Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his unwillingness to kill Claudius whenever the opportunity presents itself.

“now could I drink hot blood” (3.2.422-423)

The unwillingness is not so much due to him being an inexperienced killer (on the contrary, he demonstrates that he can be quite ruthless when he sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths), so much as his search for the absolutely perfect circumstances under which to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet’s tragic flaw lends intricacy and intrigue to the play. It is the very basis of the play. Hamlet not acting on his aggressive attitude toward the King puts on a show of apparent madness. This act, transparent to Claudius, leads to the incorporation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern into the play. By chance, it also leads to the death of Polonius. With this act, Hamlet’s eventual destruction by the vengeful hand of Laertes, Polonius’ son, is sealed.

Hamlet’s tragic flaw allows most everyone in the play to get wrapped around some plot, knowingly or unknowingly. Polonius, the wiling adviser, ends up dead by Hamlet’s hand through a case of mistaken identity. He happened to have been spying on Hamlet at the time to determine Hamlet’s state of mind. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are willing spies of the King who attempt to follow out orders to take Hamlet to his execution in England. However, they themselves are sent to their deaths by Hamlet. Ophelia, so suddenly assailed by Hamlet (another part of his ruse of madness), and then confronted by Polonius’ death, goes mad and commits suicide. Laertes, drawing a parallel with Hamlet cuts and poisons Hamlet to avenge his father’s death, but is himself killed by Hamlet. The Queen, an innocent bystander caught in the fray, also perishes by mistakenly drinking poison not meant for her.

Through secret inner workings and conspiracies, eventually almost the entire cast is killed. Most, if not all of these deaths would have been prevented had Hamlet acted upon his words early in the play. The deaths at the conclusion of the play occur due to

“misunderstandings” and fatal mistakes.

I believe Hamlet is sane. Indeed he clearly implies it at the beginning of the play while speaking to the guards and Horatio.

“How strange or odd some’er I bear myself

(As I perchance hereafter shall think meet

To put an antic disposition on)….” (1.5.190-192)

Hamlet clearly states that he may start acting strangely as he sees fit in the future. Once cannot usually prophesize coming madness.

It seems that madness is a ruse used by Hamlet to find out if Claudius did indeed kill the former king. Hamlet’s madness is the type of madness of popular culture, the type of madness of fancy, not true madness. This is apparent as he fluctuates with ease between his calculating and mad self throughout the play. He is able to create a short play “The Mousetrap”, all as part of catching the King. This could not be accomplished if he was not in possession of all of his senses. Polonius senses this when he says,

“Though this be madness, yet there is

Method in’t” (2.2.223-224)

The scene that causes the debate of whether Hamlet is mad or not is the ghost scene. It is apparent that Hamlet is mad with anger, yet it is also apparent that he has already started calculating his revenge. Therefore, I believe that Hamlet is completely in control of his senses throughout the play and thereby he is sane.

The attitude of the characters in the play concerning women is of condescension, as well as protectiveness. They are regarded as mentally, morally, and physically weak in comparison to men. This is a reflection of 16th century thinking because not only men, but all of society at the time regarded women as being weak and in need of protection by men. A famous example of this belief would be one we are all familiar with; A knight rescuing a princess from the jaws of a dragon.

During the course of the play, Ophelia is often advised and assailed, all in keeping with the belief that she needs advice as she is naturally frail. It is first her brother who advises her not to regard Hamlet’s love as permanent. He tells her not to get too far involved with him, as if she were incapable of making the right decision. When Ophelia tells Laertes to follow his own advice, Laertes dismisses it as a matter of course with an, “O, fear me not”. Laertes’ message is echoed by Polonius, once again showing the widespread belief that women were morally and mentally weak. In the confrontation between Ophelia and Hamlet, Hamlet attacks Gertrude specifically and womankind in general for making monsters of men. It is his belief that women are conniving and morally weak in this sense. Hamlet also says, “frailty thy name is woman!”. This is in regard to his mother marrying his Uncle Claudius so soon after King Hamlet’s death. Hamlet means to say that Gertrude is mentally weak because she fell prey to Claudius’ wiles. This statement is not out of hate, but out of pity that women are so weak. Demonstrated once again is the omnipresent 16^th century belief that women are the weaker sex.

It is apparent by the attitudes of the characters in the play towards women that women were regarded as the weaker sex. Women must have been regarded this way in the 16^th century as a matter of course because the play demonstrates this theme so often and naturally.