's
tragic flaw is widely regarded to be his reluctance to act upon his plan to kill . Instead, he
ponders and hesitates, eventually causing the downfall of his kingdom.
's
reluctance to kill Claudius is most clearly expressed in Act III, scene iii when he is
completely alone with Claudius. In this scene, Claudius has his back turned to Hamlet and is
praying for forgiveness for the murder of Hamlet's father. Seeing this, Hamlet decides not to
kill Claudius, claiming that if he killed the king during prayer, then his soul would go to
heaven.
While some critics take Hamlet at his word, most tend to agree that
Hamlet is simply continuing to delay taking his revenge. Although Hamlet outwardly professes his
hatred of Claudius, his actions in moments such as these suggest that he is not so sure of
himself. In fact, Hamlet often acts much more vicious to his mother than he does towards
Claudius.
Ultimately, Hamlet's repeated delays lead not only to his own
death, but to the deaths of , Claudius, , and . All of thesedie as a direct result of Hamlet's
actions (or inactions, as it were). Had Hamlet killed Claudius when he had the chance, Denmark
could still have a chance to be under Danish rule. Instead, it is seized bywho is able to easily
take over as everyone of stature is dead.
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