Hamlets Character Essay, Research Paper

Hamlets Character

In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlets character is one marked by strength of will, but mostly by refinement of thought and sentiment. The character of Hamlet has one main goal, and this is to avenge his father s death. This, his core obligation, sometimes clashes with his thoughtfulness and sentimental side. This very issue creates what is the main conflict of in this play.

In the play it is seen that Hamlet s ruling passion is to think. He seems almost incapable of deliberate action and is frequently put into positions where he performs rash acts. In one instance where he has no time to recollect, he acts rashly by killing Polonious. In this instance, his train of thought did not interrupt his actions. He also does this in the situation of the fraudulent letter, where he seems almost entranced when he is switching the letters.

In other situations he is definitely under no entrancement. He ponders these situations with great deliberateness, and with a semi-unconscious effort. This ironically occurs when he is most bound to act. When he falls into a relapse, he is forced to ponder over whether or not he should kill the King right then and there. After an extensive plan to kill he was sidetracked by the fact that the King is in prayer. His deliberation, in this case, can be seen as evil because it allows him to plan an even more horrific death for the King. His diversion by these petty or minuscule things is in fact a major contributor to the flaw of his character.

Because of his unique character, any vague pretext that flatters his propensity, instantly diverts him from his purpose, and this in itself is a major portion of what his character flaw is. But, his thoughtfulness could also be considered his saving grace as he is diverted into different paths. In actuality it really doesn t matter because he would have ended up dead either way it went.

Hamlet s core problem, the avenging of his father s death, will not work with the character that Hamlet truly is. So, in fact, he is unconsciously forced to formulate within himself a pseudo-rashness. These extremities are in fact of no relevance because the genuineness of Hamlet s character continues to shine through, even as he murders, and on through his own death. In fact, the confusion that his sympathetic character creates is ultimately sympathized upon in the dramatic and tragic end of the play.