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Hamlet: A Tragic Flaw In Shakespeare's Play

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Hamlet Essay
William Shakespeare is a brilliant writer who has written a vast variety of plays that have dominated the world for centuries. Something that distinguishes Shakespeare from other notable writers is his passion for and strength in writing tragedies. Some of Shakespeare’s most well-know plays such as Macbeth, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet, are all tragedies. In all of Shakespeare’s plays, the protagonist has something called a tragic flaw. A tragic flaw refers to “the character defect that causes the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy,’ according to Dictionary.com. Another one of Shakespeare’s most notable tragedies is Hamlet. After reading the play, it is evident that the protagonist in the play has an immense tragic flaw: Hamlet is unable to make decisions, thus unable to take action. Hamlet has many opportunities to act throughout the course of the play, but his indecisiveness disallows Hamlet to follow through on any of his intended actions and ultimately leads to the downfall of him and many other characters in Hamlet. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, it is apparent that Hamlet is indecisive about carrying …show more content…

The entire play is based on Hamlet seeking revenge for the murder of his father, who he had a close relationship with and admired dearly. After learning about the way his father was murdered by his uncle, Hamlet knew he wanted to avenge his father. However, Hamlet let his indecisiveness and inability to act to get in the way. Hamlet’s inability to trust his father’s ghost, morals about killing Claudius while he was praying, and neglect of finishing his plan all show the audience his indecisiveness on fulfilling his father’s wishes. This trait is Hamlet’s tragic flaw, and what makes the play Hamlet a

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