Chime Dolkar
English 1201
Shakespeare’s title character Hamlet is the protagonist of the play. He is brave and extremely analytical and indecisive. When the Ghost of Hamlet tells Prince Hamlet that his uncle Claudius is the murderer, hamlet becomes obsessed with providing his uncle’s guilt before trying to act. He tries to investigate and then only take any decision. Hence he has a very significant character of hamlet.
Hamlet is a pious character who thinks that suicide is a sin. Since his mother married his uncle after the death of his father, he is angry with her and he feels like committing suicide as he says, “Ah, I wish my dirty flesh could melt away into a vapor, or that God had not made a law against suicide.” (I, ii, 129-132). However, his religious beliefs stop him from doing so. Hamlet believed that suicide was ethically wrong. He is contemplating the thought of suicide and wishing that God had not made suicide a sin. He believes in god and thinks about the consequences of the actions as he says “To be, or not to be? That is the question—Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles," (III, i, 58-61). While he hates the conditions of his life and wishes he could end it, he concludes that he would rather continue living in “an unweeded garden” than live in hell as a consequence of suicide (I, ii, 135). By making the decision to stay alive and fight Claudius' corruption, Hamlet demonstrates existential qualities.
When the ghost beckons Hamlet to follow it out into the night, his companions urge him not to follow. Though he is unaware whether his father’s apparition is truly the king’s spirit or an evil demon, he doesn’t care of his ...
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...ng prayer, he would dishonor his father by sending Claudius to heaven. He says, “A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven. Oh, this is hire and salary, not revenge. He took my father grossly, full of bread, With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May.” (III, iii, 77-82). Hamlets strong religious believe allows indecisiveness to be seen in his character. He thinks too much therefore he is delayed in fulfilling the promise he made to his father. This is showing a weakness in Hamlet.
Hamlet has features that make him significant character. He is very logical who analyses too much that delayed him from completing his revenge. Along with being logical he is also very brave yet indecisiveness. He is a character full of too much thought and not enough action; however, in the end he is able to overcome this flaw.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one of the world’s most revered literature. The main character, Hamlet, is arguably one of the most intriguing characters the playwright ever developed. Hamlet is daring, philosophical, mentally unstable at times, and clever. Throughout the play though, these characteristics change and/or diminish as Hamlet is put through a plethora of unfortunate events. His father is murdered by Claudius, his mother soon after marries Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betray him, and his girlfriend most likely commits suicide. While Hamlet is incredibly philosophical, indecisive, and full of resentment in the beginning of the play, he becomes violent, instinctive, caring and sympathetic towards the end of the play.
In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the main character, Hamlet, possesses qualities and characteristics that shape him into the man he is. Grief stricken and revenge seeking, Hamlet’s true self is displayed through his actions. Hamlet’s love, Ophelia, serves as a foil to his character highlighting his strong mind, coping methods with emotions, and corruption within families.
Arguably, the most blatant characteristic of Hamlet to be revealed through his soliloquies is that of his depressed disposition - seemingly brought on by the pressure of having to take vengeance on his uncle, Claudius, for the murder of his father, King Hamlet. I believe that had it not been for the murder of King Hamlet, Hamlet would not have suffered from such mental anguish. The majority of Hamlet’s soliloquies make reference to such distress, manifested in thoughts of suicide and feelings of helplessness. Hamlet queries: “To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mi...
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare utilizes his ability to use words to paint emotion, the story, and characters into the readers mind. Shakespeare creates the memorable character of Hamlet Junior in his poem, Hamlet, through the characteristics of insanity and madness and suicidal tendencies or thoughts of suicide. His capability of doing so enlarges the ability of the reader to understand the story, but also to construct the storyline.
“For while few of us have murdered fathers to avenge, and not so many adulterous
The death of King Hamlet established a mission to accomplish for the main character of the play. After his visit with the ghost, Hamlet discovered his mission - killing Claudius. However, he was still doubtful if the information he got from the ghost was truthful. The story of Hamlet as the tragic hero who avenges his father's death begins here. Shakespeare has founded the play by displaying Hamlet as a innocent young prince who just lost his father. Furthermore, by indicating that Hamlet's own uncle killed his father, the writer employs pathos so that the audience automatically side with the main character and root for his success.
