StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay seeks an answer to a question whether or not Shakespeare's Hamlet is a tragic hero. The play portrays revenge and madness. In the play there are many questions that come up about the sanity of many characters. Hamlet and Claudius are both considered as villains…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.3% of users find it useful
Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero"

Nykia Comerie Eng 12 October Hamlet as a tragic hero Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare in the kingdom of Denmark; theplay focuses on the revenge hamlet has on his uncle Claudius for murdering King Hamlet. The play portrays revenge and madness. In the play there are many questions that come up about the sanity of many characters. Hamlet and Claudius are both considered as villains. Hamlet is dishonest by faking his own madness, trying to figure out if Claudius is guilty. He also steals and changes a letter which leads to the murder of his two childhood best friends. Similarly, Hamlet’s actions cause Ophelia’s death and he ends up by killing Claudius, his uncle. However, Claudius proves himself to be more villainous as he murders his own brother, marries his sister in law and sends a letter with hamlet’s best friends, that hamlet should be murdered. On the other hand, Hamlet’s deeds are motivated by his inner thirst to avenge the death of his father. Thus, one can rightly understand the play as a tragic depiction of the tragic hero Hamlet who suffers and finally ruins his own life because of the tragic flaw in his character- that of procrastination or indecision. I believe hamlet is a hero. He is a hero because his quest for revenge. Although others around him must suffer, he also suffers. I believe Hamlet is a hero because he has heroic qualities. Although Hamlet is the cause of Ophelia’s death he has a good cause. In scene 2 of Act five, he explains the pain he feels for Ophelia’s death. Similarly, Hamlet is so distraught with seeking revenge that he kills Ophelia’s father by mistake. Although Hamlet is the cause of Ophelia’s death and kills her father Polonius by mistake he is very much distressed about Ophelia’s death: “I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers couldn’t not with all their quantity of love” (Shakespeare 255). Hamlet confesses his love for Ophelia to the people surrounding him. He also confesses that he will do things for Ophelia that Laetres can never dream of- eating a crocodile for her or being buried alive with her. Even though Hamlet kills Polonius and becomes instrumental for the death of Ophelia he expresses his feelings as if he wishes never to have killed him. This is a touching scene mainly because it shows Hamlet’s true feelings towards death, not only towards his father but his true love. Hamlet speaks as if he will do anything to get Ophelia back to life, which is not characteristic of a villain. The tragedy of Hamlet can be best understood with regard to Aristotle’s conception of a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a person of noble birth, who having all heroic qualities, suffers from a ‘hamartia’, a tragic flaw or weakness in his character that leads to his catastrophe or downfall. Hamlet confronts the ghost of his father in Scene V, Act I of the play and the ghost discloses that he is murdered by Claudius and that Hamlet has to avenge his death. The plot develops based on the Elizabethans’ traditional belief that the murdered person’s soul will not be saved until his murder is being avenged. The spectator expects Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius, the antagonist of the play, which he does not. Hamlet, on the other hand, postpones his action to the last moment. At first, he is suspicious regarding the credulousness of the ghost and he waits to make sure whether Claudius himself has committed the cruel deed. After the staging of ‘the play within the play’ he is quite convinced of his Uncle’s and mother’s part in the murder. Even then he is incapable of acting promptly because of his tragic flaw. His mind is full of thoughts and plans regarding the revenge. In Act III, Scene I he tells Orphellia: “I am very proud revengeful, ambitious; with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in” (III. I, 123-128). However, instead of taking his revenge, Hamlet is moved by moral, psychological and philosophical speculations. He is in conflict with Claudius; however, his conflict within his own self is much more powerful, deeper and stronger. The ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy best displays the inner struggles in him. He even thinks of committing suicide but is unable to subject himself to the thought as he thinks that people will consider it to be cowardice. Thus, he makes a lot of plans and schemes. However, he fails to do the inevitable and this procrastination causes his own downfall at the end. Similarly, the villainous acts committed by Hamlet are out of his madness and not on his own will. In scene 1 of Act five Hamlet owns full responsibility for Polonius’s death and apologizes to Lateres blaming it on his madness. He blames his pain, fear and self-conflicts for the things his wrong doings. Similarly, one can find Hamlet expressing regret to Horatio over his mischievous behavior of replacing the sealed letter which results in the execution of Rosencrantz and the Guildensterm. He also explains that he is starting to see his negative deeds and promises to seek Laertes good favor. Towards the end of the play Hamlet begins to see all his negative actions and tries to make things better. Thus, Hamlet is a tragic hero mainly because he finds the flaws within himself and tries to make things better. Hamlet asks Laertres for forgiveness claiming that it is his madness and not his own will, which murdered Polonius: “give me your pardon, sir. I have done you wrong; but pardon as you are a gentleman” (Shakespeare 273) Hamlet looks introspectively at his wrong doings and admits that things will be different if can go back in time: “I am punished with a sore distraction. What I have done that might your nature, honor and exception roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness.” Hamlet thus becomes a tragic hero as his villainous acts are committed out of his madness and not on his own free will. Hamlet’s character thus depicts more of heroic and noble qualities than his negative deeds. His insanity or madness is quite evident in the play. In fact, Hamlet becomes quite unstable and upset when his father dies and his mother marries his uncle after the death of his father. Throughout the play Hamlet grows increasingly unbalanced due to the different events going on, but at the end he becomes at peace and is no longer insane. Hamlet is not a villain but a tragic hero who realizes his own flaws at the end of the play. He sees his flaws in procrastinating to kill Claudius which would have saved many people from dying. To be a tragic hero one needs to suffer and Hamlet undergoes sufferings and mental agonies all throughout the play. However, when the final realization strikes him it is too late to redeem him from his inevitable destruction and downfall. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1611420-is-hamlet-a-tragic-hero
(Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1611420-is-hamlet-a-tragic-hero.
“Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1611420-is-hamlet-a-tragic-hero.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero

