Hamlet's Flaws

Tragedies have a significant effect on audiences due to its relevant complexes that occur every day through different situations. Throughout the course of a tragedy audience build a relationship with the tragic hero whose exceptional nature excites them and forces them to question his situation and flaws. In the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet, Hamlet’s catastrophic environment ignites his tragic flaws and ultimately leads to his demise. Hamlet succeeds in overcoming his hamartia through his death which allows him to maintain his legacy and avenge his father’s death. The famed poet T.S Elliot suggests in his essay “Hamlet and his problems”, that Hamlet faces disastrous conditions that exemplify the main complex within the play. These conditions

Hamlet’s power is mainly through his intelligent word choice and his philosophical thinking: “The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body. The king is a thing/ . . . / of nothing” (4.2.27-30). Hamlet is extremely intelligent that he clearly reveals his intentions in front of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern without them even noticing. Hamlet begins his riddle by declaring the authority of a king among the chain of beings. He then states that the current king is worthless and that the concept of a king transcends the boundaries of only one man. Finally, he reveals his intentions of murdering Claudius as he implies that the current king will be worthless once he satisfies his desire for vengeance. In addition, Hamlet’s crave for revenge gives the play its tragic nature, Hamlet attempting to avenge his father’s death remains a noble cause: “I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records/ . . . /And thy commandment all alone shall live” (1.5.100-103). Hamlet displays his obedience as he accepts his father’s orders. He wins the audience’s sympathy as his noble cause justifies his means in order to avenge his father. Hamlet is not necessarily a “good” person; however, the audience prefers to consider him a good person who is trying to bring justice to his father’s murder but in the process his environment causes him to become a different person. As a matter of fact, the audience’s admiration and sympathy for Hamlet view his flaws as completely insignificant in comparison to his noble qualities. A.C Bradley explains this relationship between the audience and a tragic hero as he argues, “The tragic hero with Shakespeare, then, need not be 'good,' . . . it is necessary that he should have so much of greatness that in his error and fall we may be vividly conscious of