Hamlet Character Analysis

In the literary classic, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, controversy meets corruption. The monarch of Denmark, King Hamlet, is murdered by his jealous brother, Claudius. While the son of the king, Prince Hamlet, is away at school, Claudius seizes the throne and marries the adulterous Queen Gertrude. Hamlet returns to Denmark finding his father dead, his mother remarried, and his uncle the king. Grief succumbs Hamlet and his only relief is from the truth told by the ghost of his late father. The ghost reveals the true nature of his death and relies on Hamlet to avenge his wrongful end. The plot thickens, as Hamlet must find a way to expose Claudius' evil ways and regain the throne as the

murder in a rash mood. It is not seen by Gertrude. It tries to urge

Questions regarding life, death, and the reasoning behind all of our existences are questions philosophers continuously ask themselves, and unfortunately, philosophies have yet to sufficiently answer them. Over many centuries, an abundance of philosophers dedicated their lives in search of answers to these questions. Throughout Shakespeare's classic tragedy Hamlet, the protagonist explores these existential questions, seeking clarity and justice as he attempts to cope with his father's death. In the end, Hamlet proves to be an exceedingly existential character by showing concerns with reason, action, and death.

In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet, a studious young man and Prince of Denmark, struggles to face the death of his father and the task to kill his father’s murderer, Claudius. He was once known as a charming, smart young man before his father’s death. However, Hamlet experiences depression and anger at the world, causing him to look outwardly on society but failing to look inwardly on himself. The death of his father and the task for vengeance leads him to question whether or not he should follow through in killing Claudius. He becomes a man of thought rather than a man of action. In addition, the delay of King Claudius’ murder leads the readers to believe that he wishes not to kill him; he

The final way that Laertes acts as a foil to Hamlet occurs once again when Claudius and Laertes are discussing Laertes’ actions to achieve his vengeance. Claudius gives Laertes advice saying, “That we would do/ we should do when we would; for this ‘would’/ changes” (4.7.134-136). Claudius is warning Laertes that if he waits long enough, he will probably end up not doing anything at all and will not achieve his goal of vengeance. This quote spoken by Claudius is quite similar to when King Hamlet’s ghost meets with Hamlet earlier in the play to warn him about how he was killed by Claudius and that he must get revenge. King Hamlet’s ghost also warns Hamlet saying, “Taint not thy mind” (1.5.92), telling him to not over think his plan because otherwise he will not pursue his vengeance. After Claudius warns Laertes to not get side tracked, the audience is reminded of King Hamlet’s ghost telling Hamlet to not over think because then their plans will not be pursued. This scene acts as a foil towards Hamlet because soon after the conversation, Laertes does pursue his plan of seeking vengeance, whereas Hamlet has been working on his plan the whole play, and has still not started to execute it.

“To be, or not to be, that is the question,” (3.1.64). This famous line in William Shakespeare's Hamlet perfectly encapsulates Hamlet’s internal struggle throughout the play. Hamlet tells the story of the young prince of Denmark and his desire for revenge on the uncle, Claudius, who murdered his father. As is the case in many works of literature, Hamlet changes greatly throughout the play. However, because of his attempts to act insane, it can be difficult to precisely map the changes in Hamlet’s character. By carefully investigating his seven soliloquies, where he is alone and has no need to “put on an antic disposition,” one can understand and interpret how Hamlet’s character develops throughout the play.

Hamlet proves himself a temperamental, twisted character in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. The Prince of Denmark conveys his facetious demeanor with his behavior and sharp tongue, especially in scenes with Ophelia and Gertrude. Although Hamlet’s situation is difficult and easily sympathized by viewers, his aggression should ultimately be focused on his murderous uncle.

The young prince of Denmark wanders around the streets of the kingdom aimlessly. Disheartened by the sudden death of his father, he falls into a vortex of confusion. He is intelligent yet indecisive. He is Hamlet, the protagonist of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the play, Shakespeare creates characters like Hamlet and Claudius, who carefully craft their plans and strive to actualize their goals. While some take immediate action to control their fates, some remain indecisive and overly concerned about the consequence of their actions. Despite the different paths characters take to approach their targets, none turn out to be successful. Not only do Hamlet and Laertes end up killing each other with their poisoned swords, but Claudius is forced to drink the poisoned wine and accidentally causes the death of Gertrude. By contrasting various characters' outcomes with their intended goals, Shakespeare reveals

