Hamlet: The Dionysian Character
Hamlet, from Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, is the embodiment of the Dionysian man. Time and time again, Hamlet displays the traits of Frederick Nietzche's Dionysian individual: Hamlet's inability to think rationally, his illusion between his emotional reality and true reality, his rejection of pleasurable human desires, his impotent personality prevents action, and his realization that if justice is brought to his uncle, that will not change what has already happened (The Birth of Tragedy, section 7) (Dictionary.com, "dionysian"). Hamlet exemplifies these characteristics throughout the play, which ultimately bring about his own death. Had Hamlet's character embraced physical action rather Dionysian thought, the "something rotten" in the state of Denmark would not have led to his own self destruction (HAMLET, 1.4, 96).
Hamlet's inability to think rationally plagues him through the entire play. If Hamlet had not sworn to his father's ghost to avenge his death, he could have instead confronted Claudius about the matter instead of thinking irrationally by plotting and testing his uncle for guilt (1.5, 94-114). Earlier in the play, Hamlet has the first player "speak the speech" that he has told him to speak in "The Mouse-trap," which he uses to determine Claudius's guilt in his father's death. Hamlet believes that this modification to the play will incite a reaction from King Claudius, which it in fact does, but the king's words of "Give me some light: away!" is not adequate evidence to prove Claudius's guilt of his father's death nor does it appear to anyone, besides Hamlet, as a rational method for testing his guilt (3.2, 256). Shortly after the play in Hamlet, Hamlet proc...
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...ented with a situation in which they need to take action, the Dionysian person is unable to take the correct action at the necessary time in order to do justice to the situation. Thinking about the situation and not acting will do nothing for the Dionysian individual except satisfy the indulgence of thought. This is Hamlet's downfall; he cannot act at the necessary time and change his own fate.
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