Hamlet

 Shakespeare's Hamlet is another great example of human flaw. It is portrayed that some of the characters are greedy, revengeful, and prideful. When Hamlets father, King of Denmark, unexpectedly dies, the kings spirit comes to Hamlet and makes him aware that he was murdered by his wife, Gertrude, and his brother, Claudius. Hamlet becomes enraged and sets his sights on one thing; revenge. One may ask why the kings own brother and wife would betray him like this. The answer is simple; greed and lust. The two were having an affair and with the king out of the way they could be together with no one suspecting anything because the brother of the king would have to step in and take over the crown. Claudius would gain the power as well as the girl. Hamlet tries to make the king and queen confess their crime out of guilt. He starts acting like he has gone insane so that no one would suspect his plans of revenge. He creates a play in which the plot is a reenactment of the death of his father, hoping to "catch the conscience of the king (Shakespeare, 84)." Shakespeare introduces the infamous 'to be or not to be' soliloquy where it is stated that "thus conscience makes cowards of us all (Shakespeare, 87)." Claudius is careful to not give away to much, though Hamlet sees right through his charade, and to the guilt. Claudius catches on to Hamlets plan and convinces Laertes (Hamlets best friend) that the death of Ophelia (Laertes sister and Hamlets secret lover) and his father was caused by Hamlet. Claudius then gives Laertes permission to kill Hamlet claiming that "revenge should have no bounds (Shakespeare, 130)." In the end, they are all destroyed. Shakespeare is warning us that nothing good will come from revenge and that it will eventually destroy you if it isn't let go. I is a natural thing for someone to want to take revenge when they are wronged in some way, but that doesn't mean we should listen to the little voice telling us we must get even. Life isn't about everything being perfect. It is about learning to deal the cards handed to you and pushing through the storm. I think revenge is a huge flaw that all people have and that is why Shakespeare decided to make Hamlets major flaw one of a vengeful heart.


Picture Source:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/william-shakespeare/hamlet.htm


Sources:

Shakespeare, William. Act 2, Scene 2. Hamlet. Ed. Cedric Watts. Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 2002. 84. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Act 3, Scene 1. Hamlet. Ed. Cedric Watts. Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 2002. 86-87. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Act 4, Scene 7. Hamlet. Ed. Cedric Watts. Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 2002. 130. Print.