Hamlet Tragic Hero Essay

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The literary word, Hamartia, can be defined as “a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine.” In such tragedies, the hero is often presented as a righteous, but flawed character, whose demise is brought upon by their imperfections in dealing with the circumstances that enfold them. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there is a powerful manifestation of the tragedy that occurs after the protagonist, Hamlet, is conflicted with carrying out a solemn promise that is foreign to his nature. After the ghost of his late father appears and informs him that his father has actually been murdered by the king of Denmark, Claudius, he is burdened with attaining revenge on his behalf. However, in his attempts to kill Claudius, Hamlet faces …show more content…

Firstly, Hamlet’s inability to act decisively, in the face of unforeseeable consequences, causes him to be unable to avenge the death of his father in the way that he had initially intended. For instance, Hamlet holds back from killing Claudius, who is unaware of his presence, upon seeing him kneeling in prayer. Instead, he justifies his procrastination by saying he will kill him, “When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, / Or in th' incestuous pleasure of his bed; / At gaming, a-swearing, or about some act / That has no relish of salvation in’t,” (3.3.90-94).” Unfortunately, in his flaw of indecision and uncertainty, Hamlet takes a momentary refuge from murdering him at an opportune time where he is defencelessly repenting his sins. This is ironic because Hamlet’s revenge could have been complete had he actually killed the king in that moment. This is because Claudius, who is unwilling to give up the fruits of his treachery, was not truly expressing sincere regret or remorse for his wrongdoing. All in all, his hesitancy and conscious renders him …show more content…

This is evident when Hamlet is in a state of self-reflection, and begins to criticize the way he conducts himself. Hamlet expresses, “That I, the son of a dear father murdered / Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, / Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words / And fall a-cursing like a very drab,” (2.2.561-564). Here, Hamlet metaphorically compares himself to a whore, who, by definition, is someone who trades real love for false lust by saying the words, but not truly feeling the emotions. Hamlet says that he is like this in that he cannot act with real emotion, but is only feigning his obedience and love for his father. This is caused by Hamlet’s paralyzing grief over his death, which causes him to be too disheartened and morose to act on any of his plans. His melancholia habitually makes him feel revulsion towards himself. This feeling of revulsion is also evident later on when he is put to shame by his inaction after he encounters Fortinbras’ army. Hamlet expresses, “How stand I then, / That have a father killed, a mother stained, / Excitements of my reason and my blood, / And let all sleep—while, to my shame, I see / The imminent death of twenty thousand men, / That for a fantasy and trick of fame / Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot / Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, / Which is not tomb enough and continent / To hide the

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