Hamlet: admirable or weak? In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the character Hamlet is often portrayed as a weak-minded individual, whose lack of purpose leads to seven needless deaths. This is a valid interpretation, but not a very interesting one. Hamlet is considered a tragedy, but it is also quite similar to a modern detective story. As such, the most crucial element of the plot is Claudius's guilt, or, rather, Hamlet's degree of knowledge of this guilt. It is unknown whether the ghost is the doomed spirit of Hamlet's father or a vision sent from Hell. It is impossible to determine how much Hamlet is aware, how much he can guess, and how much he deludes himself. Hamlet is almost always portrayed as a tragedy, and Hamlet's "indecisiveness" is universally accepted as the flaw. “If only he had made a decision,” they argue, “eight deaths could have been avoided.” This, of course, is a very easy position to take, because we already know that Claudius is guilty. It would be a much more interesting piece if one could remain uncertain about the truth of the facts. Due to Hamlet's popularity, the fact that Claudius is guilty is taken for granted, and so it seems a shame that Hamlet cannot act sooner, but without this knowledge acting too quickly would be a mistake. In the text, however, there is no clear evidence of wrongdoing until Claudius confesses his sins to God, his nephew, and the theater in general. Up until that point Hamlet is weighing the Ghost's story against that of the king. The ghost accuses in the first act, but Hamlet is perceptive enough not to take the being at his word. One thing he realizes is that the Specter is playing directly with his own emotions. It... in the center of the card... combines the best qualities of its two contrasts: the nobility of Laertes' cause and the execution of Fortinbras' coup. Fortinbras attacks without justice: his father died honorably in a fair fight, on the battlefield. Laertes holds a greater grudge than Hamlet, but must stoop to treachery to complete his revenge. Hamlet, however, always remains faithful, resisting his impulses until he can execute not only revenge, but also justice. Works cited and consulted: Bloom, Harold. Modern critical interpretations of Hamlet. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Charney, Maurice. All Shakespeare. New York, New York. Columbia University Press. 1993.Magill, Frank N. Master Plots. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1995.Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The bank of the Shakespeare River. AND. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Haughton Mifflin Company, 1974.