Thursday, December 10, 2009

Act 5 Blog Question:

What do you think Hamlet's tragic flaw is? Do ou think he even has one? Why do you think this is his tragic flaw?

10 comments:

  1. I think that Hamlet's flaw is that he is incapable of action. No matter how much reason he has for taking revenge on Claudius, he continuously finds a reason not to hurt him. Whether it is because he is being pious or is near his mother, Hamlet is unable to kill him. It is only until the end of the play when he is faced with his own death the he finally kills Claudius.
    It is a tragic flaw because in all other aspects Hamlet is a strong character. He may not be a hero but the flaw of being incapable of action has turned a character that could easily become one of the monumental epic heroes has now become simply the classic tragic hero. His flaw takes the lives of others and therefore he becomes a danger to others. His death makes him tragic.

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  2. I believe his flaw is his inaction. He creates excuses for others and himself on why he doesn't act on things he claimed he would act upon a long time ago. Hamlet only decides to kill Claudius after he kills Gertrude, Laertes, and himself. There are multiple instances where all three of these deaths could not have occured if he had killed him at the time. The most obvious being when he is kneeling at the alter. Although he has a reason it is still an excuse and many others follow. He is to torn within himself he can not pull himself to come to any conclusions and this Hamlets tragic flaw.

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  3. Yes, Hamlet has a tragic flaw, which is his dependability upon others. I say this because I have noticed that throughout the whole play, many times Hamlet needed someone else to do something so that he could make up his mind, also making him somewhat indecisive. This also brings me to agree with Jenna and Sean, as it is along the same lines with their statements, as Hamlet only killed Claudius at the time that he did because he only had so little time left, and was forced to act upon that instinct only because he barely had no other choice.

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  4. I think that Hamlet's tragic flaw is in inability to act. He is constantly in inaction throughout the book and always trying to find a better time to do what he has to do. If Hamlet would have killed Claudius earlier when he had a chance, I do not think that so many people would have died but that is why Hamlet is a tragedy. Hamlet's inaction is a tragic flaw because it puts him in a constant state of waiting and he never gets anything done. Also because of his inaction it gives his enemies time to plan out how they want to kill him.

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  5. I believe that Hamlet is unable to do what he most wants. Throughout the entire play, Hamlet has wanted to kill his uncle and king Claudius, but never went through with it when he could have. If he had just killed him instead of acting crazy or procrastinating on it, many other deaths wouldn't have happened and he wouldn't have been looked at so poorly by the kingdom.

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  6. I also think Hamlet's tragic flaw is his inaction. Until the final scene of the final act of the play Hamlet does not act. He just thinks about the pros and cons of each situation. If Hamlet would have killed Claudius earlier all of the deaths could have been avoided. Hamlet feels confused and doesn't know who to trust, which leads to his inaction throuout the play

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  7. I think Hamlet's tragic flaw is his inability to act caused his emotion. Throughout the play Hamlet is influenced by his emotions. His emotion for Ophelia causes him to drive her away, betray her love and ultimately be fed to the wolves. His extreme emotions for his fathers death doesn't allow him to see clearly and avenge his father like he promised. His feelings for his mother causes him to speak with her about her loyalty, but not until the end of the play. Hamlet is so overwhelmed by everything that is going on, he is unable to focus on what he wants the most. He wants the love of Ophelia and his mother, and he wishes to avenge his father. But he betrays both women and kills Claudius in the last scene. Hamlet's inaction mixed with his emotions prove to be his tragic flaw.

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  8. I agree with my classmates. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his inaction, which is a reflection of his cowardness. Instead of simply murdering Claudius cold bloodedly, he created a complex plan to pretend to be insane, in order to procrastinate. By overanalyzing all of his actions, he also gave up several opportunities to kill Claudius. His inability to follow through on his promise to his father’s ghost caused the tragic deaths of most of the characters.

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  9. I have to disagree with everyone. I do not see Hamlet as even a hero. But if he was a tragic hero then yes I agree with everyone else. By him not acting as fast as he should have, there were many people that died for no good reason. If he acting before he did he could have saved the lives of his mother and Laertes.

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  10. I don't not believe Hamlet has a tragic flaw. Hamlet is more related to an anti-hero than a tragic hero. An anti-hero is a character who acts in vile ways but is glorified in the literature, a Godfather type of character. Therefore, a majority of his choices are leading to a fall. For example, his bloodlust for vengance in itself is enough to take away the title of "hero" from young Hamlet almost all together.

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