Many view Hamlet, the main character, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet as a hero. He portrays characteristics that prove to the reader that he does possess heroic qualities. Although, it is a struggle for him throughout the play, but as he goes through life and learns new ways of coping things, he develops new characteristics that he didn’t have in the beginning. Hamlet learns to overcome his anxiety, depression, and anger. In the end, he learns how to be calm and collected. The way Hamlet learns how to handle internal conflicts throughout the play, shows the readers a realistic view of the difficult encounters one may have when learning to cope with different

Immediately after Claudius murders Hamlet Senior, he is composed and makes himself seem like an authority figure who is here to help the country deal with its current chaos. He presents himself to the public in a manner that is comforting to the people of Denmark, he takes charge and although he is still ambitious, it seems as though it is all to benefit the country. Instantly, he steps up to help Denmark get back on track. He still acknowledges that the death of his brother was tragic and very upsetting to the country, although it is still quite bold of him to marry Gertrude so quickly after Hamlet Senior dies. He makes it clear that there are important things to be done and this is why he is taking charge. Secondly, as the plot thickens, Claudius becomes more and more thirsty for power, which continues to feed his drive and ambition. His weakness begins to be seen in the light due to his circumstances. After murdering his brother, he becomes paranoid and extremely focused on maintaining his power and the throne. His ambition develops as he goes to further and further lengths, pushing himself to his personal limits. This is displayed when he forms the plan to kill Hamlet once he returns to England. When planning, Claudius says to Laertes:

Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark who is a university student that enjoys contemplation of difficult questions and tasks. Upon Hamlet’s arrival home from university he ascertains that his father the King of Denmark has passed and his death was incorporated with foul play. Hamlet is a character that tends to act out of pure intellect and persistent logic he also tends to suppress his natural instincts and over uses his intellect. Hamlet is seen as a symbol of revenge, being enigmatic there is slack there to understand that there is more to Hamlet than what is being said. Hamlet’s behavior is certainly explainable with thorough analysis of the text. Hamlets reactionary response is what creates and sets the mood for the play also his love for

play known worldwide and was written between 1599 and 1605 by the ingenious author and poet, William Shakespeare. The play is a drama that includes a love story, betrayal, and a tragic ending. During the time Hamlet was written, the population of England loved watching the hard ache of others and they epically loved murder and gore. Luckily for Shakespeare, todays current population loves watching and reading about the same things which kept most of his work around. The play Hamlet is the story of a young price that lost his father to a murderer who happens to be his uncle, Claudius. Claudius then marries Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude making Claudius the new King of England. Hamlet’s deceased father returns as

The tragedy of Hamlet is a shakespeare play that describes the life of a young prince

The moments leading up to Hamlet’s eventual demise indicates his final development. Without careful consideration the end of the play looks like a failure for Hamlet. But by studying Hamlet’s words leading up to the duel, words that appear unimportant, one actually learns that Hamlet has reached a point of acceptance. Shortly after returning from his trip to Europe, Hamlet talks to Horatio about how powerless man is. He says, “Our indiscretion sometimes serve us well when our deep plots do pall, and that should learn us there’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will.” (5.2.8-10) Hamlet has come to the realization that no matter how much someone prepares and plans, in the end, something larger than man determines the outcome. In this moment he’s talking about the plan that Claudius put into place to have Hamlet killed once he arrived in England. However, Hamlet intervenes, sacrificing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in his place. It’s important to know that Hamlet was aware of the scheme that the king tried to put into place because it frames the decisions Hamlet makes shortly thereafter. Not long after Hamlet returns, the king devises another plot to try and extinguish Hamlet’s life, so it’s should be obvious that Hamlet wouldn’t trust the king. The plan is for Hamlet to take part in a duel with Laertes as a part of a bet. Hamlet should be wary since not only has the king tried to kill him before, but he’s also trying to make him fight with someone who is

Wooden, John “The greatest failure of all is the failure to act when action is needed.” In Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, the main character, Hamlet, set out on his plans to avenge his fathers murder. After finding that his uncle was the man behind his father’s death, he swore that he would get his revenge and he would kill his uncle. Hamlet waits for the right time to take action, but ultimately it was too late. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his inability to act when action is necessary. His reluctance to act leads to the death of every main character of the play except Hamlet’s best friend Horatio.