How Is Hamlet A Hero

Commonly, a hero is considered as a representative of moral, justice and powerful human being. Also, people have various ways to evaluate their own heroism. Especially for children, as they grow up, they are more likely to create their heroes who are usually brave, strong, righteous and indestructible. However, villains are the opposite side of heroes, and they are evil, demoniacal and cruel. Some of those heroes would easily turn into villains when they are trying to get revenge because their hearts are covered by hatred. The play Hamlet by Shakespeare tells a tragic story of a prince avenging the death of his father. In the play, the main character Hamlet shows how he changes from a hero into a villain through his immoral and repellant actions.

In the play, people who have strong relationship to Hamlet such as, his mother, lover and best friends all are drawn into in his revenge, and they eventually die at the end of the play. However, the target in the revenge is Claudius, but not Ophelia, Polonius, Gertrude, or Laertes. He kills Polonius in front of his mother without any hesitation and vacillation. Hamlet states, “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!” (3.4 25) Killing people has become as easy as having breakfast for Hamlet, which is a sign of cruelty and fellness. Although he pretends to be mad after his father’s death, he starts losing his mind at this point. This is to say, the evil side of Hamlet begins appearing through his vicious actions. What’s more, Hamlet kills his best friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, because they spy on him with an order from the King. Hamlet states, “Why, man, they did make love to this employment. They are not near my conscience; their defeat. Does by their own insinuation grow.” (5.2 57-59) Hamlet has become a callous murder since after killing his childhood friends, and he does not feel any guilty for his horrible behavior. Moreover, the death of Polonius diminishes Ophelia’s hope, which indirectly causes Ophelia’s accident happened. Gertrude says, “One woe doth tread upon another’s heel, so fast they follow. —Your sister’s drowned, Laertes.” Hamlet pushes his lover into the war, hurts her again and again, and kills her father as well. Last but not least, his mother, the Queen, dies because of the poisoned wine, which offers to Hamlet by Claudius, the Queen says, “The drink, the drink! I am poisoned.” (5.2 311) If he does not accept the match with Laertes, his mother would not drink the wine with poison. In other words, he kills his mother indirectly. Hero saves the world because he wants to save the people on the