Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is incapable of action, and is only hurried into extremities on the spur of the occasion when he has no time to reflect. At other times, when he is bound to act, he remains puzzled, undecided, and skeptical. He dallies with his purposes, until the occasion is lost.

Hamlet's first scene with his mother reveals a weakness other than his father's death. The quote, "I have that within which passeth show, / These but the trappings and the suits of woe," is used by Hamlet to mock his mother for her lack of grief for his father, her dead husband. At this point in the speech, Hamlet may merely mean that his grief for his father is genuine, but may also mean that he has some sort of feeling that can not be shown by his black clothing and cloudy face. These feelings that may very well be hidden from his own conscious are a truth to his indecisiveness on anything he attempts. Indecision in a man, or woman, for that matter, is a strong symbol of his/her lack of perception.

Hamlet says that the King is "My father's brother, but no more like m

Hamlet's weakness is also shown forth in his many puns and paradoxes. He attempts to hide his misery by making fun of others. Why does one often do this in a time of mourning? Usually, this is because he is not strong enough to look such things as death in the face and accept it. His first words in the play are toward Claudius. He says, "A little more than kin, and less than kind." These words state a paradox: Claudius is twice related to him, as uncle and stepfather, but not really his kin or kind at all. Hamlet is allowing Claudius to know that he is not fond of the new king of the marriage to Hamlet's mother. Though Hamlet makes it known that he does not like Claudius, he never acts upon his remarks.

Yet another scene that brings forth the character of Hamlet is his confrontation with Polonious. Death is conveyed in this conversation as well. From the beginning, Hamlet makes fun of Polonius' ignorance. "Excellent well; you are a fishmonger," says Hamlet, in response to Polonuis' question, "Do you know me, my lord?" This is the first of a series of bitter jests that Hamlet directs at the uncomprehending Polonius. The basis of the jests is apparently Hamlet's intuition that Polonius forced Ophelia to leave Hamlet. In Hamlet's opinion, Polonius sacrificed his daughter's happiness in order to please the King. Hamlet then makes his insult sharper by wishing that Polonius was as honest as a fishmonger, which is to say that Polonius is lower than the lowest of the low. Hamlet goes on to say, "to be honest, as the world goes, is to be one man pick'd out of ten thousand," and then says what Polonius probably thought was a very absurd and crazy thing: "For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kission carrion -Have you a daughter?" The meaning of this can be controversial, but the way it is used the quote has one main meaning: it is not surprising that Polonius is such a hypocrite, because the life-giving sun can produce all kinds of disgusting things, especially from other disgusting things. As the conversation carries on, Polonius asks the question, "Will you walk out of the air, my lord?" Apparently the chamber is drafty, and Polonius is inviting Hamlet to go to a warmer room. The response given by Hamlet is, "Into my grave." Hamlet is implying that he's sooner to be dead than go anyplace with Polonius. Moments later, Hamlet makes a comment that sounds similar, but expresses a great weariness with life. Polonius says goodbye with, "My lord, I will take my leave of you." Hamlet replies, "You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will willingly part withal: except my life, except my life." Hamlet means that he is very willing to be free of Polonius, and that he is even more willing to be free of his own life. How can someone think this man is strong? Anyone who makes these about death, must be weaker than usual. He professes to take revenge on his father's murderer, but at the same time, he wants to die. How is

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Approximate Word count = 2006
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)