Tragic Flaw in Shakespeare's Hamlet
The IUP Journal of English Studies, Vol. IX, No. 4, December 2014, pp. 93-97
Posted: 6 Aug 2015
Date Written: August 5, 2015
Abstract
In spite of the fact that tragedies had been written in English prior to Shakespeare, it was Shakespeare who gave it its distinguishing features and elevated it to peaks of excellence. Shakespeare’s tragedy depicts the operation of tragic flaw in hero’s character. Although chance, fate and supernatural also play their role in the fall of the hero, Shakespearean tragedy is essentially the tragedy of character. A ‘tragic flaw’ is a literary term that refers to a personality trait of the protagonist that leads to his or her downfall due to the personal defect of character. The word ‘tragic flaw’ is taken from the Greek concept of Hamartia used by Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Poetics.Shakespeare’s tragic hero Hamlet’s fatal flaw is his failure to act immediately to kill Claudius, his uncle and murderer of his father. His tragic flaw is ‘procrastination’. His continuous awareness and doubt delays him in performing the needed. Hamlet finally kills Claudius but only after realizing that he is poisoned. His procrastination, his tragic flaw, leads him to his doom along with that of the other characters he targets. But Hamlet is not responsible for the events which complicate the plot. Fate, chance and supernatural also play a critical role in Hamlet. A similar flaw destroys Ravana of the Ramayana. Ravana was an embodiment of piety and matchless devotion to Lord Shiva, but his single weakness of lust for Sita caused his tragic end.
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