Flawed

In the 2003 remake of the movie Freaky Friday, there is one small scene in which a high school class is asked the question “Who was Hamlet?” to which a student responds: “A man who couldn’t make up his mind.” When explained in such a simple way, Hamlet seems to be a trivial character, not any different than a man living in this day and age. This however, doesn’t subtract from the brilliance of Shakespeare. The beauty of Shakespearean plays is precisely that simple demonstration of humanity. Each of Shakespeare’s characters be it a villain or a hero, is first and foremost a human being. This human component is why Shakespeare’s characters have been mirrored through time in different works of literature, movies, and even art; there is something tangibly human in all of his characters, which makes them relatable no matter the time that has gone by since their creation. Hamlet has been called many names since Shakespeare brought him to life: Simba in The Lion King is one of them; J. Alfred Prufrock from T.S Elliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is another. Hamlet, when stripped from his historic title of tragic hero, is merely a man who can’t make up his mind. The situation he finds himself in is the only thing that differentiates him from J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S Elliot’s aimless ditherer.  

Hamlet and Prufrock can be seen as two completely different characters. One of them is in a complicated situation which involves politics, family ties, honor and revenge; the other is simply trying to get the courage to ask a girl out. Even so, they are identical in their approach to the conflict: endless questioning and loops. “To be or not to be- that is the question” ( Hamlet- Act 3, Scn 1) which burdens Hamlet throughout the whole tragedy, meanwhile J. Alfred Prufrock claims that there is “time yet for a hundred indecisions, and for a hundred visions and revisions…” (line 31) before actually making a decision. Throughout the poem and the play these two characters have surprisingly similar dialogues as the ones shown above which make Hamlet seem as pathetic as J. Alfred Prufrock. Is he though? Is Hamlet just another aimless ditherer? Most people seem to think he isn’t because he is considering murder, and act which amounts to much graver consequences than asking a girl out. His extensive soliloquies are certainly more articulate than the mixed thoughts of J. Alfred Prufrock, but they say basically the same thing: “’Do I dare?’ and, ‘Do I dare?’” (line 38)  Does Hamlet dare to commit this crime for his father? Does Prufrock dare to ask the girl out? Does Hamlet dare even say whet his uncle did? Does Prufrock dare to eat a peach? Even though the wording seems more pathetic and less complex coming from Prufrock, the main idea of the character’s thoughts is the same. They are wondering if they dare to do it, and hating themselves for it as time passes by.

Even though many similarities between the characters can be identified in their monologues, Prufrock claims that he “is not Prince Hamlet, nor was {he} meant to be…” (line 11) Why did T.S Elliot decide to create such a distinction between the two characters in the poem? This phrase makes the reader wonder whether T.S Elliot wanted Prufrock to be like Hamlet, or whether he really was saying that he wasn’t meant to be. In the end, what the author wanted his poem to mean, and what the poem is interpreted to mean end up being very different things. Hamlet is Prufrock. Prufrock is Hamlet. Situation non-withstanding, honor held in the back of the mind, serious consequences ignored, they are the same character. T.S Elliot could have just as easily included the association to Hamlet in such a way to bring attention to it, instead of meaning to push it away. Regardless of what the author was trying to do, the outcome is only one. The two characters are practically identical. Hamlet wouldn’t have killed Cladius if the situation had not surprised him. Without being forced to act, Hamlet would have done nothing. Just like J. Alfred Prufrock, Hamlet in an aimless ditherer. Just as ever human being on earth, Hamlet is an aimless ditherer.

Does this mean that Shakespeare failed in his attempt to make a tragic hero? Does the pathetic nature of the characters’ indecision make Hamlet or The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock any less worthy of the literary acclamation they have received? No. On the contrary, each character makes the work more worthy of being read. Each character gives the most important human factor to the work: flaw. Flaws and indecision make us human. We’re all versions of Hamlet and Prufrock in our daily lives: we are scared, we doubt. We are aimless ditherers defined by our indecisiveness and flaws.