Hamlet is one of the most popular and loved plays ever written. Hamlet is also one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. At first glance, it holds all the common occurrences in a revenge tragedy, which include plotting, ghosts, and madness. However, its complexity as a story far outdoes its functionality as a revenge tragedy. One of the biggest draws of this play is Hamlet’s tragic flaw, which is his inability to act to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet feels a duty to retaliate for his dad's murder by his uncle Claudius, but Claudius is presently the ruler and is well protected. Strangely, Shakespeare utilized a play within the play, The Murder of Gonzago, which is the reenactment of King Hamlet’s death. The play develops the character of Claudius, whose reaction to the play reveals that he is indeed a …show more content…
murderer. Hamlet's mission to avenge his father's death drives a wedge between him and every other character in the play, including his once beloved Ophelia. As in many revenge plays and as in other Shakespearean tragedies, a corrupt act undermines order throughout the kingdom. Hamlet has a tragic hero’s fatal flaw, over-thinking, which postpones his plan for retaliation and results in his passing. Some readers question whether Hamlet is insane or just acting, but the truth reveals his insanity as the play progresses. In the play, Hamlet becomes mad because he acts mad. At first, Hamlet’s madness is clearly false because he says that he is going to act mad. To Horatio, Hamlet says, “Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on),” (1.5.165-175). If readers recognize all the incidents in which Hamlet shows his madness, readers will see that he eventually actually has gone mad. After the Ghost discloses to Hamlet that Claudius killed King Hamlet, Hamlet starts to arrange his next move. In the quote, Hamlet warns his friends that he will put on an "antic disposition", pretending to be a madman. He does a lot of thinking, planning, and acting, which is a part of his clever game plan to finally get to the King. Finally, Hamlet must act to revenge his father's death. Just playing at being insane isn’t enough. Literary Scholar Edward Foster says, “The arrival of Fortinbras, who has been lurking in the background throughout the play, superficially seems to indicate that a new, more direct and courageous order will prevail in the place of the evil of Claudius and the weakness of Hamlet.” Foster explains how Hamlet’s indecision is not an indication of weakness, rather the result of his difficult knowledge of the problem that he has. Foster also goes on to discuss how Hamlet knows about the dishonesty of unhuman ghosts and is therefore hesitant to obey the ghost’s command to perform a deed that to him seems evil. In life, people use several defense strategies to deal with pain or a loss. In this play, Hamlet’s defense strategies will be his act of madness. Hamlet's suffering grows distinctly darker and he gets trickier. He is critical of everyone who is criticizing his behavior towards his father’s death. Within two months, his mother remarries. She marries the late King Hamlet's brother, the present King Claudius. Gertrude is furthermore dumbfounded in the play about Hamlet's prolonged misery and sadness. In Act 1 Scene 2 she states, "Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off," asking Hamlet to literally remove his dark mood. “'tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black…. But I have that within which passeth slow, These but the trappings and the suits of woe” (1.2. 80-85). When we first meet Hamlet in Act 1, Scene 2, he is unhappy about his father's death and more than just a little put off by his mother's quick marriage to her dead husband's brother. In several scenes, Hamlet wants everyone to know, especially his mother, how much he loved his father and how incredibly sad he is about his death. The king is glad that Hamlet seems to be pursuing happiness and instructs Hamlet’s friends to continue trying to get him to reveal the root of his madness. Finally, Claudius speaks to Hamlet directly about the prince's grief for his dead father. Claiming that if he continues in grief for the dead, it is considered an offense against heaven. Grieving to long seems to reflect rebellion against the will of heaven. However, Hamlet had several chances to act, but he puts off murdering Claudius again and again. Hamlet feels that it would be more fitting to kill him in the act of sinning. It would be appropriate to just murder him in a show of vengeance. The real irony is that Hamlet does not understand that his revenge could have been done right away, since Claudius was not praying. Observing Claudius, he says, Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying. And now I’ll do ’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged.