The Characters Traits of Hamlet

827 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: A essay on hamlet personality

Hamlet is a Shakespearian tragedy that takes place in the kingdom of Denmark. The plot

consists of murder, betrayal, revenge, suicide and insanity. Hamlet the prince of Denmark, main

character of Hamlet, has many character traits which are contrasted by other figures in the play.

Hamlet’s personality is especially contrasted by three other main male figures of the play being

Horatio, Claudius, and Laertes.

Horatio is Hamlet’s best friend in the play whom is let into the mind and secrets of

Hamlet. Horatio’s other part in the play is the reader’s indication that since he and Hamlet both

saw the ghost, Hamlet’s sanity isn’t in complete doubt. Horatio is a man of virtue, known as

being very strong, rational, and having unwavering strength of character. Hamlet turns to Horatio

as a result of these characters, which Hamlet lacks within himself. One could also argue the fact

that hamlet admires and idolizes Horatio for these traits. Horatio accepts fate and remains level

headed which maintains control of emotional upheaval. Hamlet lacks this control, allowing his

emotions to take control of him. As Hamlet is dying, Horatio is ready to commit suicide.

Horatio’s act is one of honour, not emotional attachment. Horatio rises to the occasion, to be the

one whom retells the events that occurred during the play so the events are kept real and

unforgotten. Throughout the play, Hamlet had thoughts of suicide but was driven by being

unable to cope with his emotions. Hamlet’s emotions also get in the way of his plots for revenge.

Hamlet is bent on thoughts of revenge on Claudius for the murder of Hamlet’s Father.

Laertes is also guided towards acts of revenge, but on Hamlet for the death of Laertes’ father...

... middle of paper ...

...arrying out his father’s revenge, but he planned on doing it himself for the sake of

avenging his father. Claudius’ actions were only beneficial to him, and were carried out for his

selfish purposes. When Claudius had killed King Hamlet, it was only to steal the throne and

assume his wife. Hamlet’s actions were more for the greater good. Hamlet plans on killing

Claudius for the sake of his family’s honour, and to avenge his fallen father.

Claudius, among the characters Laertes and Horatio are important in the play as foils to

Hamlet. Their character foils contrast that of Hamlet’s character. Overall, Hamlet’s dominant

character traits are procrastination, indecision, impulsive, devoted, and emotional. Having his

traits contrasted by these fellow characters aids in the understanding of Hamlet’s true nature and

the understanding of the plot.

Show More
Related

  • The Characters of Hamlet and Holden

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    After demolishing the theories of other critics, Bradley concluded that the essence of Hamlet’s character is contained in a three-fold analysis of it. First, that rather than being melancholy by temperament, in the usual sense of “profoundly sad,” he is a person of unusual nervous instability, one liable to extreme and profound alterations of mood, a potential manic-depressive type. Romantic, we might say. Second, this Hamlet is also a person of “exquisite moral sensibility, “ hypersensitive to goodness, a m...

    Read More

  • Horatio

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare wrote about a distraught prince trying to avenge the wrongful death of his father while all his faith in honesty and the good of man was nearly destroyed. In his play Hamlet, Hamlet is the prince and he is the one who would have lost all his faith in the good of man had it not been for his loyal friend Horatio. Many critics say that Horatio did not play such an important role in the tragedy, that he merely was the informant for the audience and that his character was not developed beyond that fact that he was just the honest confidant of Hamlet. That may be true, however, Horatio does serve two central purposes to the drama, and it is through these purposes that show the qualities that make Horatio memorable and admirable. Horatio is the harbinger of truth. It is through Horatio that the actions taken by Hamlet gain credibility. He is the outside observer to the madness. Hamlet could soliloquize on and on, but it is his conversations with Horatio that gives sanity to Hamlet’s thoughts. His second role is to be the loyal, truthful confidant of Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Literary Analysis - Stages of Grief

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...r. Hamlet speaks to Horatio quietly, almost serenely, with the unexultant calm which characterizes the end of the long, inner struggle of grief. He has looked at the face of death in his father’s ghost, he has now endured death and loss in all the human beings he has loved, and he now accepts those losses as an inevitable part of his own condition. “He states, “The readiness is all” suggesting what is perhaps the last and most difficult task of mourning, his own readiness to die” (Bloom 135). Hamlet recognizes and accepts his own death.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Character Analysis Essay

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fortinbras, Laertes, Hamlet: hero, villain, mechanism of conflict. This triad is necessary to Shakespeare 's celebrated play, Hamlet. Despite his crucial role, the first named character is often absent in productions. Fortinbras represents the brave hero Hamlet wants to be and ultimately becomes, while Laertes represents Hamlet 's emotional self-doubt and self-hatred that drives the play 's conflict. The separate subplots of Fortinbras and Laertes mirror both Hamlet 's contradictory personality and the play’s plot.

    Read More

  • Free Hamlet Essays: Talk and Action in Hamlet

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    The character of Hamlet is very prestigious, but he has many shortcomings. In many cases, he shows that he is all words and no action. He waits until the very last minute to take a course of action. Hamlet realizes this, and he wishes that he had the characteristics of Fortinbras, Laertes, and Horatio.

