We Admire Hamlet As Much For His Weaknesses

We Admire Hamlet As Much For His Weaknesses as for his Flaws

Hamlet is composed of an amalgamation of both strength and weakness, and this is evident throughout ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark’, by William Shakespeare. At heart, the titular Hamlet is a noble, selfless and clever young man; but as the play progresses, his emotional volatility, and inability to act swiftly, contort this perfect image. This essay discusses the good man that is Hamlet, the evolution of his flaws, and why, we simply cannot deny our admiration towards him.

From the onset of the play and throughout, I believe that Hamlet had the truest of intentions. With the best interests of the State of Denmark in mind, Hamlet sets out to avenge his beloved father for his “foul and most unnatural murder,” by the hands of Claudius, Hamlet’s own uncle. Hamlet intends restore the divine balance, saving his father’s spirit from the “fires” of Purgatory, and to ensure that a the throne of Denmark is ruled by a noble man, not a murderer. To achieve these goals, Hamlet decides to “put an antic disposition on” in order to confirm the information brought to him by the spirit of his father, and in turn, set things right in Denmark. Despite the disastrous events, occurring as a direct …show more content…
Aristotle writes: “the change of fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity." And this could not be more true for Hamlet. With the most true of intentions, Hamlet is company to a series of misfortunate mistakes that result in his self destruction by the end of the play. These fatal human errors all progressively stem from particular flaws in Hamlet’s character. These flaws, although present from the onset, are exacerbated by the traumatic events that set the play into