How Is Hamlet A Tragic Hero

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The “The Tragedy of Hamlet” by William Shakespeare is one of critical success and one of the most well discussed and analyzed plays in literature. Hamlet is set in the late medieval period in Denmark and was written between 1600-1602 in London, England. The protagonist Hamlet feels a responsibility to revenge the death of his father who was murdered by his Uncle Claudius who is now King of Denmark. Hamlet was made aware of who killed his father by a mysterious ghost. Throughout the play Hamlet struggles with whether he can trust the ghost and if killing Claudius is the right thing to do. Hamlet is dark, ironic, passionate, desperate and violent. Hamlet is also a Hero. Unconventional yes. Tragic yes. A character who ultimately is betrayed by a major weakness in himself and who could have avoided his own death were he have to overcome it. Hamlets inability to act and quickly resolve issues leads to his downfall. A tragedy is when a conflict between a protagonist and a superior force meet and disastrous conclusion is the end result . Hamlet being a tragic hero is one who experiences such a conflict because of his own choices and actions. Hamlet displays a combination of good and bad in his character. As first introduced in Act 1 scene 2, Hamlet is seen as young prince mourning the death of his father.
Ophelia meets with him so that Claudius and her father can spy on him. His own mother agrees to talk to him so Claudius can further observe him. Hamlets close friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern align themselves with Claudius and begin to spy on him. Everyone Hamlet had begin to trust has turned on him. Hamlet continues to show a constant dedication to his own morality and continues to build his case for being a tragic hero. This contrasts with the other morality of the other characters around him, who so easily cast Hamlet

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