Hamlet as the Perfect Tragic Hero
Hamlet as the Perfect Tragic Hero
Certain works evoke a deep self-scrutiny as the hero shares traits common with the reader. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet to achieve such an affect. In Shakespeare’s plays he often uses the tragic hero as a device to shed light onto a variety of different human flaws. Hamlet is no different, as Hamlet's reflective, contemplative nature often renders it impossible for him to act on his convictions, and it is this imbalance between his active and passive natures as a "tragic flaw" that makes his wretched fate inevitable.
Shakespeare's Hamlet was written to make the reader think for himself and create what he thinks to be Hamlet’s tragic flaw. Any argument could be well supported or demolished on quotes and actions from the text and one's interpretation of these. Hamlet's tragic flaw is his inconsistent approach to problems. In the scenarios that may call for quick, decisive behavior, Hamlet ruminates. An example of this is seen in Act III, iii when Hamlet has his knife over the head of Claudius, prepared to murder him, and he talks himself out of it. Another example of this is the play put on by Hamlet in Act III, ii when he wants to have proof of his father's murder by Claudius. In reality, all Hamlet needs to do is act on the ghost's words.
Likewise, in those scenarios that require thorough contemplation, Hamlet is impulsive. An example of this is seen when hears a "rat" listening in on his dialogue with his mother in Act III, iv. Without the necessary thought, Hamlet draws his sword and kills Polonius. Another example to support this premise is in Act I, iv when Hamlet threatens his friends and follows the potentially dangerous ghost into the forest without any contemplation. Again, the imbalance of rational thought and action is proven.
The contention that Hamlet's tragic flaw is external can be disproved in Act III, iii when Hamlet has his knife drawn and is only a swift motion away from Claudius' death. Hamlet's tragic flaw is not that he is motivated by ambition but that he lacks the ability to differentiate situations requiring contemplation and those in which quick reaction is needed. This point is best...