ipl-logo

Hamlet Tragic Hero Essay

793 Words4 Pages

he entire play of Hamlet revolves around Hamlet’s plot to kill his uncle and although the time span of the play is not entirely clear, it is obvious that Hamlet had been planning on killing his uncle for a long time but he opts to procrastinate. Hamlet finds out Claudius killed Hamlet Sr. in act one scene five and he even vows to kill Claudius in line 100-102 when he says,
I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past.
At this point Hamlet starts to over think and abandons the murder plot until act two, scene two (line 525- 530) when he gets upset at himself for delaying his revenge and decides to instead expose Claudius by putting on a play so that Claudius feels guilty and admits to killing Hamlet …show more content…

The epitome of a classical tragic hero is Oedipus who starts off as a good ruler who cares about the well-being of his people. The admiration that the audience feels for Oedipus at the beginning of the play is very far from their feelings about Hamlet at the beginning of the play Hamlet. Hamlet’s first appearance in the play is in act one scene two after Claudius addresses Laertes and Hamlet’s first dialogue in the play portrays him to have the same level of maturity as a whining pre-teen which is difficult to admire. Additionally, Hamlet portrays some characters of a tragic hero but he embodies more characteristics of a villain. In act three scene four, Hamlet kills Polonius who is an innocent man and rather than feeling remorse for killing a person or killing who he thinks is the king, he tries to direct the blame to Gertrude who thinks she is a widow for the second time (act three, scene four, line 29-30). Hamlet then decides to escape his actions by running away in act four, scene two. Hamlet’s inability to take responsibility for his actions and his lack of maturity are characteristics that make a character that the audience cannot admire or respect. Hamlet is a character that is hard to respect and admire which leads him to stray from the classical definition of a tragic hero requires the feeling of admiration from the

Show More
Related
1126 Words | 5 Pages

He is a great person and being loved by others. He is a hero, a tragic one that fits Aristotle’s definition. Throughout most scholars note, it is Hamlet’s mistake to act quickly that caused the demolition of most character in the story. But having to live at his time, Hamlet thought killing the king wrongfully would cause his eternal life. And that ghost were evil spirits and were sent to disturb the lives of the living.

Read More
933 Words | 4 Pages

The notion that he is thinking about every possible outcome of his actions breaks the mold of a traditional man in Elizabethan times this subsequently breaks the mold of a traditional avenging hero. Hamlet is ruled by his emotions this is unusual for a man in his role, all of these factors lead to him to overthinking the situation and procrastinating which is his fatal flaw and thus the cause of

Read More
755 Words | 4 Pages

Of all the characters in Hamlet, the most dynamic and interesting character is Hamlet. From his good qualities to his bad qualities, Hamlet epitomizes a tragic hero. The characteristics that make Hamlet who he is are also the ones that lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. Hamlet is passionate about his family, which is a good and a bad quality. From the beginning of the play, Hamlet displays complete grief over the death of his father.

Read More
899 Words | 4 Pages

In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark William Shakespeare our protagonist Prince Hamlet goes through a moral demise ; he starts his demise by wanting to have revenge for his father's murder but quickly becomes something dark and sinister, a character whose morals become questionable. Hamlet's moral journey starts with his father's murder and from there his moral dilemmas begin. At the start of the play, the ghost of King Hamlet tells his son Prince Hamlet that Claudius committed the murder, this was Shakespeare's way of telling us who Hamlet will want to kill in other words he was foreshadowing what was yet to come. As soon as Hamlet knew of Claudius murderous acts we knew that he would become his nemesis and anyone who associated with him would also be on Hamlet's “hit” list.

Read More
1424 Words | 6 Pages

In the entire play of Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is contemplating about his role of taking revenge on Claudius, his uncle, for his father’s death. Hamlet, the main protagonist, was told by the ghost of his father to kill Claudius. However, throughout the play, Hamlet finds reason to delay the killing. There has been bad timing such as Claudius trying to get him sent off to England and accidentally killing Polonius. Even though Hamlet knows that he should get revenge for his father, Hamlet delays killing Claudius because his inability to trust the ghost and his conscience.

Read More
770 Words | 4 Pages

William Shakespeare, one of the greatest playwrights of all time, is known for his complex and impressive characters. Out of all the characters, Hamlet stands out for being one of the most complex and unreadable characters in Shakespeare's plays. While Hamlet is often remembered to be a tragic hero, it can be debated, since many of his actions puts him on the list of Shakespeare's greatest villains. I will explain how Hamlet shows villainous attributes, analyze his actions and aims, and compare him to other Shakespearean villains. Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's most renowned plays, and it revolves around the titular character's desire for revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who not only murdered his father but also married his mother.

