Thursday, February 6, 2014

Does Hamlet realize his tragic flaw during the play?

Hamlet's tragic flaw is embedded in his character, so there is not just one act or scene where he realizes this flaw. His indecision to act, to be caught up in a state of his own inertia, becomes this tragic flaw. However, don't be too hard on Hamlet. The Ghost of his father gives him a baffling message: to seek both revenge and remembrance. Thus, Hamlet has a double mission.


Hamlet also questions the appearance and message from the Ghost: "The spirit that I have seen / May be a [devil] ... to damn me" (2.2.627-632). Also, Hamlet is no murderer, so he finds the duty of killing his uncle/father distasteful, to say the least. Yet, he gathers his resolve as "'This thing's to do,' / Sith I have cause and will and strength, and means to do 't" (4.4.47-49). Perhaps Hamlet's greatest flaw is his focus on his mother's guilt (3.4.95) rather than on the future of Denmark, although his main source of hesitation is that his Protestant beliefs forbid revenge killing even if his kingdom's customs demand it.

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