Preview

Hamlet Sa

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2625 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hamlet Sa
Hamlet Leadrship Essay

Hamlet is an indecisive leader, who lacks focus and the ability to delegate effectively. His inability to act showcases the numerous flaws in his character exposing him as a poor leader and an ineffective strategist.

His main character flaw is his indecisiveness. Throughout the play he chooses to procrastinate instead of making firm decisions. This is first illustrated when he sees his father 's ghost in the opening Act. Following his conversation with the ghost, he confirms with his best friend Horatio that the ghost is his father 's spirit. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio, And much offence too. Touching this vision here, It is an honest ghost let me tell you: (Act 1, Scene 5, line 138)

Hamlet is confirming that the ghost is real and validating the information as credible. Based on this and the fact that the ghost instructed him to avenge him, Hamlet should have taken decisive action to eliminate his uncle and restore order to his country. A good leader follows his instincts and more importantly acts on credible information, Hamlet fails to do both (Theta 1995).

After continually making excuses for his inability to act throughout the first two scenes, Hamlet comes up with an elaborate plan to expose the king and to confirm his suspicions regarding his father 's murder. The prince uses a group of traveling actors to perform a play to act out the murder of his father. Hamlet invites his mother and Claudius to watch. As the play draws to an end, Claudius begins to act very suspiciously, rushing off after watching the murder scene: Give me some light-away! (Act 3 Scene 2, lines 240)

His actions once more point towards his obvious guilt.

Shortly afterwards on his way to his mothers quarters, Hamlet comes across Claudius in prayer. This is the first time that Hamlet has seen Claudius alone and he is given a perfect opportunity to finally dispose of the king. By this stage he is



Bibliography: BusinessWeek 1998, ‘How Jack Welsh runs GE ' [Online] Accessed 1 May 2006, Available at http://www.businessweek.com/1998/23/b.3581001.htm Philosophy pages 2001, ‘Machiavelli: Principality and Republic ' [Online] Accessed 30 April 2006, Available at http://www.philosphypages.com/members/journals/journal_spr0109.asp Shakespeare, W. 1992, Hamlet, 11th edition, Maskew Miller Longman, Cape Town. Theta, P. 1995, ‘The Importance of Delegation ' [Online] Accessed 29 April 2006, Available at http://websrv.ewu.edu/groups/studentlife/Delegation.pdf Thompson, D. 2004, ‘Business Erratic Behavior Worries White House ', [Online] Accessed 20 April 2006, Available at http://www.capitalblue.com/artman/publish/article_4636.shtml

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Consequently, Hamlets’ tragic flaw leads to his downfall. His lack of action causes him not to kill Claudius when he has the chance, giving him the advantage. It can be seen that Claudius has the advantage to kill Hamlet when he states, “By letters conjuring to that effect/The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England” (4.3.65-6). Since Hamlet reveals that he knows that Claudius killed the former king, Claudius is deceiving Hamlet into going to England, where he will be executed. Hamlet reveals his knowledge of the murder when he puts on the play, re-enacting the former King’s murder. Now Claudius knows that he must kill Hamlet in order to avoid getting caught and stay on the throne. Claudius tells Hamlet that he is sending him to England for…

