Why Is Hamlet A Mental Hero In Hamlet

Aristotle wrote “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;... in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.” (Poetics). Shakespeare 's “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” is viewed by most as one of the greatest tragedies that was ever written. Hamlet, an ideal tragic hero in his right, as appealed to many people of different cultures since it was written all those years ago. Hamlet has all of the makings to be a real man and that is what brings us into his world so easily, but like every human being on Earth, he has a hamartia. John Green

But defining what gives a person full capacity or partial is hard because there is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Those whom are considered insane though often go through more than just being the babbling idiots they appear to be. Most demented people usually suffer from other mental disorders such as: Bipolar disorder, psychosis, psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies, depression, etc. All these are very serious when it comes with insanity because someone who is diagnosed as insane is extremely irrational and doesn 't know right from wrong. MedicineNet defines depression as "An illness that involves the body, mind, and thoughts and that affects the way a person eats, sleeps, feels about himself or herself, and thinks about things." Hamlet never really feels the same about himself after playing the grief stricken lunatic that makes him become depressed. Having shown most of these traits we see that Hamlet is depressed. Depression can make someone who is irrational or extremely foolish want to commit

"Now might I do it pat, no he is a-praying,/ And now I 'll do 't." (3.3.77-78) Hamlet sees the opportunity to kill the king and he even begins to go through with it, but then he starts thinking again and he misses his opportunity. Hamlet says "And so he goes to heaven,/ And so am I revenged. That.../ To heaven."(3.3.79-83)Hamlet 's argument for not killing the king is that if Claudius is in fact praying then he shall be sent to heaven upon his death. While his argument is logical, this is Hamlet 's most opportune moment because the king is alone and he rarely is. His rationality has, once again, gotten in the way of completing his mission, and because he failed to do so then, he set in stone his own downfall. So Hamlet fails in his quest for revenge while still, somewhat, achieving his true goal of angelicness. So since Hamlet is incapable of deciding whether to truly trust the ghost, and since he cannot contemplate suicide without questioning the meaning of his existence,and finally if Hamlet is unable to kill the king without assumptions and thoughts of heaven then Hamlet 's tragic flaw must be that he is unable to act without rationally analyzing the