To achieve a difficult goal requires facing many arduous obstacles. An example of one of these obstacles would be making the right decision. Making this decision, however, becomes much more difficult when your own characteristics get in the way. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the protagonist's romantic characteristics of overthinking without acting, overbearing emotions, and isolation cloud his sense of judgment, resulting in his downfall. To begin, Hamlet's thoughtfulness leads him to the path of his own death. Hamlet always spends his time thinking; be it his father's untimely death, his mother's incestuous marriage, or the revenge he plans for Claudius. However, this creates a fatal problem for him. First, when he is not pursuing or thinking about revenge, he often wastes his time simply thinking. This can be seen in his infamous speech, in which he spends a lot of time contemplating suicide. He reflects: Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slingshots and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take up arms against a sea of ​​troubles, and resist to put an end to them (3, 1, 57-60). If Hamlet were to stop overthinking things and simply act, he would have more time to enact revenge. Even so, he still doesn't act. Instead, Hamlet continues to ponder the possibilities, and even realizes that he is “thinking too precisely about the event” (4, 4, 41). However, even when presented with the perfect opportunity to take revenge, Hamlet's thoughtfulness and hesitation cause him to miss this opportunity. At first he is confident in his plan, but then he reflects and realizes that "this is a wage and a wage, not a revenge" (3, 3, 79). Because of his hesitation, he lets Claudius go, not knowing that “[Claudio's] words fly up, [his]… in the center of the paper… (5, 1, 236-238). Subsequently, this upsets Laertes, thus fueling his dislike of Hamlet even more. Laertes is more tempted to kill him, and Hamlet could have avoided this by simply sharing his sadness with others instead of believing that he was alone. In essence, Hamlet's alienation is a major reason why his sense of judgment is clouded, which is the cause of his ultimate demise. To conclude, Hamlet's defining romantic characteristics of being thoughtful, emotional, and alienated are responsible for his clouded judgment, which ultimately leads to his downfall. His characteristics define who he is as a romantic hero, but when they overwhelm his judgment and instincts, disaster strikes. While one's characteristics are important, one is nothing without a sense of judgment. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.