    • 179 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlets father was killed by his Uncle Claudius due to jealousy of the kingdom. Claudius poisoned his brother while he was sleeping in the garden. Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by meeting is ghost in the yard of the kingdom. Hamlet decides to plan out his revenge by first acting like he has gone mad because of his father’s death. He breaks his loves heart in the process but doesn’t stop his revenge. He orders for a play to be presented to the royal court, including his uncle and his mother. This play is supposed to simulate his fathers death and he wants to see how the king reacts to the play. This is where he realizes that the ghost was telling the truth. Claudius then figures out that Hamlet has been suspicious and decides to send him to England to be killed. While speaking to his mother, Hamlet hears someone spying on them and kills his loves father, Polonius. This was the beginning of the tragedy. Hamlet has a moment to kill Claudius before he leaves for England but questions himself and his actions. He then leaves only to return after finding a letter of his execution and being “attacked” by pirates. Claudius and Polonius’s son, Laertes, have come up with a plan to kill Hamlet when he arrives. They are going to challenge him in a fencing battle with poison at the end of the sword. If this plan fails, they will have poisoned wine for Hamlet to drink.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of Hamlets main dilemmas is that he is forced into getting revenge on his uncle for killing his father, marrying his mother, and ultimately becoming king. However, due to Hamlets inability to turn his action into thoughts, this revenge was severely delayed. This inability is a result of his conflict between his physical and inner self, the former being thoughtful and contemplative, while the latter is rash and impulsive. The clash between his personalities often results in the accomplishment of nothing. Although this uncertainty is the main theme of the play, it also portrays Hamlet as a man incapable of making decisions in times of need.…

    • 520 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet - Textual Integrity

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hamlet's character does not conform to a typical tragic hero in the fact that Hamlet's personal qualities lacks hubris or any form of excessive pride which is one of the fundamental causes of the fall of any traditional tragic hero. For Hamlet, rather it's his hamartia or tragic flaw of vasolation and indecisiveness "thou art a scholar," that leads to Hamlet's downfall. Because of this, it can be argued that Hamlet was not suited to the task that was set out before him, as seen in Hamlet's first silioquy in which is formed by the question, "who's there?". This foreshadows Hamlet's continual comtemplative state throughout the entirety of play and therefore emphasises Hamlet's inability to act as a result of his indecisiveness between what is morally right and morally wrong. This interpretation contributes to the enigmatic qualities of the dramatic piece in which have been speculated for more than three centuries as a result of the playwright's texual integrity.…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In every play or book that a person reads the characters are never perfect. They always have a flaw that causes a problem or conflict within the storyline. This is true for Hamlet's character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. In several of Hamlet's speeches he discloses many flaws in his character to the readers throughout the play. These are aspects that have thus far only been able to be seen as fragments in other speeches.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Characters in Hamlet

    • 2062 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Hamlet succeeds in troubling Claudius, and because of this, Claudius decides to act. Claudius plans to send Hamlet to England where Hamlet would be executed upon arrival. The fact that Claudius could so easily organise Hamlet’s death shows the fear and panic that exists within Hamlet and Claudius’ relationship. While it is believed that Claudius would have always feared Hamlet, and what he would do if he learnt of the King’s murder, this scene, where Claudius discovers Hamlets murderous intentions and utter madness drives him to action.…

    • 2062 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet lectures the players on how to act as his part. Horation enters the hall and Hamlet praises him. Hamlet asks him to watch Claudius carefully during the play. The King and The Queen enter the hall and Hamlet begin to act strangely in front of them. The play begins, which a man murders The King by pouring poison into his ear. Druing the play, Claudius suddenly rises and cries out for light. Then The King lefts the room followed by the audience. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet that he is summoned to Gertrude’s chamber. Polonius enters to escort Hamlet, but hamlet says that he will go…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    However, Hamlet incapable of doing it and proceed to what according to Ghost told him to (Javed 332). This is an identity crisis for Hamlet, as he does not know whether he is acting upon his free will or upon the Ghost words. Killing Claudius is what the Ghost wanted. However, Hamlet is confused whether he want to Claudius or not, hence the delay in his actions. ”Hamlet is too delicate or too subtle for the purpose. A less self-questioning hero would have been a better instrument” (Javed…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    William Shakespeare created many complex characters in his play Hamlet. One of these complex characters being the protagonist, Prince Hamlet. Hamlet has many contradictory traits, two of them being that Hamlet sometimes thinks rationally, and that being overcome by the command left by the ghost of his belligerent father, King Hamlet, he tends to make irrational decisions. When Hamlet is first introduced to the ghost’s commands in scene one, act 5, they begin to consume him with thoughts of vengeance, to murder Claudius, his father’s murderer. Throughout the play, Hamlet acts in such a way to provide evidence supporting both traits. Conflicted by these two opposing traits, Prince Hamlet has a war of two spirits in his mind, deciding which side is right. During the length of the play, Hamlet frequently argues with himself. Many of his soliloquies are debates between Hamlet and the warring side of his mind that believes he should listen to the vengeful plan of his father’s ghost.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mcdonalds vs Wendys

