\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCharacter Flaws<\/p>\n
\tEvery character in Shakespeare\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hamlet\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is somehow wrought with human flaws. They are all individuals in pursuit of one thing or another, and all individuals who seem selfishly involved to the point where their position is weakened. In many cases the outcome is death, for most of the powerful characters are murdered or die. Hamlet, Polonius, and Ophelia all exhibit serious flaws, and it is these flaws that ultimately cause their deaths. <\/p>\n
\tHamlet is the most sympathetic of the characters, and yet he has many flaws. He is a proud man who wants to do what is right. The problem is that he cannot quite decide what he feels is right. At first the Ghost convinces him, that his father should be avenged:
\n\t\tO villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
\n\t\tMy tables\u00e2\u20ac\u201dmeet it is I set it down
\n\t\tThat one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.
\n\t\tAt least I am sure it may be so in Denmark.
\n\t\tSo, uncle, there you are. Now to my word:
\n\t\tIt is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Adieu, adieu. Remember me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n\t\tI have sworn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. (1.5.106-112)<\/i><\/p>\n
\tHe is determined to see to it that Claudius is killed for the deeds he has done. But, he begins to waver and question the validity of the entire situation. He goes from one position to the next, convinced at one point he should kill Claudius, and then unsure the next if he is being manipulated by the Ghost of his father. In this we see that he has no true and valid opinions of his own.
\n\tAll of his relationships reflect this. For example, his relationship with Ophelia is vague and discouraging at best. While he feels that he is protecting Ophelia by feigning insanity, or by being insane, he finds that he has merely turned her away. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our\/ Old stock but we shall relish of it. I love you not (3.2.115-116).<\/i> His youthful ignorance concerning her fragile nature destroys her in the end. <\/p>\n
\tLord Polonius is a somewhat self-righteous individual who had a tendency to think that his wisdom excels all others. He is also a man who tends to mind other people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s business, and think that he has all the answers to life. He even goes so far as to offer his services as a spy so he can essentially find glory and be proven right in regards to Hamlet. These are the essential flaws that bring him to his own death at the hands of Hamlet.
\n\tIn first understanding his character we look at how he presents himself to his daughter, illustrating that she is a feeble minded young woman who should listen to his wisdom. He is, after all a man, and her father as well:
\n\t\t Marry, I’ll teach you. Think yourself a baby
\n\t\t That you have ta’en these tenders for true pay
\n\t\t Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly,
\n \t\t Or (not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,
\n\t\t Running it thus) you’ll tender me a fool. (1.3.105-109)<\/i>
\nIn this he not only tells her how feeble she is, but also informs her that if she continues she will make a fool out of him in society. In light of these few lines we can see how wise he believes himself to be, and how important he thinks social position is.
\n\tIn another set of lines we find Polonius arguing how mad and useless and unworthy Hamlet is when considering the inherent wonders, perhaps, of his own family:
\n\t\tAy, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know,
\n\t\tWhen the blood burns, how prodigal the soul
\n\t\tLends the tongue vows. These blazes, daughter,
\n\t\tGiving more light thatn heat, extinct in both
\n\t\tEven in their promise, as it is a-making,
\n\t\tYou must not take for fire. (1.3.115-120)<\/i>
\n\tWe again see his need for social acceptance, and the need to have someone tell him how grand he is when he asks the king, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What do you think of me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (2.2.128)<\/i>. The king replies simply, that he believes Polonius to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153faithful and honorable,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/i> something that does not truly illustrate that Polonius is wise or better than any other (2.2.129). However, Polonius elaborates on this and insists on telling the king his entire outlook on Hamlet and his daughter:
\n\t\tI would fain prove so. But what might you think,
\n\t\tWhen I had seen this hot love on the wing.
\n\t\t(As I perceived it, I must tell you that,
\n\t\tBefore my daughter told me), what might you,
\n\t Or my dear majesty your queen here, think,
\n\t\tIf I had play’d the desk or table-book,
\n\t\tOr given my heart a winking, mute and dumb,
\n\t\tOr look’d upon this love with idle sight,
\n\t\tWhat might you think? No, I went round to work, (2.2.135-138). <\/i>
\n\tIn essence, Polonius thinks himself to be grander and more important than he is. He perhaps even sees himself as infallible if not invincible because of his intelligence. He insists that he be allowed to spy on Hamlet, the last evidence of flaw in his character, which will end in his death. <\/p>\n
\tOphelia is a very honest and loving young woman who is truly concerned with the welfare and condition of Hamlet. She has wondered at his strange behavior, perhaps doubting that he is insane. But, she doubts herself in this, and she doubts the love of Hamlet:
\n\t\tMy lord, I have remembrances of yours
\n\t\tThat I have longed long to re-deliver.
\n\t\tI pray you now receive them. (3.1.92-94)<\/i>
\n As a result, she is talked into spying on Hamlet, so to speak. She is talked into going to the madman and having a conversation with him in order to discover how much he really knows. In this she is agreeing to act other than she normally would.
\n\tIn these respects we see a woman who is innocently in love, a woman who is naive and does not understand power and her world, and a woman who cannot wizen up and see some truths. She expects life to be simple, and her love to be simple. She does not grow or change with realities she learns, but perhaps relies too heavily on the advice and opinions of others. In this she clearly does not think for herself. And, in all honesty, when she does try to think for herself she drives herself insane, for she cannot truly envision what her world honestly is.
\n From what we know of Ophelia we see her as an honest woman, a woman who would not stoop to deceiving the one she loves. But, because she is confused, and because she loves Hamlet, she is talked into acting a part, playing a role, and pretending to be more in control than she feels. At first she is a simple girl, not quite sure of Hamlet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s affections. She proves herself still weak when she becomes the pawn of her father and the king. In the end, as mentioned, she does not know what to do, and when faced with truths and the understanding that she needs to see her world for what it is, she becomes deranged and kills herself. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, God dild you! They say the owl was a baker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s daughter. Lord, \/ we know what we are, but know not what we may be. God be at your table\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (4.5.40-41)!<\/i><\/p>\n
\t Hamlet, Polonius, and Ophelia all exhibit serious flaws, and it is these flaws that ultimately cause their deaths. Hamlet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character was confused; deciding to kill Claudius and avenge his fathers death was his dilemma in the play. Hamlet had many opportunities to kill Claudius but did not see them through because of his uncertainties, this lead to his death. Polonius thought of himself to be grander than he really was. He felt that he was sly and sneaky while spying on Hamlet, which leads to his death. Ophelia was a simple woman that is unsure of what she wanted. She ends up losing her mind because she got caught up in all the deceiving and lying. Ophelia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t clear as black and white but I feel that she in the end took her life. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tWorks Cited<\/p>\n
McCallum, Alistair. Hamlet a guide. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001<\/p>\n
McEvoy, Sean. Shakespeare The Basics. New York: Routledge, 2000.<\/p>\n
Nardo, Don, ed. Readings on Hamlet. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999<\/p>\n
Nardo, Don. Understanding Hamlet. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2001<\/p>\n
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Jerome Beaty, <\/p>\n
et al. 8th ed. New York: Norton, 2002. 12-78-1377. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Character Flaws Every character in Shakespeare\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hamlet\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is somehow wrought with human flaws. They are all individuals in pursuit of one thing or another, and all individuals who seem selfishly involved to the point where their position is weakened. In many cases the outcome is death, for most of the powerful characters are murdered or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8MZA-23","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hjays.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}