Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the pinnacle of Elizabethan tragedies because Prince Hamlet embodies the role of the universal victim. Hamlet encounters adversity in nearly every area of his life, and these difficult circumstances cast a dark shade over his natural genius. The character of Hamlet is elevated above countless other similar tragic heros because of Hamlet’s awareness of the moral complexities and theological issues involved in the revenge plot. Hamlet’s display of distraction is curious because his actions alone are not that of a madman, yet his private thoughts and musings suggest that he is insane. The source of this distraction may lie in his aboriginal addiction to thought and his inability to act decisively.
Hamlet’s emmersion in thought stimulates an overanalyzation of many issues, therefore impairing his judgement. He is tortured by his mind’s skepticisms concerning the Ghost, and he is confused and misled by his generalization that all women are fickle creatures. Hamlet’s frustration with his mother’s insensitivity causes him to see her hasty remarriage to Claudius as a sign that her love for King Hamlet was never sincere. He begins to despise women even more after his deep and passionate love for Ophelia is taunted and unreturned.
Hamlet is a child of the Renaissance, so it is in his nature to analyze every aspect of a situation. He studies himself, and his own actions as well as those of Claudius and Gertrude. This addiction to though disables him from actually being able to take action in his purposes and leaves him just to scorn his own lack of motivation. He allows his question of the Ghost’s reality to fester in him and drive him past the point of being able to make good, reasonable decisions. His thoughts, as well as his actions, indict him as a person of mental unsoundness.
The Essay on Hamlet 36
... His uncle found out. Another quotation showing Fortinbras' action without thought is made by Hamlet. Hamlet has just learned of the invasion of ... by Fortinbras, a man of action. Hamlet is the character that manages to be both, thought and action. Hamlet failed to avenge his father's ... cancel one another and only confuse young Hamlet. As a man of thought and action, Hamlet is a failure in his quest to ...
