Flawed but Successful

Flawed but Successful

In Shakespeare’s tragedies, protagonists’ tragic flaws often cause the obvious downfall as well as the successes of a character, giving complexity to what a Shakespeare tragedy is. In “Hamlet,” the protagonist, Hamlet, is a young man who relentlessly seeks revenge for his father’s death. In “Othello,” the protagonist, Othello, is a fierce, aggressive older man. These flaws lead to both characters’ downfall and salvation.

When Hamlet faces evidence that his father, King Hamlet, may have been murdered, he becomes obsessed with exacting revenge on his father’s murderer, Claudius, who killed King Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear. He becomes obsessed because of the inadvertent pressure he receives from his father’s ghost, and it causes him to behave erratically. In act 1, scene 5 of “Hamlet,” Hamlet speaks of his willingness for revenge as he waits to hear what happened to his father: “Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.” This implies that Hamlet is possibly already becoming obsessed with revenge even before hearing from his father’s ghost what has happened to him.

There are several events that take place in the play that show an obvious sign of Hamlet’s downfall and eventual death. First, he tells Ophelia he does not love her anymore as part of his act of madness. In addition to that, he accidentally kills her father, Polonius, when he stabs him through the curtains, thinking it is Claudius. These two actions cause Ophelia to commit suicide due to despair for her father’s death and thinking that Hamlet has gone mad. Finally, when Laertes returns to Denmark, furious, this leads to Hamlet’s death during a duel with a poisoned sword. His obsession with revenge destroys his life because he acts too rashly. Had he not been so bent on revenge, he would not have acted on impulse and killed Ophelia’s father. This is what causes the chain of events that lead to his death.

At the same time, Hamlet’s desire for revenge combines with the fact that Hamlet is a very contemplative and intuitive character. He often reflects on his actions and is in tune to his own emotions, especially in his soliloquy that starts with “To be or not to be.” While he does act in haste and have many irrational thoughts, Hamlet is able to accomplish his goal in the end when he kills Claudius. In act 5, scene 2, line 340, Hamlet assures Horatio that his death was not in vain: “Horatio, I am dead; thou livest. Report me and my cause aright to the unsatisfied.” This shows that while Hamlet does die, he knows he did not die before completing his vow of revenge, and he deems it important that everyone knows this.

While Hamlet was philosophical and contemplative, Othello was fierce, aggressive, and always acted on impulse. He is a character who seemed to always know what he wanted. Othello’s aggression is indeed his tragic flaw, and like Hamlet, Othello acts on impulse. In act 1, scene 3, starting on line 349, Iago speaks of Othello’s impulsiveness in relation to the stereotype of the Moor.

These Moors are changeable in their wills … The food that to him now is as luscious as locusts shall be to him shortly ass bitter as coloquintida. She must change for youth; when she is sated with his body, she will find the error of her choice. She must have change, she must.

Iago says that Othello married Desdemona on impulse and haste, on a whim. Iago is saying this to coax Roderigo into giving him money to fund his scheme