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Hamlet could never be a solid leader, as he is untrue to himself, cowardly, and indecisive. Throughout the play it is evident that Hamlet is a character that is untrue to himself and others. In the first act a ghost appears to Hamlet revealing how Claudius murdered the King. Hamlet immediately puts all other thoughts and concerns aside and only thinks about what his father, in the form of a ghost, tells him. Hamlet is “from himself be tak’en away” (5.2.220) as madness overpowers his moral beliefs.
He sets out to avenge the alleged death of his father, against all his beliefs of right and wrong (Wilson, 33). It is apparent that Hamlet is a philosophical character who possesses the steadfast resolve to concentrate his thoughts and come up with a plan of action necessary to achieve results. This quality is manifested in the following lines in Act 1 Scene 5: Yea, from the table of my memory I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past… And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain, Unmix’d with baser matter (1.5.106).
However, Hamlet lacks the steely determination necessary to convert these thoughts and plans into action. He is untrue to himself. . Hamlet also comes out as a person who easily gets tempted to give up when the going gets tough. He is a coward and easily despairs when things are not going in his way as manifested by the following lines in Act 3 Scene 1: For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely. The pangs of despis’d love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th’ unworthy takes… (3.1.58) Hamlet laments that no one would willingly bear disheartening obstacles such as the ‘whips and scorns of time’ and ‘the law’s delay’.
This portrays a weakness on the part of Harmlet as an effective leader since these are some of the things a leader has to bear in the process of pushing his way through to achieve set targets. Hamlet considers the luxury of withdrawing from the scene of action because events are not going in his favor. This is the kind of cowardly quality that does not define a true and solid leader. Therefore, Hamlet lacks the qualities that define a solid leader and cannot be regarded as one. Hamlet also displays his cowardice with his treatment of Ophelia.
Although hamlet loves Ophelia he is unable to stand up for himself to his family as one should who cares about another. In addition, Hamlet unfairly accuses Ophelia of being a party to her father’s spying on him and calls her a “breeder of sinners” then tells her “get thee to a nunnery” (3.1.9). In seeking to get revenge on his Uncle, Hamlet struggles with his inability to act. "Now whether it be , Bestial oblivion ,or some craven scruple, of thinking too precisely on th' event - A
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