Theme of Life in Hamlet- Revenge

Aristotle was a genius and he set some guidelines for a play to be a tragedy, he believed that the presence of a tragic hero is a must for any tragedy; he also believed that the tragic hero suffers excessively in a tragedy.... Claudius is the protagonist in the play and Hamlet plays the role of a tragic hero in the play.... Hamlet is a tragedy and in a tragedy the tragic hero suffers from a tragic flaw.... hellip; Hamlet is one such tragedy in which the character of Hamlet suffers excessively because of his tragic flaw....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Enduring Themes in Hamlet

he theme of procrastinationHamlet, exemplifies a typical Shakespearean tragic hero in that he belongs to a noble family and possesses a moral flaw or weakness that leads to his downfall and death.... These questions are relevant even today and that is what gives hamlet a timeless and endearing quality.... hellip; At the center of the tragedy is hamlet, one of Shakespeare's most psychologically complex characters that is subject to analysis and interpretations even today. The stage for revenge is set in the first Act itself....
3 Pages (750 words) Book Report/Review

The Tragic Hero Suffers from a Tragic Flaw

This paper will throw light on how Hamlet was a tragic hero in the tragedy of Hamlet.... The essay “The tragic hero Suffers from a Tragic Flaw” looks at the tragic flaw in Hamlet, which is the impulsive nature of Hamlet.... It is quite evident that Hamlet had a tragic flaw and he is the tragic hero in the tragedy of Hamlet.... Hamlet fails to act when he thinks, the whole process of acing upon a decision never happens in Hamlet and the same is the tragic flaw in Hamlet....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

Shakespeares Theme of the Tragic Hero

In understanding the concept of the tragic hero, it is important to understand the criteria established by… According to that illustrious philosopher, there are six major elements required to make up a tragic hero.... In the play Julius Caesar, the character Marcus Brutus emerges as a tragic hero because he fits all of the above criteria in character and action.... It has been noted in the past that the theme of the tragic hero is one that runs through much of classic literature, from the ancient Greeks to Shakespeare and beyond....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Poetry and Pathos in Hamlet

nbsp;… The author states that the unmatched poetic grace and tragic nuances of the play find their most striking expressions in the famous soliloquies of the titular character, expressing with unmitigated agony the rambling musings of a grieving son, an indecisive heir to the throne and a soul tortured by its own inactions.... Hamlet with its resonant poetry and tragic philosophy of love, loss, and duty highlight, with supreme grace, the intricacies of characterization....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Analysis of the Image of Hamlet

Who is the tragic hero: Hamlet or Claudius?... amlet is the tragic hero.... The problem that he faces is a mixture of many issues that are, his father sudden death that is in actuality a conspired murder at the hands of his uncle, Claudius, his mother's… What haunts him the most is the treachery of Claudius in killing his father and marrying his mother. We come to know about Hamlet father's death and his mother's marriage along with Hamlet's return from No: Hamlet Who is hamlet?...
3 Pages (750 words) Assignment

Poetry Writing Analysis

Hamlet is a tragic hero.... He often suffers downfall from a tragic flaw in his personality.... He often suffers downfall from a tragic flaw in his personality.... When the ghost of his dead father appears… Hamlet decides to act crazy which forces Claudius to send him to England. Hamlet's hesitation to act, results in many Topic: Drama Connections of the University Topic: Drama Connections What is Hamlets tragic flaw?...
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Arthur Dimmesdale as a Tragic Hero

This essay "Arthur Dimmesdale as a tragic hero" presents an individual who makes a mistake that leads to his or her destruction.... Often a tragic hero can be seen to be a plaything of fate, like Oedipus in Sophocles' plays, or as someone who embraces a destructive fate like Shakespeare's Hamlet.... However, just being a tragic figure is not enough to be meet the qualification of a “tragic hero.... hellip;             Although Dimmesdale is respected by the town and is generally a kind man, though his public actions show he is not a hero....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us