—That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven. Oh, this is hire and salary, not revenge. He took my father grossly, full of bread, With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May. And how his audit stands who knows save heaven? (3.3. 75-85) Later, Hamlet finishes the play within a play in Act 3, Scene 2, to reveal Claudius guilt. Hamlet enters and sees Claudius in prayer. He realizes that he has the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius, but stops himself from doing so. He remembers that Claudius killed King Hamlet without allowing him any opportunity to make amends for his sins and that King Hamlet now suffers in torture while he wait to enter heaven. Believing that Claudius is praying for forgiveness, Hamlet thinks that by killing Claudius, he would send the King straight to heaven. “To understand Hamlet, we must be able to answer the old question about him: Why does he delay? Most of the time he forgets about it, as we forget about a letter that should be answered—and only occasionally does he remember it and ponder his reluctance to perform this simple duty. Rightly or wrongly, he is preoccupied with other things” (Detmold). Detmold addresses the question of why Hamlet delays taking revenge on Claudius by assessing his status as a tragic hero. Perhaps the most important reason why Hamlet hesitates, the critic concludes, is that although he is tempted by love, kingship, and even revenge, Hamlet is long past the point where he desires to do anything about them. None of these reasons gives him a new incentive for living. Hamlet’s indecision is the reason for his delay and is not an indication of weakness, rather the result of his difficult knowledge of the significance his problem. We know he is pretending to be crazy because he mentions it several times to Horatio. "I am but mad north-north-west; when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw" (2.2. 330). “Hamlet’s brain is a formation because there is a layer of suffering, a layer of thought, and then a layer of dreaminess” (Victor). The source describes Hamlet as being tough but toughness does not prevent him from acting strange in the play. Hamlet pretends to be mad to keep others from knowing what he is planning. It's easy for people to dismiss and discount the crazy person, but that’s what makes Hamlet acting more brilliant. Hamlet has a fatal flaw, over-thinking, which postpones his plan for retaliation and results in his death.
Hamlet delays taking revenge on King Claudius, which makes Hamlet a tragic hero. A tragic hero has three important characteristics: a will-power that reveals that of the strongest of people, an outstandingly forceful rule of emotion, and an unusually extreme level of cleverness. Hamlet can be classified both as a tragedy and as a classic revenge play. The tragic hero Prince Hamlet dies from the corrupting forces of his madness, doubts, and revenge. Hamlet struggles with his doubts about whether he can trust the ghost and whether killing Claudius is the appropriate thing to do. “Hamlet obsession with the past, though maintained in the name of integrity...becomes an agent of disintegration, disjointing. It is in this scene that he can speak of having ‘forgot himself’ to Laertes, can attribute the number of Polonius to a time when he was not himself (V. 2. 76,227)” (Neill). The play is distinctly known as the Hamlet thriller, because of Hamlet’s troublesome conduct, specifically his instability and his hesitance to follow up on
vengeance.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the title character is one of histories greatest examples of a tragic hero. Hamlet is born a prince and is seen throughout the play as a hero, but soon the reader begins to see a flaw emerge. Throughout the play, Hamlet exhibits indecision and procrastination. These two traits are his tragic flaws that lead to his death. Hamlet at many times during the play has a chance to avenge his fathers’ death and kill Claudius. At one point Hamlet gives a whole soliloquy debating on whether or not to kill his Uncle, “And ...
