indecisive is illustrated when he says his third soliloquy, one of the most famous soliloquies in English literature. For instance, his continuous self debate states:
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o 'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. (3.1.84-89)
Unlike other characters, Hamlet is well aware of his own weakness, recognizing how he is unable to act in “to be or not to be”. Procrastination is a significant aspect of Hamlet because this leads to the delay of his revenge being plotted.
Many people have seen Hamlet as a play about uncertainty and about Hamlet's failure to act appropriately. It is very interesting to consider that the play shows many uncertainties that lives are built upon, or how many unknown quantities are taken for granted when people act or when they evaluate one another's actions. Hamlet is an especially intriguing production, both on the set and on the screen because of its uniqueness to be different from what most people expect to be in a revenge themed play. Hamlet's cynicism and insane like behavior cause him to seem indecisive, but in reality he is always judging and contemplating his actions in the back of his mind in order to seek revenge for the murder of
Hamlet’s character throughout the soliloquy is shown to be a slow decision maker. In this soliloquy, we get to see how Hamlet talks about life and death but when he thinks too much about it, his thoughts start to lose there beauty and feeling. This is depicted in the following lines. “And lose the name of action. Soft you now/The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons/Be all my sins remember’d (3.1.89-91). Hamlet is scared to take decisions and as a result, more
Throughout the play, Hamlet shows many examples of being an indecisive person and being unable to do anything he wants to, as if something stops him. An example would be in act five, when he decides to confess his love for Ophelia on her grave. He took too long to tell Ophelia or anyone for the matter about his love for her. Another example would be his mother remarrying, and Hamlet not being able to confess his true feelings about King Claudius being his new father. In the first four acts, Hamlet goes on about his life being miserable and in some kind of melancholy mood. He can’t find a way to deal with it, so he keeps all of his negative feelings to himself. This “depressed” funk he is in interferes with his will to act upon things that
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the main character continually delays acting out his duty of avenging his father's murder. This essay will discuss how Hamlet's nature and morals (which are intensified by difficult events) prevent him from carrying out the task.
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.
In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet, a studious young man and Prince of Denmark, struggles to face the death of his father and the task to kill his father’s murderer, Claudius. He was once known as a charming, smart young man before his father’s death. However, Hamlet experiences depression and anger at the world, causing him to look outwardly on society but failing to look inwardly on himself. The death of his father and the task for vengeance leads him to question whether or not he should follow through in killing Claudius. He becomes a man of thought rather than a man of action. In addition, the delay of King Claudius’ murder leads the readers to believe that he wishes not to kill him; he
Shakespeare's drama Hamlet has become a central piece of literature of Western culture. It is the story of a prince named Hamlet, who lost his father. Soon after that he has to confront multiple obstacles and devises a series of situations to defend the new king's royalty. Furthermore, he had to prove that King Claudius, who was the prince's uncle, had killed Hamlet's father. This story has remained among the most popular and the most controversial plays around the world. It generates controversy for all the doubts that this play leaves with the readers. One of the most questioning situations in the play is the delay of Hamlet in avenging Claudius' for his father's death. As a reader this
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the main character continually delays acting out his duty of avenging his father’s murder. This essay will discuss how Hamlet’s nature and morals (which are intensified by difficult events) prevent him from carrying out the task.
“To be, or not to be, that is the question,” (3.1.64). This famous line in William Shakespeare's Hamlet perfectly encapsulates Hamlet’s internal struggle throughout the play. Hamlet tells the story of the young prince of Denmark and his desire for revenge on the uncle, Claudius, who murdered his father. As is the case in many works of literature, Hamlet changes greatly throughout the play. However, because of his attempts to act insane, it can be difficult to precisely map the changes in Hamlet’s character. By carefully investigating his seven soliloquies, where he is alone and has no need to “put on an antic disposition,” one can understand and interpret how Hamlet’s character develops throughout the play.
Shakespeare’s character, Hamlet, is known for his indecisive personality. It is a trait that humanizes Hamlet in the sense that every man is flawed. However, this feature is Hamlet’s main
Hamlet, the eponymous hero of Shakespeare’s greatest work, descends swiftly into madness and paranoia after the murder of his father and the realization of his mother’s true, morally reprehensible, nature. As a result of these new responsibilities and extreme circumstances, Hamlet diverges from his usual, logical thinking into paranoia and over analysis, a condition that prevents him from trusting anyone. Hamlet, having been born a prince, is, for the first time, forced to make his own decisions after he learns of the true means of his father’s death. Another contributing factor to his madness is the constant probing of others into Hamlet’s sanity. These factors all contribute to Hamlets delay, and that delay contributes to the tragic
In the sixth soliloquy of Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, Hamlet finally begins to realize his procrastination. In this soliloquy we discover how Hamlet is purely a follower; he needs to compare himself to another person in order to realize his own flaws. This constitutes his madness as he is seemingly an intelligent man, as suggested by some of his previous soliloquies, but yet is unable to see his own wrongdoings until after it becomes too late. In his sudden realization, he confesses his procrastination and it all becomes clear that he was aware of it the whole time. It thus can be concluded that Hamlet has been fooling us, as all of his wise choices seem to come after some unusual circumstances and not solely from his intellect.
With Hamlet’s tragic flaw being his inability to act, he is plagued throughout the play by his immense intelligence and philosophical nature, which causes him to overanalyze each situation, rendering him unable to carry out any action in response. This is evident in the play by the frequent delay of acting out his father’s revenge due to the uncertainty of the evidence pertaining to his uncle’s crime. Hamlet’s inability to act creates a discourse between hamlet and his consciousness, generating an abundance of stress, which causes him to become increasingly frustrated as the play progresses. This frustration leads to him at moments in the play to behave in a rash and impulsive way or acting in an inappropriate manner, contradicting his methodical and reserved disposition. It is the consequences of these “inappropriate” actions that resurfaces at the plays end, to haunt the character, as Hamlet’s inability to act while using his renowned logic and intelligence ultimately leads to his eventual demise at the plays conclusion, due to his inability to act both “effectively” and “appropriately” in critical situations.
By Hamlet’s third soliloquy he still has not taken action to avenge his father’s death and hates everyone around him, including himself. He begins his soliloquy with the famous line “To be, or not to be?” With this line Hamlet is asking whether is it better to be alive or to be dead. In this soliloquy Hamlet contemplates suicide and discusses the trials of life. He wishes not to have to deal with the hardships of life, but realizes that he is not brave enough to take his own life. Not only is he, like most humans, afraid of the unknown, but he is also afraid of committing a sin and damning his soul. At the end of his third soliloquy Hamlet has yet to do as his father’s ghost told him and Hamlet is still angry with himself for being such a coward.
In William Shakespeare Hamlet and Othello, the author creates two similar yet vastly different protagonists. The major source of contrast lies within each characters approach to decision making and premeditated action. As David Nichol Smith puts it, Hamlet “is not a character marked by strength of will or even passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment.”(Smith 288) This very refinement of thought is what characterizes both Hamlet’s indecision and forces him to act when he renounces indecision. In contrast