The Character of Shakespeare's Hamlet

Hamlet is arguably the greatest dramatic character ever created. From the moment we meet the crestfallen Prince we are enraptured by his elegant intensity. Shrouded in his inky cloak, Hamlet is a man of radical contradictions -- he is reckless yet cautious, courteous yet uncivil, tender yet ferocious. He meets his father's death with consuming outrage and righteous indignation, yet shows no compunction when he himself is responsible for the deaths of the meddling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the pontificating lord chamberlain, Polonius. He uses the fragile and innocent Ophelia as an outlet for his disgust towards the Queen, and cannot comprehend that his own vicious words have caused her insanity. Hamlet is full of faults. But unlike Macbeth, who has committed murder and, as a direct consequence, has been relegated to the heap of weak-willed villains, Hamlet has remained a demigod of sorts -- his faults having been quashed under his good qualities. What are Hamlet's good qualities? How is it that even seemingly negative qualities like indecisiveness, hastiness, hate, brutality, and obsession can enhance Hamlet's position as a tragic hero -- a 'prince among men'? To answer these questions we must journey with Hamlet from beginning to end, and examine the many facets of his character.

Our first impression of Hamlet sets the tone for the whole play. Even without Shakespeare providing an elaborate description of Hamlet's features, we can envision his pale face, tousled hair, and intense, brooding eyes. Dressed totally in black, Hamlet displays all the 'forms, moods and shapes of grief'. His mother cannot help but notice Hamlet's outward appearance of mourning, but Hamlet makes it clear that the overt signs o...

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...ally die, it is his princely qualities that make the lasting imprint in our minds. Hamlet remains

The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue,

sword,

The expectancy and rose of the fair state,

The glass of fashion, and the mould of form

The observ'd of all observers (III.i.153-56)

Bibliography

Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1966).

Burnett, Mark, ed. New Essays on Hamlet. (New York: AMS Press, 1994).

Evans Lloyd Gareth. Shakespeare IV. (London: Oxford university Press, 1967).

Granville-Barker, Henry. Prefaces to Shakespeare.3 (New York, Hill and Wang, 1970).

Loske, Olaf. Outrageous Fortune. (Oslo: Oslo University Press, 1960).

Muir, Kenneth. Shakespeare and the Tragic Pattern, Proceedings of the British Academy, Vol.XLIV (London: Oxford University Press, 1958).