Hamlet Tragic Hero Analysis

Hamlet is a classic example of a play that has a tragic effect. In order for a story to have this effect it must have a tragic hero that receives sympathy from the audience members. To be a tragic hero a character must possess good characteristics: bravery and loyalty, but they also have pride and a tragic flaw. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet becomes the tragic hero after his father is killed. The audience feels sympathy at this point in the play when Claudius is the revealed killer. After his father’s death, Hamlet avenges King Hamlet’s death by trying to kill Claudius. Hamlet is the tragic hero because he is brave and loyal, but his tragic flaw of his inability to act ultimately plays a key role in his death. Sympathy affects the play overall by explaining its meaning. The play helps the reader understand that not making a decision makes things worse. The audience feels sympathy for the predicament that Hamlet is in which makes him the perfect tragic hero of the play Hamlet.

Sympathy towards Hamlet is felt as the play begins. Early on in the play Hamlet goes through a hard time in his life. His father just died, and his mother just married his uncle less than two months later. Hamlet’s anger towards the entire situation is justified when his mother asks, “If it be, why seems it so particular with thee?” Hamlet responds, “Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not “seems” (I.ii.74-76). Hamlet explains that he is upset about his father’s death and what followed after between his mother and uncle. His mother does not understand why he could be upset with his current situation. She asks why he seems mad, and he says that he does not just seem mad he is mad. The word “seems” is a great tool of diction. “Seems” indicates that an impression gi...

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...ence when one cannot make decisions.

Throughout Hamlet, Hamlet is the perfect tragic hero because the audience feels sympathy for Hamlet. Hamlet receives this sympathy after his father died and it stays with him until he dies. Sympathy affects the play by explaining the true meaning of the play. The play says that the inability to make a firm decision is ultimately the worst thing that can happen. Hamlet’s tragic flaw of an inability to act is what makes the audience feel sympathy for him. His inability to kill Claudius is the one of the largest draw of sympathy from the audience. These characteristics lead him on his journey to vengeance for his father’s death and in the end his own death. A classic example of a play having a tragic effect can be found in Hamlet. Sympathy from the audience is a key part of Hamlet that leads Hamlet to be the tragic hero of the story.