Hamlet's Tragic Flaw
Aristotle once defined a "tragic hero" as a character with a flaw in personality or judgment that will lead that character to actions that will end in disaster. Hamlet definitely has some fatal flaws that make him fit the mold of a "tragic hero". The one flaw that will most certainly overcome Hamlet and bring him to death is his willingness to over-think. He often analyzes situations too carefully which causes him to procrastinate, this delay in judgment inevitably allows Claudius to escape revenge and plot Hamlet's defeat. The death of King Hamlet came as a shock to Hamlet and the people of Elsinore. Asleep in his garden a snake unleashed its rage and envenomed the good King. As Hamlet would later learn, "The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown" (Act I Scene V), which meant that Claudius was, in fact, the one to blame for the death of his father. This rage Hamlet felt caused him to swear revenge something he would be bound to until
The intelligence and wit that Hamlet was so respected for would unknowingly be the end of him. Hamlet became to concerned with the things that might happen and lost sight of what needed to happen. He was meeting his mother in her chambers as he passed Claudius' room, where the King was praying. Once Claudius was given the chance to kill Hamlet he took it, without any hesitation, which was very different than Hamlet. The stage was set for Hamlet to kill Claudius as Claudius did King Hamlet, but young Hamlet once again intellectualized the situation and lost sight of his goal allowing Claudius to slip farther away. The tragic end that Hamlet saw was only due to the character flaws that he had. This over thinking that Hamlet is plagued with again allows Claudius to escape death and brings Hamlet one-step closer to his own. He swore to his father that he would gain vengeance for his murder, "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**. " (Act III Scene III), he decides that to kill him in prayer would release his sin and send him to heaven while his Father waits in purgatory. He created a trap for Hamlet that would definitely lead him to his tragic end. Young Laertes was coaxed into a plot for revenge that would only end with the death of good Hamlet, "And so have I a noble father lost, a sister driven into desperate terms.
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