The Character of Hamlet in William Shakespeare's Play
Some critics have stated that the appeal of Hamlet to the audience is
his many human weaknesses, the most notable being his indecision. His
deliberations and procrastinations are particularly high-lighted when
he is faced with the task of revenge. The law and Christianity, around
the early seventeenth century, were clear in condemning personal
revenge as an attempt by man to arrogate the prerogatives of God.
Hamlet’s contradicting feelings toward avenging his father and
avoiding breaking the law and going against Christianity were most
likely felt by the Elizabethan audience also, which would have been
made up of many Christians, namely, Protestants. Catherine Belsey
stated:
…The act of vengeance, in excess of justice, a repudiation of
conscience, hellish in its mode of operation, seems to the revenger
(and the audience) an over-riding imperative. Not to act is to leave
crime unpunished, murderer triumphant or tyranny in unfettered
control.[1]
The well known critic, Nietzsche, states that Hamlet;
Once looked truly into the essence of things and the resulting nausea
has rendered him incapable of taking any action.[2]
The disturbing truth of Hamlet’s, father’s death outweighs any motive
for action. Some critics go so far as to suggest that Shakespeare
intended to show the tragedy of a weak-willed man, called upon to
commit an act for which he is not properly equipped. These critics
believe that Hamlet is a tragedy of weakness and absence of will.
I would disagree, however, that Hamlet displays an absence of will. On
the contrary, Hamlet constantly dwells on the info...
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...results in his inaction.
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[1] Belsey, Catherine. ‘The subject of tragedy’, London, 1985.
[2] Nietzsche. ‘A critique of Hamlet’. (quote taken from
www.cosmos-club.org)
[3] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act III scene III.
[4] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act II scene II.
[5] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act IV scene IV.
[6] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act IV scene IV.
[7] Cicero, De Oratore. (Quote taken from www.pages.unibas.ch)
[8] Hazlitt, William. ‘Characters of Shakespeare’s plays’. 1838.
[9] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act I scene IV.
[10] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act III scene IV.
[11] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act V scene II.
[12] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act I scene II
[13] Shakespeare, W. ‘Hamlet’, Act IV scene V.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare). Simon & Schuster; New Folger Edition, 2003.
Tragedies in the Greek theater when compared to tragedies in the Renaissance theater varied in similarities and differences. Greek theater encouraged the use of religious figures while Renaissance theater was supposed to be strictly pagan in its ideologies. Theater was most dominantly used to depict the social and religious constraints of the time period. For example, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex are both portrayals of deceit, murder, and revenge all of which lead to the demise of its leading characters. Hamlet is depicted as a young man who is seeking revenge for his fathers death. Oedipus is a king who means to free the people of Thebes from a disease that has been plaguing them. They share similarities in that each of their love interest are conduits of their pain and anguish, further pushing the protagonists over the precipice. The voice of reason that they share is Creon in Oedipus Rex and Horatio in Hamlet. Their tragic flaw is that they are both ultimately and utterly doomed and no amount of guidance will steer them away from what has been predestined by fate. They are ultimately doomed to be their own Achilles heel.
One of Shakespeare’s great pieces of work, Hamlet, has been divided to alternate versions Quarto 1and Quarto 2. Focusing on Act I Scene iii, apparently the differences in these two versions are mainly on the way the characters are formed and the language that is used. Quarto 1 is a much more compact version that has weakly defined characters and uninformed language. As for Quarto 2 this lack of complexity is not so. This version has a higher quality of character depth and a language that is more comprehensible to allow more meaning to the play. Nonetheless the mutuality between these two versions main idea are clearly the significant mutilations to these scene are factors that make the play have a different meaning. The Quarto that would be most appealing to actors and the one that would be more fulfilling to the reader would be the second one because of it richness in characters and language.
More tragic play The tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark is the most popular works of William Shakespeare. Probably the popularity of this play lies in the use of character of Hamlet in exemplifying the human mind through its complex workings. Hamlet’s internal dilemma of making the decision whether he should revenge the death of his father or not was a crucial turn in his life as the state of mind was the main reason which effected the decision power one makes in his life. His uncle Claudius was the one who murdered his father and the moment when the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears and asks Hamlet as to when the revenge of his foul and most unnatural murder is to take place. From this point onward Hamlet is under a constant dilemma. He does not find himself ready to take the revenge. If Hamlet had killed Claudius at the first opportunity than the revenge would have been taken but his internal dilemma would have never been solved. This play became very popular and the reason for the popularity was Shakespeare’s use of the character Hamlet and through this character he has tried to exemplify the complex workings of human’s mind. Shakespeare used emotion, reason and attitude of Hamlet to allow the readers to form an opinion or make a judgment about the basic aspects of the life of human beings. The reason the prince could not take the revenge of his father’s death was that he was a man of great moral integrity and to take revenge was an act which was against his deepest principals. Some of the other behaviors of the prince was that after the death of his father Hamlet became so disenchanted with his life that he lost all his desire and will to take any kind of revenge. Due to the delay in revenge Shakespeare was able to develop th...
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.
In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the protagonist, Price Hamlet, uses several ways to defend himself against his oedipal desires, his animosity towards his uncle, as well as his own inner conflict . Hamlet's hatred towards Claudius stems from two crimes committed; Claudius' murder of his brother and his incest with Hamlet's mother. Because of the seriousness of both crimes, as well as the fact that both persons affected are closely related, there is evidence of an interrelation between both of the crimes; which can further explains Hamlet's reaction. Following his father, King Hamlet's death, his mother, Gertrude proceeds to marry his Uncle Claudius; this causes a surge of Hamlet's oedipal desires towards his mother. Hamlet attempts to reconcile his incestuous urges using his relationship with Ophelia. Furthermore, his need for vengeance for his father's death causes Hamlet to experience great anger towards his Uncle; Hamlet incorporates the Oedipus Complex in his revenge against his father's murderer, who is presently his mother's husband. At the same time, Hamlet experiences an inner conflict. He is torn between his duty to avenge his father's death and his inability to kill his uncle; which can be seen in relation to his Oedipal Complex as well.
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1709-1804. Print.
Boklund, Gunnar. "Hamlet." Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.
Shakespeare, William. The Three-Text Hamlet. Eds. Paul Bertram and Bernice Kliman. New York: AMS Press, 1991.
The Complex Character of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Upon examining Shakespeare's characters in this play, Hamlet proves to be a very complex character, and functions as the key element to the development of the play. Throughout the play we see the many different aspects of Hamlet's personality by observing his actions and responses to certain situations. Hamlet takes on the role of a strong character, but through his internal weaknesses we witness his destruction.
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.
...World of Hamlet.” Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.
One of the most famous quotes from William Shakespeare's works is "to be or not to be, that is the question." This quote was taken from Hamlet and was spoken by Hamlet. The quote can be interpreted in many ways, but Hamlet was speaking of his own philosophy. Hamlet makes frequent remarks regarding his philosophy of life, whether it be love, loyalty, family, etc. Further, Hamlet's philosophy can help explain the demise of the characters in the play.