The problem or the tragedy of Hamlet is not that he is a thinker but that his thoughts are misplaced, i.e. he is a philosopher who thinks abstractedly without his knowing the world around him.

The first 200 words of this essay...

'The problem or the tragedy of Hamlet is not that he is a thinker but that his thoughts are misplaced, i.e. he is a philosopher who thinks abstractedly without his knowing the world around him.'

Hamlet is perhaps one of the most complex characters in literary history simply because he can be interpreted and played in so many different ways. He is the intellectual, the politician, the philosopher and the heir to the throne. Educated at Wittenberg (where founder of the Protestant faith Martin Luther studied), he is philosophically a genius, but it must not be assumed that his predisposition to think things through is the problem - if anything, it is his strength as a character. It is in fact the nature of his thoughts in relation to his immediate surroundings that can be perceived as his major flaw - whereas Macbeth's failures lay in his inability to think. This flaw ultimately leads to both his and several others' graves.

.

One of the most saddening aspects of the play is the misguided treatment of Ophelia by Hamlet, and her consequent heartbreak. Hamlet does not feel he can trust her because of his belief