Essay, Research Paper: Hamlets Flaw

What is Hamlet’s flaw?...”Nor to any one is he known to have defect. No one
ever ventures to speak of him slightingly or critically. Why does not the King, Laertes, or
Fortinbras despise him for a scholar and a dreamer, at least, instead of taking him as they all do for the worthy son of his warrior sire? Why does not the Queen once sigh, or Horatio sadly shake his head? He is a courtier, soldier, scholar, the expectancy and rose of the fair state, cries Ophelia, and there is no suggestion that she is saying it as one who does not know. It is the accepted opinion. The king fears him, and he shrinks form bringing him to account for Polonius’ death, he says because of the great love the general gender bear him. This sinful Queen quails under his rebuke, and yet loves him too well to betray his confidence. And as often in Shakespeare’s tragedies, at the end of the play judgment to the same effect is pronounced on his character by a disinterested party.”
Was Hamlet out of his mind, or was he pretending to be crazy? Did anyone realize what Hamlet’s dilemma, such as Ophelia, the King, and the Queen? What was his delay? Could it be that Hamlet was not so much afraid of killing the king, but hurting his mother, mentally, emotionally, after the death of her King and her abrupt marriage to Claudius. Was Hamlet afraid, that maybe the ghost of his father wasn’t really his father’s ghost at all, in that it was a trick of the devil?
Hamlet’s over analysis is what turns out to be the reason for so many deaths, including his own. His procrastination kills not only himself, but also his mother, his girlfriend, and others, but it also leaves the reader full of doubt. Of course the average reader is aware that Hamlet will kill the new king, but was it necessary to have so many deaths due to one mans uncertainty? Yes, his father, the king, was killed by his own brother, Hamlet’s uncle, and at seems as quickly as he died, he queen was re-married just as quickly. More often than not, Hamlet questions himself, his goal, his reason for being alive, but for every question came an opportunity to kill Claudius and he didn’t. Hamlet, undoubtedly was confused, and probably scared, but the key question here is, was he in his right mind? Was he stable enough to attempt such a deed as to kill his king without questioning his every thought, reason, and his judgment of himself. Opinions vary on this question, but from a reasonable, and rational point of view, the Hamlet presented to me was not a person of sound mind, in fact, probably insane to the point of a breakdown, simply because of the amount of time in which these events occurred. “ Nor to any one is he known to have defect.” At least not until the end, when his over thinking of a situation gets the best of him, and not only kills himself, but those close to him.



Word Count: 522