    Read More

  • The Character Horatio in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    Horatio is Shakespeare's utilitarian character. Horatio serves as a foil to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, prompts Hamlet to disclose his feelings, gives vital information in the form of exposition (verbal or in a letter) or verification of Hamlet's reality, and helps to build the suspense of the play. The only emotional aspect of his character is that he remains alive, and serves as a vehicle for Shakespeare's moral of Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Hamlet: A Man of Many Qualities

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    Horatio.  Horatio is a good friend, as stated in Act 1, Sc 2, L163, and the

    Read More

  • Essay On The Relationship Between Hamlet And Horatio

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are many ways to interpret Hamlet 's relationship with Horatio. Most obviously, Horatio is the only person in the play that Hamlet trusts. He is the only one who knows for certain that Hamlet 's madness is an act, the one person Hamlet confides in personally, and the one whom bids Hamlet goodnight upon his death. Considering his conflicts with his family, Horatio is the only "family" Hamlet has. He understands that Horatio is very rational and thoughtful, yet not overly pensieve like himself. As the play continues, Horatio questions Hamlet 's judgment twice. Once is when Hamlet tells him of a letter from King Claudius that he has found in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 's pack, telling the King of England that he must have Hamlet killed. The second instance is when Hamlet tells Horatio that he will fight Laertes, son of Polonius, who Hamlet killed earlier in the play. Horatio loves Hamlet with all his heart, but he is directed by a more sensible disposition, which makes him to speak the truth to Hamlet, despite the fact that Hamlet never once takes Horatio 's warnings. In fact, there is only a single point in the play at which Horatio loses his sensible outlook, and it is but a momentary loss. At the end of the play, when Hamlet is killed in his fight with Laertes, Horatio, in his grief, offers to kill himself with his own sword. It is Hamlet 's dying request that Horatio tell

    Read More

  • The Virtues of Horatio in William Shakespeare's Play

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout literature, there a character who provides a moral compass for other characters. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Horatio’s character seems fairly simple: somewhat of a “yes-man” to Hamlet, often agreeing with anything Hamlet says. However, at the end of the play we understand his significance, as he is one of the last survivors. This transition is unexpected because for most of the play, Horatio is a reserved character and doesn’t speak very often. Despite this, it is clear that Horatio and Hamlet’s friendship is extremely deep, and Hamlet trusts Horatio more than anybody. At first, the relationship is one of a prince and an advisor, but as the play goes on we realize they are in fact close friends. Horatio is much more than a “yes-man” to Hamlet, even though this may not be visible for most of the play. This friendship is due to three of Horatio’s characteristics: trustworthiness, loyalty, and admiration, which make him an ideal friend to Hamlet. These traits also inspire confidence in Horatio from other characters in the play. Even Shakespeare shows that he values Horatio by allowing him to survive at the end of the play.

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Horatio: A True Friend

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Horatio’s minor role is vital to the story of Hamlet. He does not add anything to the plot of the play and instead acts as the voice of common sense. Horatio is an outside observer to the madness that ensues after the murder of King Hamlet. All of Hamlet’s soliloquies revolve around irrational speculations about death and decay. However, Hamlet’s conversation with Horatio ground the play in reality. In those conversations, Hamlet reveals his feelings to his closest friend. Horatio is the only one Hamlet can come talk to about what is going on in his life.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Hamlet as a Tragic Hero

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin.  The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality.  Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Character Analysis Essay

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet is a paradox; he is a perplexing character that throughout the play has more to show. Hamlet is a person of contradictions he is inquisitive and profound yet indecisive. The experiences Hamlet goes through led to dramatic changes in his character. In the beginning we are introduced to a young man who is mourning for the death of his father and struggling with the sudden marriage of his mother to his uncle. Hamlet faces the dilemma of wanting to avenge his father’s death and suppressing his intense emotions in order to calculate a plan.

    Read More

  • Condemned: Hamlet’s Moral Dilemma

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. Print.

    Read More

  • Hamlet- A Revenge Tragedy

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like all Shakespearean tragedies, Hamlet’s ending is no different in end-result. Hamlet’s separation from society and his self-imposed confusion caused by over-thinking results in the unnecessary deaths of most of the major characters. In turn, Hamlet’s pre-occupation with factors inessential to his mission of revenge slows down his action. It is this internal struggle that illustrates the intensity and complexity of Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, something that is often looked at from a psychological perspective.

    Read More

  • Inconsistency in The Character of Hamlet

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet seems incapable of deliberate action, and is only hurried into extremities on the spur of the occasion, when he has no time to reflect, as in the scene where he kills Polonius, and again, where he alters the letters which Rosencraus and Guildenstern are taking with them to England, purporting his death. At other times, when he is most bound to act, he remains puzzled, undecided, and skeptical, until the occasion is lost, and he finds some pretence to relapse into indolence and thoughtfulness again. For this reason he refuses to kill the King when he is at his prayers, and by a refinement in malice, which is in truth only an excuse for his own want of resolution, defers his revenge to a more fatal opportunity, when he will be engaged in some act "that has no relish of salvation in it."

    Read More

More about The Characters Traits of Hamlet

Open Document