In William Shakespeares tragic play Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, struggles with procrastination throughout the play. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, "No brilliant intellect can be considered valuable if one withdraws from action." It is this tragic flaw of inaction that eventually brings about Hamlets downfall. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet is given explicit instructions by the ghost to kill his uncle/step-father Claudius to avenge his fathers murder; yet, he fails to do so. Hamlets inaction and hesitation to kill Claudius is justified in his own mind and to the audience. Hamlets initial disbelief in the reliability of the ghosts claim, Hamlets belief in religion, and the fact that Hamlet is trained in thought rather than in action, all lead to Hamlets inaction, and ultimately, Hamlets downfall. The ongoing duel between Hamlets procrastination and his final action begins with Hamlets perception of the ghost. The ghost appears in form, as Horatio describes it, "a figure like your father, armed at point exactly" (1.2.209-210). When Hamlet first meets the ghost, he immediately calls the ghost by his fathers name and follows it to where the ghost beckons him. In response to the ghosts claim that "the serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown," Hamlet answers, " O my prophetic soul!" (1.5.46-48), revealing that Hamlet has already contemplated this possibility. The ghost does little to persuade Hamlet of the cause of his fathers death because Hamlet is already convinced of his uncle/step-fathers guilt due to his great distrust and dislike for Claudius. Although at first, Hamlet reacts with anger, a thirst for vengeance, and grief, Hamlet becomes suspicious of the ghosts origin. He begins to wonder whether the ghost is a devil, an angel, or a sign of Hamlets own grief. Hamlet says "the spirit that I have seen may be a devil, and the devil hath power tassume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps, out of my weakne...
