What is hamlets tragic flaw

An example of this is seen in Act III , when Hamlet has his knife over the head of Claudius, prepared to murder him, and talks himself out of it. Instead, Hamlet writes a play in which the actors play out the same story the ghost tells Hamlet. Even after Hamlet decides his uncle is guilty, Hamlet fails to take immediate action. This would have been a prime opportunity to confront Claudius, but Hamlet seems more interested in patting himself on the back than seeking revenge.

While Hamlet should admit his hatred of their marriage, he hides his feeling. While Hamlet is suppressing his feelings , he becomes more enraged at their attempts to calm him.

Hamlet has ample time to confess the cause of his madness. Unfortunately, Hamlet allows his mother to think he is madly in love rather than tell the truth. After Hamlet delivers his play and sees guilt in his uncle, Gertrude sends for Hamlet. Instead of doing physical damage to his mother, he insist on her confession. Many critics have different ideas of what Hamlet's flaw is, some believe it is his procrastination, others' his deep moral sensibility, or his high idealism, and so on. These flaws however, do not cause a downfall and a death of a hero.

The flaw must be something that goes on inside the character's head, and something that torments him until his final breath. The flaw of Hamlet is that his nature is so excessively concerned about death that he no longer knows right from left. All the deaths of personal relationships and of his father make him think about it, day and night. All Hamlet does, is ponder death and suicide in almost every one of his soliloquies. Everything Hamlet does in this play is centered on something or someone dying that is why his overwhelming interest and curiosity of death will eventually lead him to his own grave.

Hamlet's first intense thought of death probably occurred after his own father's death. When his father died, Hamlet did not know it was murder therefore; Hamlet probably began questioning god and his ways of working.

Then, when his mother marries his uncle, Hamlet is so appalled and angry that he considers death aloud in his very first so Hamlet's tragic flaw of being excessively concerned with death ultimately serves as his downfall because Laertes will stop at nothing to avenge his father's death.

The killing of Polonious as previously mentioned was due to the fact that death was always on Hamlet's mind. If Hamlet had been content with the environment he was in, he would not have taken such rash action and plunged his knife into the curtain.

The idea of death that has clouded Hamlet's mind since the beginning of the play finally shows consequences. These consequences lead to Hamlet's death in the final scene of the play. The appearance of Hamlet is that of a perfect prince who has everything, but the staggering reality is that even he has a tragic flaw, which eventually leads him to his own death.

Get Access. Good Essays. Analysis of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Read More. Better Essays. Melancholic Hamlet Words 3 Pages. They meet at the spot that they saw the ghost, and it appears. It is the ghost of Hamlets father, The King. After talking with the ghost, Hamlet learns that his father did not die of natural causes, but that he is murdered, by his own brother.

The Tragic Flaw that Hamlet is faced with is to seek revenge on Claudius for his father's death, because that is the only way his spirit will rest in peace. Hamlet knows he has to kill Claudius, but he doesn't know how, and he doesn't know when to do it.

This also leads to his tragic downfall. During the play, Claudius arranges for a play to take place, and when Hamlet hears of this, he arranges for the actors to reenact the murder that took place, so he could see Claudius' reaction.

If he reacts to the murder, then he definitely did it, if not, it is still questionable. After the play has ended, Claudius reacts and Hamlet knows that he truly did it. Now he had to carry out his part, seeking revenge for his fathers death.