by Joan Liu

Created on: May 21, 2010

Tragic Flaws in Hamlet

“This above all – to thine own self be true;/And it must follow, as the night the day,/Thou canst not then be false to any man” (1.3.84-86). Polonius mutters these words to Laertes not only to sum up his farewells, but to foreshadow the tragedy to come. It is following that same advice that drives the conflict along. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the characters’ individual downfalls are caused by their inability to overcome their personal faults. This is especially pronounced in the members of the royal family. Hamlet, consumed by hate and grief, Queen Gertrude, weak willed and shallow, and Laertes, impulsive and brash, cannot discern the moral path to take, which eventually leads them to their deaths.

Hamlet’s desire to avenge his father might be noble, but he becomes obsessed and self absorbed, and does not see the needless tragedy he is wreaking. Hamlet has placed revenge above all matters, including his own well being. Hamlet goes so far to condemn himself when the Player is more capable of producing a show of grief, believing that his efforts thus far have not been nearly enough. “What would he do/ Had he the motive and the cue for passion/ That I have” (2.2.587-589). Hamlet also pushes the people that care about him away, telling Ophelia that he never loved her and confronting Gertrude about her adultery violently. Interestingly enough, given Hamlet’s drive to kill Claudius, his self absorbency is also manifested through procrastination. Instead of seizing the opportunity to kill Claudius quickly, Hamlet plots and plans to insure Claudius’s manner of death will reflect his crimes. “Up sword, and know thou a more horrid hent” (3.3.92). This leads to the countless needless deaths. It is not until he is faced with Ophelia’s death that Hamlet begins to realize the scope of his actions. However, by then, he is already faced with Laertes’s anger, and it is too late to undo what he has done. Hamlet has no choice but to resign himself to his fate. In the end, Hamlet may have avenged his father, but he has also caused many unnecessary deaths.

Albeit a much more minor character than Hamlet, Gertrude also fails to overcome her own pitfalls. Gertrude is unable to see the plots and mechanisms around her due to her lack of awareness and her dependency. Throughout the play, Gertrude is notorious for being uninformed of the plots that goes on under her nose.

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