Hamlet struggles constantly, trying to decide how he should go about avenging the loss of his father to his deceitful uncle-stepfather. Planning to kill him isn’t easy. Hamlet is given many opportunities to kill Claudius, but keeps stalling for time to be certain the ghost had spoken the truth about the murder. Finally, Hamlet decides upon a plan. “the play’s the thing/Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King”(II.ii.612-613). He will stage a performance for the King that would actually be a reenactment of his father’s murder. The play he chooses to reenact is entitled "The Murder of Gonzago" with a few changes made to accommodate Hamlet’s new lines and actions reflecting Claudius murdering his father. Upon seeing Claudius’s crazy behavior during and following Hamlet’s play, Hamlet realizes that his ghost-father had spoken the truth.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous work of tragedy. Throughout the play the title character, Hamlet, tends to seek revenge for his father’s death. Shakespeare achieved his work in Hamlet through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces that hunt Hamlet throughout the play: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. When Hamlet sets his mind to revenge his fathers’ death, he is faced with many challenges that delay him from committing murder to his uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlets’ father, the former king. During this delay, he harms others with his actions by acting irrationally, threatening Gertrude, his mother, and by killing Polonius which led into the madness and death of Ophelia. Hamlet ends up deceiving everyone around him, and also himself, by putting on a mask of insanity. In spite of the fact that Hamlet attempts to act morally in order to kill his uncle, he delays his revenge of his fathers’ death, harming others by his irritating actions. Despite Hamlets’ decisive character, he comes to a point where he realizes his tragic limits.
Hamlet’s sanity began to deteriorate when learned that his father’s death was not an accident, but rather a foul deed committed by the newly crowned King of Denmark. “If thou didst ever thy dear father love – Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” [Act I, v l .23-25]. As a mysterious ghost appeared in the terrace, Hamlet learned of a murderer that would prove his fealty towards his father. As he contemplated the appalling news recently brought to his attention, the control Hamlet had over his actions was questioned. “O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain. At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark,” [Act I, v l. 106-109]. Hamlet’s hatred toward his father’s killer caused him to relate the tribulations between murder and the aspects of Denmark as a country together. As with most of the conflicts Hamlet faced, his lack of ability to avenge his father’s death, furthered the deterioration of his life and surroundings.
Hamlet the Anti-Hero Hamlet certainly isn't a hero in this game. He exhibits many of his weaknesses that contradict other characters in the play. A hero is a person who shows great courage through his actions, and one who is noble and self-sacrificing. He does exhibit courage in parts like when the ghost came and Hamlet followed it, but yet he certainly isn't self-sacrificing. He sacrifices other characters' lives to benefit his chance of getting revenge with Claudius.
Hamlet the Hero There are various ways to define a hero. There is an endless amount of people who are heroes. A hero can be, "one who exhibits courage and/or daring," a hero can be, "one who is supremely noble or self-sacrificing," a hero can be a champion or a winner. A hero can save the day, or even save your life.
With his thinking mind Hamlet does not become a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. What would the people think of their prince if he were to murder the king? What kind of effect would it have on his beloved mother? Hamlet considers questions of this type which in effect hasten his descision. After all, once his mother is dead and her feelings out of the picture , Hamlet is quick and aggressive in forcing poison into Claudius' mouth. Once Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the killer it is only after he himself is and and his empire falling that he can finally act.
Hamlet is a bitter tragedy of revenge and deceit. Unbeknownst to Hamlet, his father, the king of Denmark, is murdered by his own brother, Claudius — who then marries the queen and assumes the throne. Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost, who compels him to enact revenge upon his uncle — but spare his mother. Hamlet finally decides to stage a play in which there is a poisoning scene, meant to stir his uncle into panic. Hamlet’s plan is successful, but he, in a fit of rage, accidentally...
Throughout Hamlet, each character’s course of revenge surrounds them with corruption, obsession, and fatality. Shakespeare shows that revenge proves to be extremely problematic. Revenge causes corruption by changing an individual’s persona and nature. Obsession to revenge brings forth difficulties such as destroyed relationships. Finally, revenge can be the foundation to the ultimate sacrifice of fatality. Hamlet goes to show that revenge is never the correct route to follow, and it is always the route with a dead
William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, is a ghost story, a detective story and a revenge story all within one plot. Throughout the play, qualities of all three types of stories are displayed. The ghost story consists of Hamlet Senior and the circumstances surrounding his untimely demise at the hands of the present King, Claudius. He is being tortured in hell until his death is properly avenged. The detective aspect of Hamlet is brought about by Hamlet trying to figure out whether or not his fathers ghost was real and also to what, if any extent, his mother the "virtuous" Queen Gertrude was involved with the murder of his Father. Both Hamlet and Laertes, bring yet another aspect to this most versatile play, by seeking revenge for their fathers death, each in their own way. By viewing the play as either one or all of these different aspects we learn to have different perspectives on the play.
