Aristotle defines a tragic hero as; “...A character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction ”. There are many characters in literature that prove this fraction of belief to be true, one of which can be shown in Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Prince Hamlet reflects heavily on this notion because he possess the five characteristics that structuralize a tragic hero, which are hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, hubris and peripeteia. These Greek terminologies sum up the building blocks that create the foundation of a tragic hero, which has been shown through various soliloquies and monologues throughout the play.
In Shakespeare’s play, Prince Hamlet displays a combination of both good and bad features. As a sophisticated character, Hamlet exhibits a vast array of powerful characteristics shown throughout the play’s maturation. In Act I- Scene 2, Where Hamlet is first introduced; Hamlet is portrayed as a sensitive young prince who is grieving over the death of his father. In addition, his mother’s expeditious marriage to his uncle Claudis has encumbered him in even greater distress. The integration of deep anger and frustration leaves a feeling of sorrow toward Hamlet. The beginning of the play sets the plot in that hamlet is a very intricate man, and that his tragedy fate has initiated.
The extensive anger and misery that hamlet holds, mainly correlating to the fact of Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius, concludes Hamlet to thoughts of self-murder. The idea of suicidal thoughts signifies fragility in his character, on the other hand his decision to not commit suicide due in part of religious altercations, reveals that Hamlet’s weakness is equitable with some perception for ethics and morality.
Hamlet...
... middle of paper ...
... that both he and Hamlet poisoned, and that Claudius is the mastermind behind it. After Laertes and Hamlet die, Fortenbras proclaims authority of Denmark. Fortenbras later gives Hamlet an honorable death after hearing the previous events that unfolded. The scene depicted in (Act V, Scene2) illustrates the climax of the play and seals the destiny for all the remaining characters, which includes Hamlet, a tragic hero.
William Shakespeare has exemplified the use of powerful words, which has inflicted multiple impacts based on the tragic outcome of the play. The tragic ending sparked the pinnacle of the play and the destructive use of language. For Hamlet, the immense power of language cannot be ignored. In part for this reason, language is Hamlet’s tragic flaw, which proves Hamlet is a tragic character and not in part of what he has willingly done during his downfall.
Arguably William Shakespeare’s great tragedy, and perhaps his greatest work overall, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a gripping tale of betrayal, insanity, and grim horror that captures the imagination of the reader. This tragic play centers around the titular character, Hamlet, and his quest to kill his Uncle, Claudius. Although it sounds to the common ear to be merely a story of revenge, the play contains vivid characters that bring the play to shocking light for the reader or the viewer. Controversy is common in discussion of Hamlet due to the choices of the main character to reject his love, spare his traitorous uncle for a brief moment in the pursuit of a ruthless revenge, and the accidental killing of an innocent man, having mistaken him for the aforementioned uncle. These actions can be seen as mere plot devices, or sloppy writing on behalf of Shakespeare. They can also be seen as the literary genius that enriches Hamlet, depending on the point-of-view of the reader or the viewer. This essay will be an examination of the idea that, while these actions may not be genius, and they are in-fact simple plot devices, the actions taken by Hamlet in this play are deliberate, as the author intended them. Hamlet’s actions during this play, sparing his uncle and banishing his love, and also killing an innocent man, are a masterful portrayal of justified retribution turning into hate-driven revenge and its consequences.
Much of the dramatic action of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet is within the head of the main character, Hamlet. His wordplay represents the amazing, contradictory, unsettled, mocking, nature of his mind, as it is torn by disappointment and positive love, as Hamlet seeks both acceptance and punishment, action and stillness, and wishes for consummation and annihilation. He can be abruptly silent or vicious; he is capable of wild laughter and tears, and also polite badinage.
In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, protagonist Hamlet, experiences many rises and falls throughout the play that have a major impact on his mentality decline. The way in which readers interpret the character, Hamlet, can vary in many ways. For instance, Hamlet delivers many soliloquies throughout the work, giving readers a better insight of his state of mind. Additionally, two significant soliloquies in both Acts II and III show a clear view of Hamlet’s mental and emotional state.
Arguably, the most blatant characteristic of Hamlet to be revealed through his soliloquies is that of his depressed disposition - seemingly brought on by the pressure of having to take vengeance on his uncle, Claudius, for the murder of his father, King Hamlet. I believe that had it not been for the murder of King Hamlet, Hamlet would not have suffered from such mental anguish. The majority of Hamlet’s soliloquies make reference to such distress, manifested in thoughts of suicide and feelings of helplessness. Hamlet queries: “To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mi...
Does Hamlet stand alone? Does this magnate of English literature hold any bond of fellowship with those around him, or does he forge through his quandaries of indecision, inaction and retribution in solitude? Though the young Dane interacts with Shakespeare's entire slate of characters, most of his discourse lies beneath a cloud of sarcasm, double meaning and contempt. As each member of Claudius' royal court offers their thickly veiled and highly motivated speech Hamlet retreats further and further into the muddled depths of his conflict-stricken mind. Death by a father, betrayal by a mother, scorn by a lover and abhorrence by an uncle leave the hero with no place to turn, perhaps creating a sense of isolation painful enough to push him towards the brink of madness.