Read More
326 Words | 2 Pages

"Hamlet" is surely the most intricate, interesting and celebrated tragedy by Shakespeare, but why is it so famous? First of all, the author was able to involve multiple themes such as revenge, love, friendship, madness, life, death in a single tragedy which is full of symbolism, allegories and cryptic meanings that are slowly captured by the reader. Secondly, Shakespeare defined perfectly his characters; the reader can relate to them because they are more than names written on a sheet of paper: they are humans, they think, act, speak and feel like we do everyday. Hamlet's character is the perfect example of a teenager that has insecurities, doubts, fears, deep thoughts, hidden emotions and he also has to face obstacles just as we do today:

Read More
598 Words | 3 Pages

“Hamlet does have a tragic flaw, for being the principal character in a tragedy, written within the template of a classical tragedy, Hamlet was expected to share this trait with all other noble, tragic characters.” (Tatu, 126). Hamlet had a fundamental weakness that he couldn’t overcome until the end of the story. Hamlet was responsible for his own downfall. He felt like he was obligated to defend his father when finding out the truth behind his death.

Read More
622 Words | 3 Pages

Ruler Hamlet of Denmark has been hurriedly summoned from his learns at Wittenberg to the Danish courts at Elsinore where he profoundly grieves the current demise of his dad, the lord. Adding to his sadness is the hurried remarriage of his mom, Gertrude, to his Uncle Claudius, who has grabbed the Danish position of royalty. Norwegian Prince Fortinbras stances yet another risk to the general peace as he gets ready to attack Denmark. Villa is educated by his trusted companion Horatio, and also by officers who keep watch amid the night, that his dad's phantom has showed up on the parapets of Elsinore mansion. Villa goes to the watch with them and the phantom shows up, illuminating Hamlet that he was killed by Claudius, who then started winning

Read More
876 Words | 4 Pages

This trait of his, his unwillingness to act, directly contrasts with such a heavy tone. One would think that any character who has such vehement sentiments would make a move, but that is not the case with Hamlet. It appears that this cowardly unwillingness to act is a character trait so strong that it even overtakes such a tone of

Read More
177 Words | 1 Pages

The theme of revenge of is prevalent in the movie and the paly. In the movie Hamlet the Prince of Denmark seeks out the revenge for his father who was suspected to be murdered. In the conclusion of the movie the Queen of Denmark has been poisoned by her own husband by accident, and the unsuspecting Hamlet seek the treachery. In the movie Hamlet, Hamlet discovers the murderer of his mother and his father while comforting his mother during her final minutes. When revealed the true murder he stabs the current King, his step-father, and proclaims of all to hear “Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion.

Read More
824 Words | 4 Pages

“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Man has fell short of God’s glory due to all complications that are within. As defined, a tragic hero is an individual that makes or produces a mishap that would lead to that characters fall. In the play, Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, the protagonist which is Hamlet, the son of the late King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude is represented in the novel as a tragic hero. Usually in a production, frequent peculiarities of a tragic hero consist of them accepting their destruction or downfall, having an ultimate weakness and also they must acquire a tragic flaw.

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

William Shakespeare is one of the most recognized authors and playwrights of all time. One of Shakespeare’s most famous works is the play Hamlet. Focusing around the life of a young Danish prince named Hamlet, Shakespeare’s play assesses the tragedy that surrounds the throne of Denmark after the murder of the king. Hamlet himself is a diverse character whose attributes follow Aristotle’s version of a tragic hero. According to Aristotle’s ideas, one must be of noble birth, basically good, have a fatal flaw, make an error in judgement, be arrogant, have an epiphany, and cause his or her own death.

Read More
515 Words | 3 Pages

The ghost of King Hamlet came to Hamlet and revealed to him that his uncle Claudius was his murderer. Throughout this story, Hamlet stops at nothing to get revenge for his father’s death. Throughout this play, Hamlet acts like he has gone mad because of his father’s death so he people would not take him seriously. He admits only to his good friend Horatio his plans. “How strange or odd some'er I bear myself…

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

Christina Urbina Professor Messerschmidt LIT 1000 September 14, 2014 Hamlet In the Elizabethan era, which Hamlet was written in, tragedy was customary in most plays. The intrigue in this play, keeps the audience and reader engrossed till the very end. Hamlet brought upon his own demise by his ego and his quest for the truth to be exposed. Hamlet used his intelligence to create a smoke screen till he can act in defense of his father.

Read More

More about Hamlet Tragic Hero Essay

Related Topics

Open Document