Hamlet : A Tragic Hero

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular hero and tragic figure of the play constantly finds himself unable to act on the Ghost’s instructions to take revenge on King Claudius despite the compelling reasons he realizes for doing so. The reason for this delay is Hamlet’s tragic flaw – his tendency towards thought and introspection rather than impulse and action. Because of this flaw, Hamlet is unable to ignore the moral aspects of his actions and “thereby becomes the creature of mere meditation, and [he] loses his natural power of action” (Coleridge, 343).

Shakespeare's play, Hamlet illustrates the tragedy of a young prince's pursuit to obtain revenge for a corrupt act, the murder of his father.   As the exposition unfolds, we find Prince Hamlet struggling with internal conflict over who and what was behind his father's death.  His struggle continues as he awaits the mystic appearance of a ghost who is reported to resemble his father.  Suddenly it appears, proclaiming, "Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing / To what I shall unfold" (1.5.5-6).  The ghost continues to speak providing an important clue: "The serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown" (1.5.38-39).  In short, this passage reveals evidence leading to the identity of whom

Hamlet comes across as both a hero and a villain throughout ‘Hamlet’ at different intervals. His loyalty, morality, honesty and popularity are certainly heroic traits however one can’t deny his villainous ways in his dealings with Ophelia, his killing of Polonius and most importantly his delaying of killing Claudius. Hamlet is full of faults yet full of honourable intentions. His negative qualities are slim compared to his heroic qualities therefore I believe Hamlet to be a hero, a “prince among men”.

William Shakespeare once said that “brevity is the soul of wit.” This is heavily evident in regards to Hamlet and all of his short, witty comments throughout the play. In Act I Scene II Hamlet 's wit comes out in full force during a discussion with his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle/stepfather, Claudius, with Hamlet’s very first words in the play:

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, the titled character of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, William Shakespeare’s most prominent play, is arguably the most complex, relatable, and deep character created by Shakespeare. His actions and thoughts throughout the play show the audience how fully developed and unpredictable he is with his mixed personalities. What Hamlet goes through in the play defines the adventures encountered by a tragic hero. In this timeless tragedy, despite Hamlet’s great nobility and knowledge, he has a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his ironic death.

  Hamlet feels that if he is to kill Claudius at a time when he is praying then he will go to heaven, and Hamlet does not want that so he decides not to kill him. Hamlet wants Claudius to suffer for what he has done to his father. But may be Hamlet chose the wrong decision because when he finally decides to kill Claudius he too suffers as well. In Act 5, scene 2 Laertes, the son of Polonius challenges Hamlet to a dual. Hamlet agrees to the dual because he does not want to be

In the beginning of Hamlet, the character Hamlet meets his father’s ghost who passes on to him the knowledge of his death. Hamlet learns that his uncle Claudius poisoned his father in order to take the throne and the Queen as his wife. After his father is done telling him, he decides he needs to avenge his father and take Claudius’s life. The fact that Hamlet is willing to commit a deadly sin in the eyes of Christ for his dad, reveals the son’s loyalty to his father. Not only is Hamlet faced with the situation of avengement, but

I had only been in class for five minutes and someone had managed to get on my nerves. The guy who sat behind me kept tapping his pencil and clearing his throat. We were reading Hamlet.

“A tragic flaw is an error or defect in the tragic hero that leads to his downfall.” (http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_t.htm) In the history of literature, if the question of who was the most indecisive character was brought up, Hamlet would be a prime candidate. Hamlet had numerous chances to reap revenge for his father’s death but was only able to follow through after the accidental murder of his mother. Hamlet’s inability to make a decision ultimately leads to his demise, and for that is his tragic flaw.

Marriage is a commitment between two people who love each other to death. This is not the case in the play Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is devastated when his father died and his mother remarried, to his uncle! It is understandable that Hamlet is enthusiastic at this new arrangement, he becomes bitter and shuts everyone out. As time goes on, Hamlet is told that his father’s death did not occur naturally; his life was taken away from him. Hamlet’s father is his world and the news of his death completely destroys his mind. Throughout the whole play, his character is altered into someone who is unrecognizable. Due to the tragic murder of Hamlet’s father and his mother remarrying, Hamlet’s character undergoes various changes such

The Webster dictionary defines tragedy as, “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.” (Webster Dictionary) So a tragic hero is a character who goes through a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a direct result of his choices. You will see throughout this story that the character Hamlet is a clear example of Shakespeare’s tragic hero.

William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is one of the most influential people in the history of English Literature. He wrote Hamlet sometime early in the seventeenth century, and it was first performed in the summer of 1602. The play Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s better-known plays if not his most well known plays of all time. The tragedy of Hamlet begins with Hamlet’s uncle murdering his father. It then goes on with his Father coming as a ghost begging for vengeance, which is then followed by Hamlet carrying out his revenge. Hamlet is scattered with William Shakespeare’s points of view about Traditional Revenge tragedy revealing how he believed one should be portrayed, and the language and, emotion necessary for a Traditional Revenge Tragedy. This play reveals some of Shakespeare’s Philosophical ideas and some traditional ideas of the time. Shakespeare’s approach to Freudian psychoanalytic ideas is heavily used in this play. Hamlet also includes many other things that allow for criticism including ideas on how the age old ideas of patriarchy are portrayed in this play, and the historical differences between the time when Hamlet and modern times.

The first step that Hamlet took was meeting with a mentor.The mentor that hamlet met was his father’s Ghost.The Ghost tells him that he has been murdered by Claudius Hamlet 's uncle by poison. As of all mentor or an important figure in a hero’s life,they tell the hero to do some task that will benefit them and save others. For Hamlet the ghost tells him he wants him to revenge his father’s death and make things right again in Denmark (Hamlet). Shakespeare made the character Hamlet accept the challenge and become a hero by trying to avenge his father 's death. The Articlemyriad said that Hamlet is a tragic hero because he had the noblest motivation to punish his mentor’s killer for what they did to him (Nicole Smith). Hamlet tells the audience that he will do it

King Hamlet’s death left a mark on everyone in the castle, after a while that all began to change when Claudius married Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet felt that everybody should be mourning his father’s death, and he felt betrayed by the sudden marriage. Hamlet becomes mad once he sees his father as a ghost and seeks to avenge his father’s death, not knowing that this would lead to his death. The grief of King Hamlet’s death and the reactions of his loved ones changed Prince Hamlet’s life by showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.