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In a world that is full of low fat low-carbohydrate diets and compulsive daily exercise, people seem to be more conscientious with their choices of foods they consume; but the twenty- first century demands convenience where fast food restaurants incorporates ones needs for quick, easy, and , inexpensive food. Sadly, the majority of this type of food can be a very unhealthy food choice. Fast food restaurants typically offer high fat processed foods. In defense to this stereotype, two of the most popular fast food restaurants, Wendy’s and McDonald’s, are now offering choices low in carbohydrates and saturated fats on their menu without taking away the convenience and taste. Both of these restaurants fall under the category of fast food, yet they both carry distinctive quality in their healthy menu items, Although the difference in characteristics of their healthy choices, both Wendy’s and McDonald’s offer a variety of salads their healthy food menu.…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Cites

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I think a lot of the confusion that has been whipped up over Hamlet--including all the nonsense about his supposed inaction--is because Shakespeare didn't plant the dramatic idea of Hamlet's doubts of the ghost's veracity at the right place. If it had been placed right after…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet is in a situation where his sanity is turning into insanity. He is like one of those people who tell so many lies that they start believing their own lies. Hamlet's acting is so vivid to him that, unconsciously, his state of mind has become irrational. He is turning against everyone in order to follow the orders of revenge from his father's ghost. In order to do so, he is finding any possible way to bring out the guilt in everyone due to his father's murder. In Act III, scene ii, Hamlet has written parts for players to put on a show for Claudius in order for him to bring out the guilt within Claudius. The play doesn't affect Claudius until it is revealed that Lucianus, the kings nephew, is the one that kills the king. Claudius then cries out due to the fear of Hamlet killing him. Also, in this scene, Hamlet admired Horatio's level-headedness and calmness because those are some qualities that Hamlet lacks. Hamlet tries to break his mother down in Act III, scene iv, Hamlet comes to speak to his mother because she believes that he has offended Claudius. In return, Hamlet tries to break her down by putting her sins in front of her because she married the king's brother so soon after his death. When she cries for help, innocent Polonius enters and Hamlet says "How now! A rat?" and kills Polonius because he thought that it was Claudius. Hamlet's insanity is like a blind rage. He is so focused on revenge that he doesn't realize what he is doing. Hamlet is taking sick…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    hamlet

    • 518 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The ghost of hamlets father says to hamlet “so art thou to revenge, when thou shall hear.”(1.5.7) the ghost was asking when hamlet was going to get revenge on Claudius to set him free from purgatory. Hamlet and the spirit of his father are both looking for “seeking the truth and soul in eternity knowing the truth.” (121 Sister Miriam, joseph). Hamlet is seeking revenge which is truth, justice, once he has confirmed that Claudius the king killed hamlets father he knew the truth and took action as any other human would in this time period. “I consider the morality of the ghosts command from three points of view: the moral situation as grounded on custom and reason, the legal aspect and the special command.” (122 sister Miriam, joseph).…

    • 518 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Flaws

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout Shakespeare’s career as a playwright, he has written about many complex and well thought characters who actually have something they want to say and how the characters’ view life. None however, as interesting as Hamlet from the play Hamlet. The character of Hamlet is interesting because although he was born from status, he does not have all the power. Hamlet is also well aware of his flaws and his flaws are not that obvious to the audience. The most engaging scenes are the ones where Hamlet is alone speaking truths about his thoughts on suicide and humanity itself.…

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet: Power vs Happiness

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages

    father but we don't know whether Claudius knows that hamlet knows or even if he…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays