The Archetype of the Trial in The Plague and Hamlet
Rare is the tale without a conflict, without a challenge to overcome. However, to even reach the challenge the hero must first pass through the Trial. The archetype of the Trial can be found in almost any folktale. King Arthur must draw the sword from the stone to prove himself fit to be king. Hercules must face labors to atone for the murders committed in his madness. It is prominent in other areas of literature as well; it is especially well represented in The Plague by Albert Camus and Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
The Trial serves two purposes: to prove worth and to atone for wrongs and purify. When the Trial is used to prove the worth of the hero, the hero must prove that he is capable and worthy enough to be the hero and that he will be able to face the ultimate conflict. This aspect of the Trial is what is also known as the Initiation (Campbell 97). In Arthurian mythology Arthur must pull the Excalibur from the stone. This trial proves him worthy to be king because only the true heir to the crown is able to draw the sword. The basis of authority for his rule is thus established. In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet must endure heart wrenching grief, betrayal by those closest to him, and murder in order to prove that he is fit to take action. However, while Arthur had to prove to the nobles of the land that he was fit to be king, Hamlet's trial is an inward proof to himself that he is in the right and his father's death must be avenged.
The Trial is also used to purify the hero and help him atone for evils. This is seen clearly in the Hercules legend of Greek mythology. The jealous goddess Hera uses her power to make Hercules insane and in his madness he slaughters his own children. He then journeys to Delphi and consults the oracle which tells him that he must serve for ten years as his cousin Eurytheus' servant and must perform ten labors. Through his labors he is able to atone for his past evil deeds and regain the favor of the gods (D'Aulaire 132-146).
Hamlet is a tale which puts many of its characters through trials but none suffer as much as Prince Hamlet himself.
Hamlet is a character that we love to read about and analyze. His character is so realistic, and he is so romantic and idealistic that it is hard not to like him. He is the typical young scholar facing the harsh reality of the real world. In this play, Hamlet has come to a time in his life where he has to see things as they really are. Hamlet is an initiation story. Mordecai Marcus states "some initiations take their protagonists across a threshold of maturity and understanding but leave them enmeshed in a struggle for certainty"(234). And this is what happens to Hamlet.
...of Hamlet is hit with hardship after hardship he is affected to the absolute core. Hamlet’s perfectionist nature makes it even more difficult to wade through everything that is being throw his way - he wants every one of his actions to be executed flawlessly, and the inability for this to occur renders him static. Consequently, due to his inactivity, Hamlet becomes more frustrated with himself as he feels useless and unworthy. Though it is a dramatic example, I believe Hamlet has a relatable quality to most everyone. The desire to succeed and hold the unattainable characteristic of perfection is something we have all yearned for at one point or another. Hamlet’s soliloquies give us insight into universal human nature, as well as the startling reality of how one can be negatively affected by being so hard on oneself. We have all felt Hamlet’s struggles to some degree.
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is an immature child who craves attention. Throughout the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, Hamlet creates difficulty for himself because of his inability to handle the situations life throws at him. There are many aspects of life that become easier with maturity. Hamlet’s lack of maturity makes his entire life that much more difficult and, in the end, his immaturity kills him.
Hamlet. The son of a king. A man who could have had it all, but instead he chose the much more painful route of revenge and a life of bloodshed. The downfall of Hamlet is comparable to trying to hide a lie one has told. The deeper we try to cover the lie, the worse it gets and harder it becomes to do the right thing. The deeper the reader explores into Hamlets life, the messier and messier it becomes. With a mind full of suicidal thoughts and insanity with no effort to contain it can only lead one thing, and Hamlets downfall is the ultimate example. Pain, suffering, and extreme
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.