Webster’s dictionary defines tragedy as, “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.” A tragic hero, therefore, is the character who experiences such a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a result of his choices and related actions. The character of Hamlet, therefore, is a clear representation of Shakespeare’s tragic hero.
Hamlet has an enormous amount of stress placed on him by the events of his father’s death and his mother’s hasty marriage. Hamlet’s mentality is further stressed by his father’s appearance in the form of a ghost telling Hamlet the true cause of his death, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” (Shakespeare 1.5.38-39), and more importantly telling Hamlet to avenge his death and to never forget him (1.5). This must weigh heavily on Hamlet’s mind as he tries to bring himself to carry out such a corrupt act. As Javed describes Hamlet’s ordeal as, “having taken on unwillingly the task of the revenge whose narrower function may have been to avenge a wronged kinsman, but whose wider one was to purge from society the evil which it could not otherwise escape” (332.) The corruption of Hamlet’s character is tragic because as Polonius says: “the safety and health of [the] whole state” depends on him (Shakespeare 1.3.20). The first drastic demonstration of Hamlet’s corruption is shown when he finds Polonius hiding behind a curtain . Hamlet, who believes his uncle Claudius is spying on him, stabs at the curtain, inadvertently killing Polonius. As Dr. Topchyan describes this act, Hamlet does it in “unrestrained passion,” unexpectedly even for himself. His deed, dictated by the situation, is impulsive, not deliberate – an instinctive action, a desperate
Hamlet’s tragic flaw was shown to him in a dream by the ghost of his father. His father tells him that he was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. In this scene, the tragic flaw was transferred and manifested itself in Hamlet’s actions. His obsession with revenge and death is all he can think about. He needs to act quickly and decisively but finds himself procrastinating about what to do. In Act III, Hamlet holds the knife over the head of his uncle, Claudius, but cannot strike the fatal blow. Instead, he writes a play about the same scenario to study the reaction of Claudius as to a clue of his guilt. After he decides Claudius is guilty of murdering his father, he still relents from taking his revenge. He says, “Haste me to know ‘t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thought of love May sweep to my revenge.
The tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most popular and greatest tragedy, presents his genius as a playwright and includes many numbers of themes and literary techniques. In all tragedies, the main character, called a tragic hero, suffers and usually dies at the end. Prince Hamlet is a model example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Every tragedy must have a tragic hero. A tragic hero must own many good traits, but has a flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. If not for this tragic flaw, the hero would be able to survive at the end of the play. A tragic hero must have free will and also have the characteristics of being brave and noble. In addition, the audience must feel some sympathy for the tragic hero.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. At first glance, it holds all of the common occurrences in a revenge tragedy which include plotting, ghosts, and madness, but its complexity as a story far transcends its functionality as a revenge tragedy. Revenge tragedies are often closely tied to the real or feigned madness in the play. Hamlet is such a complex revenge tragedy because there truly is a question about the sanity of the main character Prince Hamlet. Interestingly enough, this deepens the psychology of his character and affects the way that the revenge tragedy takes place. An evaluation of Hamlet’s actions and words over the course of the play can be determined to see that his ‘outsider’ outlook on society, coupled with his innate tendency to over-think his actions, leads to an unfocused mission of vengeance that brings about not only his own death, but also the unnecessary deaths of nearly all of the other main characters in the revenge tragedy.