Hamlet undergoes a series of trials and troubles some that are internal and other’s that create towards a certain path that he cannot escape. Hamlet’s best destruction in this path of no return is characterized in the beginning with his uncertainty of his existence and feeling over the loss of his father’s death. Young Hamlet faces risk within his mind when his mother marries his uncle soon after the death of his father. The death of Hamlet’s father and the immediate marriage of King Claudius and Hamlets mother Gertrude was a major factor in Hamlets depression. Unable to comprehend his melancholy mood he boards on a journey of revenge when learning his father’s ghostly appearance is wandering the Castle at night restless from not finding closure in his life. This event derives from his father’s meeting and revealing the cause of his extraordinary death. Hamlet’s uncle Claudius schemed and conquered in killing his own brother in order to gain the throne and Hamlet in some obligation towards truth, anger, and revenge agrees to expose
In Hamlet, the motif of a young prince forsaken of his father, family, and rationality, as well as the resulting psychological conflicts develop. Although Hamlet’s inner conflicts derive from the lack of mourning and pain in his family, as manifested in his mother’s incestuous remarrying to his uncle Claudius, his agon¬1 is truly experienced when the ghost of his father reveals the murderer is actually Claudius himself. Thus the weight of filial obligation to obtain revenge is placed upon his shoulders. However, whereas it is common for the tragic hero to be consistent and committed to fulfilling his moira,2 Hamlet is not; his tragic flaw lies in his inability to take action. Having watched an actor’s dramatic catharsis through a speech, Hamlet criticizes himself, venting “what an ass am I! This is most brave, that I, the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell… [can only] unpack my heart with words” (Hamlet 2.2.611-614). Seeing how the actor can conjure such emotion over simple speech, Hamlet is irate at his lack of volition and is stricken with a cognitive dissonance in which he cannot balance. The reality and ...
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a complex play regarding the kingdom of Denmark, and the unusual stage it is going through. The main focus of the play concerns Hamlet, prince of Denmark, and his feeling of ambiguity toward his recently lost father and his remarried mother. Hamlet is a complicated character who plays assorted roles in order to manipulate people. These various roles make it problematic to develop a sense of the real Hamlet. Only during the soliloquies is the reader given a chance to understand Hamlet, they allow the reader to attempt to decipher who is the real Hamlet and what is an act. The first soliloquy allows the reader to initially delve into the character of Hamlet, by showing his anger and distaste towards his mother. The soliloquy also shows that, even through his anger, he is in a coherent state of mind.
Tragic characters play an effective, leading role in a tragedy. The leading role that a tragic character assumes normally controls the actions and reactions of a setting. Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet is no different, effectively exposing the vulnerabilities and short comings of tragic characters, Hamlet and Claudius; while providing the overall worth of Gertrude and Ophelia. Tragic characters, often take part in an irrational, avoidable plot, resulting into a drawn-out moral lesson. Literary analyst Authur Kirsch, elaborates on his perception of Shakespeare’s tragic hero themes stating “The irony is in a large sense, ‘comic,’ but it only exacerbates the passion for the heroes. ‘Shakespeare’s heroes not only are obviously subject to the evanescence of human passion, but they constantly protest against it, and that consciousness and ultimately unavailing protest constitute a substantial part of their suffering”(Kirsch 87). Tragic characters are afforded many opportunities to resolve situations but it seems, driven emotions have blinded them from avoidable flaws, especially in the case of Prince Hamlet.
Will Hamlet avenge his father’s death? Who killed King Hamlet? Is Hamlet really mad? These are the things that keeps the reader intrigued throughout Hamlet. Throughout Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, is shown to be the tragic hero of the play. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. A Greek philosopher, by the name of Aristotle, said that any tragic hero must have a tragic flaw. Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero because of the many tragic flaws he has. Hamlet also experiences suffering in the play and he also learns lessons. The tragic hero is an important character; without one, there wouldn’t be a tragic play.
The main character of Hamlet, displays many traits we as humans face today. Hamlet is an extremely thought provoking tragedy with many twists and turns that make it hard to put down. This is because of Shakespeare's depiction of Hamlet, a young enamic man whose quest for truth ultimately leads to his downfall. Hamlet’s characterstics like sexaul deviancy and his contemplative nature allow him to be viewed as a three dimensional character that engrosses readers and allows them to make connections to Hamlet they otherwise would not have made. Reader’s are able to look at the deeper meaning of Hamlet as well as the characters themselves for clues to solve the riddle that is Shakespeare's longest tragedy, Hamlet.
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.
One of the most popular characters in Shakespearean literature, Hamlet endures difficult situations within the castle he lives in. The fatal death of his father, and urge for revenge leads Hamlet into making unreasonable decisions. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet’s sanity diminishes as the story progresses, impacting the people around him as well as the timing and outcome of his revenge against Claudius.
Hamlet’s wit and play of words deceits everyone. He seems to be philosophical and existential being with a certain interest to the meaning of life. Many may see him as the tragic hero fighting against a superior force. This image of a tragic hero seems to be just a façade. Although there can be many reason why he may be seem as a tragic hero he is corrupted by those around him making him evil.
A tragedy, in terms of literature, is when the main character is not seen as indestructible. The main character has flaws and a tragic ending. One of the most famous writer of tragedies is William Shakespeare. Shakespeare, author of Hamlet, (biography.com) was alive between the years 1564 and 1616. His occupations were playwriting and poetry and he was brilliant. William, being the poet and play writer he his, wrote almost 400 different pieces. Some of his most famous plays include: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. Hamlet is considered a tragedy because Hamlet, the main character, has a character flaw which is being very reluctant. Also throughout the play nothing really seems to go the way that Hamlet plans. Finally, the end of the play ends expectantly with a death from just about every main character except Horatio, Hamlets best friend.