Hamlet none other than the underlying thought of doubt, shape the play and its characters in such a dramatic way. In fact the plays main questions and events all come about due to some doubt and uncertainty from any multitude of characters. Although a common theme for many no other one character portrays this literary theme and crippling condition then the stories main focus and protagonist, prince Hamlet. Hamlet struggles with believing the evidence brought to him of his fathers death, and goes through much indecision and pondering about life, death and his future endeavors before he eventually fufils his purpose. Hamlet even after he’s chosen his path is crippled by his chronic indecision and failure to act, and in the end is brought down by it. Through Hamlet we are clearly shown that doubt and thought have there place, but too much can and in hamlets becomes his downfall.
The main character of Hamlet, displays many traits we as humans face today. Hamlet is an extremely thought provoking tragedy with many twists and turns that make it hard to put down. This is because of Shakespeare's depiction of Hamlet, a young enamic man whose quest for truth ultimately leads to his downfall. Hamlet’s characterstics like sexaul deviancy and his contemplative nature allow him to be viewed as a three dimensional character that engrosses readers and allows them to make connections to Hamlet they otherwise would not have made. Reader’s are able to look at the deeper meaning of Hamlet as well as the characters themselves for clues to solve the riddle that is Shakespeare's longest tragedy, Hamlet.
One of the most popular characters in Shakespearean literature, Hamlet endures difficult situations within the castle he lives in. The fatal death of his father, and urge for revenge leads Hamlet into making unreasonable decisions. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet’s sanity diminishes as the story progresses, impacting the people around him as well as the timing and outcome of his revenge against Claudius.
Like all Shakespearean tragedies, Hamlet’s ending is no different in end-result. Hamlet’s separation from society and his self-imposed confusion caused by over-thinking results in the unnecessary deaths of most of the major characters. In turn, Hamlet’s pre-occupation with factors inessential to his mission of revenge slows down his action. It is this internal struggle that illustrates the intensity and complexity of Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, something that is often looked at from a psychological perspective.
Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.
Hamlet is a paradox; he is a perplexing character that throughout the play has more to show. Hamlet is a person of contradictions he is inquisitive and profound yet indecisive. The experiences Hamlet goes through led to dramatic changes in his character. In the beginning we are introduced to a young man who is mourning for the death of his father and struggling with the sudden marriage of his mother to his uncle. Hamlet faces the dilemma of wanting to avenge his father’s death and suppressing his intense emotions in order to calculate a plan.
William Shakespere 's tragedy of Hamlet is a story of revenge and distress involving Hamlet Jr, the prince of Denmark. The plot of the play focuses on Hamlet 's quest to avenge his father 's death. Hamlet learns that his father did not die accidentally, as the public believed, and that his Uncle Claudius is the one who murdered his father. Claudius then hastily married Hamlet 's mother and became king. Hamlet is an archetypical example of a tragic hero. He starts out as a noble and virtuous character and then confronts challenges that expose his tragic flaws which lead to his downfall. Hamlet 's tragic flaws are making rash decisions as well as being overly contemplative.
Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.
Hamlet, a seventh century story put to life through the amazing writing of Shakespeare, is a play that shows how meticulous and well thought out plans will bring about the desired result. The plays main character, Hamlet, is a Renaissance man that struggles with the corrupt world around him. He must deal with such issues like "blood for blood revenge" when his own uncle kills his father and takes his place as king. A ghost king appears to Hamlet and catalyzes the events that follow in the play. Hamlet must devise a plan to take revenge for his father and bring to justice all the people who have marred the situation.
Hamlet: one of the most analyzed tragic heroes in all of literature. Hamlet, the main character in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is conflicted throughout the whole play. He obsesses over avenging his father’s death, and this leads to rash, irresponsible actions that cause others to suffer, as well. He plans to kill Claudius, his uncle, for murdering his father and then marrying his mother. In an act of outrage, Hamlet unknowingly kills Polonius, the King’s assistant, instead. This creates even more problems because now someone else’s father is dead. Hamlet is somewhat of an inconsistent character; he’s different almost every time we see him. Hamlet displays characteristics of depression, irony, timidity, and being hurt.