A Classic Play About a Troubled Man

"...I am punished with sore distraction. What I have done... I here proclaim was madness" (V, ii, 140). This line, spoken by Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a self-admitted declaration of his troubled life. Many problems face Hamlet on the outside; however, he is just as troubled on the inside. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the main character Hamlet is troubled because of his character flaws of non-motivation, indecisiveness, and impulsiveness.

Hamlet is unmotivated because he never acts upon the thoughts for which he has both the reason and desire to act upon. He is told by his father's ghost to revenge his father's murder by killing King Claudius, the murderer. He thinks about doing this many times throughout the play, and even has the opportunity to, but he never acts upon his thoughts, talking himself out of them instead. With motivation, he also could have taken over the throne, since he would have good reason to kill the present king, and since he would be the rightful heir, being the son of Hamlet I. However, Hamlet dies without performing either of these actions, which shows that he is unmotivated in character. The direct opposites of this fault in Hamlet's character are Fortinbras, who revenges his father's death and successfully takes over the throne, and Laertes, who immediately comes to avenge his father Claudius's death, and declares his plan to be King at the same time.

Not only is Hamlet unmotivated, but he is also indecisive. He is incapable of deciding what kind of man he wants to be. Some of his actions and thoughts are Christian, while others are non-Christian. He views the situation in Denmark with disdain, and wishes that his countrymen would not dirty their names by drinking so much. However, his own actions are not always pure, and are often self-contradicting. For instance, he thinks of killing Claudius while he is unaware of Hamlet's presence because he is praying, but then decides against it, because his soul would go to Heaven, and Hamlet desires real revenge, wanting Claudius to end up in hell. He says, "And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heaven, And so am I revenged" (III, iii, 77-78). Later, however, he is talking to the Queen, and irrationally strikes out to kill Polonius, without pausing to think whom it might be that he is killing, nor where his soul will end up.

Also included in Hamlet's character flaws of non-motivation and indecisiveness is impulsiveness. Many of his actions are blindly and irrationally performed out of impulse. The formerly mentioned action of killing Polonius also serves as a good example of Hamlet's impulsiveness. As soon as he hears an intruder, he strikes through the curtain and kills him, impulsively assuming it is the king, without stopping to think. A further fault is his reluctance to admit or correct his impulsiveness; after discovering the identity of him whom he killed, his mother knows that killing him was impulsive and irrational, and she remarks "O, what a rash and bloody deed is this" (III, iv, 33)! Hamlet, however, is neither regretful nor repenting, but only says, "I took thee for thy better" (III, iv, 39) while looking at Polonius's corpse. Another episode in which Hamlet acts impulsively is Ophelia's burial, after Laertes speaks of how much he loves Ophelia. Hamlet is outraged by what he thinks is a false display of affection, and leaps in the grave to fight with Laertes, announcing that he is the one who truly loved her. This is an impulsive and untrue declaration, because when Ophelia was alive, Hamlet scorned her, ignored her, and treated her rudely.

Hamlet is a very troubled man. Most of his troubles are not only caused by outside circumstances, but also by his own character flaws. He is unmotivated, indecisive, and impulsive, which add more trouble to the ones he already faces. He dies without being able to accomplish the deeds he had wanted to do, saying, "Had I but time... O, I could tell you- but let it be" (V, ii, 357-359). Even in death, he exemplified the personality that brought many troubles during his life. Had he been more resolute, Hamlet could have been more successful at decreasing, instead of increasing, his problems.