Examples Of Brilliance In Hamlet

The Downside of Brilliance In William Shakespeare’s renowned play, Hamlet, the main character, Prince Hamlet, is the cause of many losses and tragedies, whether indirectly or directly. Therefore, Hamlet is a clear representation of Norethrup Frye’s quote, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck down by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as the victims of divine lightning”. Hamlet strikes down several characters in the play in his search for vengeance of his father’s murder. Hence, the work ultimately illustrates the inevitable side effect of being brilliant, as Hamlet

However, Hamlet’s light burned too bright, and it lit his whole life ablaze after he was given the task of killing his uncle, now step-father, Claudius. His rational mind prevented him from acting on impulse, leading him to overplanning how to go about Claudius’ murder. Consequently, Hamlet begins to feel guilty as he is unmotivated to seek revenge even on a ruthless killer, thus saying, “Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,/ 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,” (II. 2. 611-614). Accordingly, Hamlet is all too aware that he is behaving like a coward, and yet he cannot bring himself to act. He does not lack anger or passion, but he is correct when he says he lacks any “gall” (II. 2.

Hamlet is filled with rage in a manner not seen before in the play. If there would be a prime occasion for Hamlet to kill Claudius, it would be in that moment. The timing is made even more perfect as Claudius is on his knees, eyes shut, praying to God; Hamlet could enter with no indication of his presence, and slaughter Claudius without any trouble. Conversely, he decides against it, because he reasoned Claudius may have repented in his prayer, and he would accordingly go to heaven. Instead, he postpones Claudius’ execution for a time at which he is sinning, so as to give him the full punishment for his gross actions. While it is a sensical conclusion and a fair plan, it is also true that Hamlet has continuously put off killing his uncle, and his sense of perfectionism and methodicalness, once again, has held him