Tyler Duncan

E.C.C.R.

Mr. Christinat

12-29-02

Hamlet Has a Flaw?

Hamlet was a very intelligent, in fact his intellect was only challenged by that of

Horatio's intellect. Hamlet being as smart as he was he thought things through to much

for his own good, and thus making Hamlet's fatal flaw procrastination. Hamlet also

happened to fall in the category of two the seven deadly sins, and that would be wrath,

and pride. When Hamlets father's apparition appeared before him he was giving a task to

kill his uncle, so it would be involuntary wrath. At the same time Hamlet had to follow

through with the murder of his uncle out of pride.

Throughout the story of Hamlet he proves himself on a far superior intellect than

anyone else in the play, mostly Polonius, he Hamlet confuses Polonius "Let her not walk

I' the sun. Conception is a blessing, but not as your daughter may conceive. Friend, look

to 't."(Shakespeare, 214), the Polonius said to himself "How say you by that? Still

harping on my daughter. Yet he know me not at first; he said I was a fishmonger. He is

far gone. And truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love, very near this. I'll

speak to him again. What do you read my lord." (Shakespeare, 214). Claudius was an

intelligent man, but to brutal and demoralized to be seen as smart, and another big

problem he had was the only man he trusted as an adviser was a moron, that would have

been Polonius. Horatio was a very loyal mild tempered man, but he was a fool for love.
Horatio also could not reason as well as Hamlet, like when Hamlet's fathers ghost

appeared Horatio tried to stop Hamlet from going with him, for he had a fear of it.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were both greedy men, they took Claudius's offer to be

treated like a king, if they betrayed their "friend" Hamlet. Those two had no loyalty,

which led them to their quick death.

In the Play Hamlet, the title character Hamlet really thinks to much for his own

good. If he would of just got his vengeance on Claudius quickly then the events leading

up to Hamlet's death would have never happened. Hamlet tried to get his uncle to

confess to the murder of Hamlet's father by putting on a play depicting what Claudius

did. The play did make Claudius confess to feeling guilty, but nothing more, Claudius

did try to repent by saying to God "O' my offense is rank, it smells of heaven; It hath the

primal eldest curse upon't A brother's murder…My strongest guilt defeats my strongest

intellect… "(Shakespeare, 234). At this point Hamlet had the opportunity to kill

Claudius, but once again he procrastinated using the excuse if Claudius would go to

heaven right now. If Claudius had it in his soul to repent this would have been a right

move, but it was not, and for once Hamlets thought pattern let him down.

Hamlet had the plan to act crazy so nobody would think bad of things that he

would do, but in all actuality it was another opportunity to put of him killing his uncle

just a little further. Hamlet said "…Here as before, never, so help you mercy, How

strange or odd soe'er I bear myself-As I perchance hereafter shall I think meet To put an

antic disposition on…"(Shakespeare, 204, 205), that was right after Hamlet spoke to his

fathers apparition, and found out about the evil dwelling in Denmark, and at that very
moment he began to procrastinate on killing his uncle. Most normal human beings would

have slain the killer of their father at first chance, but Hamlet did not and that is what

killed him. Pride was not a big thing in Hamlet's life or he would of not acted insane,

insanity ruins a mans name. But Hamlet still had enough pride to want to avenge his

father's murder. Laertes was a very proud man, and that is what led him to the drastic

measures of poisoning an unblunted fencing sword to kill Hamlet, yet Laertes was slain

by the same sword he poisoned "And for the purpose, I'll anoint my sword. I bought an

untion of a mountebank, So mortqal that, but dip a knife in it, Where it draws blood no

cataplasm so rare…can save the thing from death that is but a scratched

withal."(Shakespeare, 248, 249). In the end Hamlet suffered from wrath on his part and a

few others. Hamlet personally ended up stabbing Claudius with a poisoned sword, and

then making him drink the poisoned wine that Claudius made for Hamlet. This was also

after Hamlet knew his mother was poisoned, Laertes was poisoned, and he himself was

poisoned so it was his last opportunity to take his vengeance on Claudius. When push

comes to shove Hamlet did get what he wanted, but way too many people had to die for

his procrastination. Hamlet's idea about playing mind games with everyone was probably

okay, but there were much better ways he could have gotten his revenge without

everyone around him dying. He could have went as life was normal for a little bit, then

the minute things settled down he could of slain Claudius and it would have been done

never to be thought of again. But this "intelligent" man gets this idea and gets most of his

friends and family killed, just because he procrastinated, how can he be considered an

good man.
 Truth to be told Hamlet's heart was good I just don’t think he had a clue to what

his actions actually meant. Hamlet being as smart as he was he thought things through to

much for his own good, and thus making Hamlet's fatal flaw procrastination.

Procrastination is a very harmful thing to anyone, weather it’s a senior at Northeast

Magnet High School procrastinated until the day a paper over Hamlet is due to finish it,

or a prince waiting way too long to avenge his fathers murder. Hamlets mortality did not

seem to exist in the beginning of the play, but as the play went on you began to see he is

not perfect. Hamlet made one mortal mistake, not killing Claudius when he had the

chance. Hamlet this man who knows everything, could never figure out the fact that

procrastination is bad for the soul. But maybe he did not realize what he was doing, it is

possible that he is innocent from these crimes from ignorance of what he was doing to the

Aristocrats of Denmark. But in the text it is shown everywhere that Hamlet is the man

who can outsmart anyone, so it is not plausible for him to of not known what he was

doing.
 Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet". England in Liturature. Ed. John Pfodresher. Dallas:

Scott-Foresman, 1989.