The Seeds the lie within the Flaws of Hamlet's Character.

Hamlet's character suffers many blows that lead to his weakness and vulnerability. Hamlet is left in a state of immense vulnerability due mainly to the heartache set off by the death of his father and the hasty re-marriage of his mother to his uncle, Claudius. It is in this state of emotional vulnerability that Hamlet allows his reality to become distorted and doubts the intentions of those around him. As the play continues, more and more people in his life appear to betray him, emphasizing Hamlet's sense of hopelessness. He is left alone in a world where he is unable to trust anyone and even begins to doubt the strength of his own character. The apparent disloyalty by those closest to Hamlet produces an apparent weakness and vulnerability in his character and permits him to become disillusioned about himself and others.

Hamlet's speeches and soliloquies clearly show the intelligence and complexity of his mind. It was his mind, ultimately though, that held him back and caused his major character flaws. His desire and need to analyze and prove everything certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visits that Hamlet receives from the ghost of his dead father makes the reader believe that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge.

"A villain kills my father, and for that/ I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ to heaven." (III, iii, 76-78)

This passage shows Hamlet's eagerness in avenging his father's death, but it merely adds to the indecision displayed by his character. He begins considering and re-examining the ghost and questions his intentions as to whether or not he might have been purely an evil vision attempting to lead him down the wrong path.

Shakespeare's illustration of Hamlet throughout the play does not depict a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. He imagines to himself different scenarios before he ever takes any action. How would the people view him if he murdered the king? How would his mother be affected? Hamlet considers questions of this type, which in effect hasten his decision. Hamlet's mind took control over his every action and thought and penetrated his consciousness and sub-consciousness exhibiting the weakness and vulnerability in his character. As the play progresses, Hamlet begins to encounter his indecisiveness and seems to bear guilt. In a soliloquy, he states

"Yet I, / A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak/ like John-a-dream, unpregnant of my cause, / and can say nothing." (II; ii; 593-596)

He calls himself a "John-a-dream" or a dreamer, who is "unpregnant" or unfulfilled by his cause and his inability to act. It is his indecisiveness that causes him the most emotional pain and self-hatred, because he cannot commit to avenging his father's death.

Despite character's own personal flaws, morality, falsity in love, and to themselves, Hamlet's internal battle and flaws led to the tragedy in Hamlet. It was his vulnerability that keeps him from being able to trust anyone and allows him to doubt the strength of his own character. It was his indecision to avenge his father's death that led to multiple deaths. Had he killed Claudius when he had the chance, and not over-analyzed the situation, it is arguable that the deaths of Gertrude, Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius, and in due course himself, could have been prevented. The weakness and vulnerability exhibited in his character and the indecision that infiltrates his consciousness and sub-consciousness were the only factors that led to the disease and rot in the state of Denmark.