Hamlet's Tragic Flaw Essay

In Shakespeare’s tragedy of Hamlet, the audience is presented with character that has a specific mission, yet fails because of his tragic flaw that inevitably leads to his disastrous downfall. Hamlet’s seeming inability to act to avenge his father’s death is the central issue of the play. His indecision is referred to as the tragic flaw, which ultimately causes his death. There are several reasons to explain Hamlet’s inaction: doubts about the honesty of the ghost, too much thought and analysis, and his melancholy demeanor.
When Hamlet is shown the ghost of his dead father who accuses Claudius of poisoning him, he orders Hamlet to seek revenge against his murderer; Hamlet immediately swears on his sword he would obey his father’s wishes:
Haste me to know ‘t, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge (1.5.35-37)
It is evident that Hamlet is eager to make his father proud and commit to the duty of fixing this problem. However, Hamlet starts to have doubts about the authenticity of the ghost. He begins to consider the possibility that the ghost could just be a spiritual fiend. His desire to
Hamlet’s inability to act on his father’s murder depicts his tragic flaw of procrastination. Hamlet doubts the authenticity of the ghost, devises several plans to uncover Claudius’ guilt, and hesitates when he had the perfect chance to kill his father’s murderer, all while dealing with his crippling depression. If Hamlet could have killed Claudius earlier, honor and virtue could be returned to the throne. Hamlet could have also made everything normal again, rebuilding ties with Ophelia and Laertes. Also, the deaths of Polonius and Gertrude would have been prevented. However, the results of the flaw were exceedingly tragic. The deaths of everyone in the play came by the chain of events building up because of Hamlet’s inability to act and make