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It seems that the underlying concept of almost all Hamlet criticism is that Hamlet suffers from a tragic flaw in his character--something akin to Oedipus' quick temper, Othello's jealousy, or Lear's senile vanity, which causes him to make the classic "mistake in judgment" that will lead to his downfall. It is true that one is able to detect such a flaw in the characters of many of Shakespeare's tragic heroes, but the fact that an idea is generally applicable should not lead us into the mistake of trying to apply it universally in cases where it manifestly does not fit. Hamlet appears to be one of these cases.
A consistent interpretation of Hamlet's actions can be made by examining the play in the light of the modern Theatre of the Absurd. The psychiatrists point out that the word "schizophrenia" is commonly misunderstood--to most people it has connotations of "split personality", while in actual fact the popular term "split personality" refers to a form of amnesia. Schizophrenia......

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Approximate Pages: 12 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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