Our first experience with Hamlet’s tendency to wander into the realm of the abstract comes even before he meets the Ghost. In Act I, Scene iv, as Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus await the spirit, they observe Claudius, who is drunk. His scholarly mind always searching for new intellectual morsels, Hamlet uses the king’s seemingly commonplace actions as the springboard for a discussion of the causes of evil in men. What stands out is how quickly he forgets about practical matters ¾in this case, meeting the spirit of his dead father¾ in order to ponder over a vague, philosophical question. As the play develops, it is this very trait that prevents him from achieving the prompt revenge he has promised.
Foremost, is the character of Hamlet: the causes and effects of his actions, or lack thereof. Hamlet is a very thoughtful person by nature, and often spends more time thinking than acting. However, Hamlet does realize that "...conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought"(III.i.84-85). Although Hamlet recognizes the fact that too much reflection could end poorly, he does it nonetheless. Every situation he is faced with he insists upon planning it out first, and rarely actually acting upon these plans. Additionally, since Hamlet is considered to be a tragedy, there must be a tragic hero. All tragic heroes have some kind of flaw or blemish, which, according to the article "Characters", "Hamlet's weakness may be that he 'thinks too much' and cannot make up his mind. The resulting inactions leads to his death" ("Characters"). Because Hamlet spends so much time pondering his surroundings, he sometimes misses the chance to act on them. This inability to accomplish anything slowly pulls Hamlet to a point where no amount of thought or action could possibly help him. However, at one point in the play Hamlet comes very near to followin...
is revealed in conversation with his mother, is a negative one and that is anger.
Upon examining Shakespeare's characters in this play, Hamlet proves to be a very complex character, and functions as the key element to the development of the play. Throughout the play we see the many different aspects of Hamlet's personality by observing his actions and responses to certain situations. Hamlet takes on the role of a strong character, but through his internal weaknesses we witness his destruction.
Although Hamlet may anger some readers, he is an important character. Hamlet being next in line for the throne makes him an important character because he’s the Prince of Denmark and he will be able to rule once Claudius dies. Since Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark his social standing is higher and the people love him. Hamlet being loved by the people makes him an important character because it puts Claudius in a bind when he discovers that Hamlet knows he murdered King Hamlet. Claudius says, “He’s loved of the distracted multitude, / who like not in their judgement, but their eyes” (IV.iii.4-5).
As often associated with a tragedy, a conflict usually ensues between a protagonist and another force in the play. A tragedy is ‘a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror’ (Webster's dictionary). Given its structure and depth in characterization, this play will or can be analyzed and interpreted from various perspectives and beliefs. However, my analysis of the play is conducted on the basis of various components which are: Hamlet as a tragic hero, the ironic message conveyed in the play, the roles of its characters, the role and personification of madness, the role of paranormality, the role of friends and family, the role of inaction, the role of sex and violence, and the role of death as portrayed in the play. Based on literary definitions and portrayal of his character, there is popular belief that Hamlet as the protagonist acted to satisfy his own conscience but could his actions be attributed purely to his desire or was he being influenced by other factors?
Hamlet’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin. The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality. Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.
The tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most popular and greatest tragedy, presents his genius as a playwright and includes many numbers of themes and literary techniques. In all tragedies, the main character, called a tragic hero, suffers and usually dies at the end. Prince Hamlet is a model example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Every tragedy must have a tragic hero. A tragic hero must own many good traits, but has a flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. If not for this tragic flaw, the hero would be able to survive at the end of the play. A tragic hero must have free will and also have the characteristics of being brave and noble. In addition, the audience must feel some sympathy for the tragic hero.
In writing Hamlet, William Shakespeare plumbed the depths of the mind of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet, to such an extent that this play can rightfully be considered a psychological drama.