The Flaws of the Tragic Hero Hamlet in Shakespeares...

The Flaws of the Tragic Hero Hamlet in Shakespeares Hamlet With Hamlet being generally labeled as the best tragic hero ever created, it is ironic that his tragic flaw has never been as solidly confirmed as those of most of his fellow protagonists. There is Macbeth with his ambition, Oedipus with his pride, Othello with his jealousy, and all the others with their particular odd spots. Then there is Hamlet. He has been accused of everything and of nothing, and neither seems to stick. Flaws are carved out of obscure conversations when he may or may not be speaking truthfully and alleged from instances of his own self-discipline. They are bored into him with the bits of psychological drills invented long after Shakespeares hand crafted†¦show more content†¦And so he dies, not because of his flaw, but because the flawless ideal cannot coexist with the pockmarked real. Most heroes strong points are unique for their possessors. They have few others. And so, the tension is concentrated upon those spots and they are quickly and noticeably sc ratched. And the interpreters leap upon the battle wound and call it a flaw. It is given a name, ambition, arrogance, or other words that society likes to use to demonize a rise above mediocrity and indecision. All this, of course, has been tried on Hamlet, and none are universally accepted as right or even slightly viable. He has no one point on which to concentrate the attack. He smashes against the ragged walls of his cell with inflexible force. He alters his environment on all fronts, from his own appearance to the psychological states of others (most notably Ophelia). His flaw is the strength of his strengths, the consistency of his consistencies. There is, first of all, what he says of himself. He says to the ghost, just as the plot gets underway, thy commandment all alone shall live / Within the book and volume of my brain.(Act 1, Scene 4, 102,103) Then, again, the message comes, soon after the climax, in the form of: My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!(Act 4, Scene 4, 66) He then dedicates himself entirely to his cause. He feigns madness to the point of starvingShow MoreRelatedHamlet, A Tragic Hero1003 Words   |  5 Pagesmemorable tragic hero’s Hamlet is the definition of a tragic hero. In the book, Hamlet, Shakespeare’s character hamlet is determined on killing his uncle the king. This goal proves to be challenging to him due to his morals. He often struggles with this throughout the book. This proves to be his downfall for not deciding to kill the king until the very end. A tragic hero has to have a fatal flaw that, combined with fate, brings tragedy. This is one of the key characteristics of a tragic hero. 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