Hamlet
Is Hamlet heroic? Hamlet, the main character of Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet, is an angry man who dazzles the audience with his wicked wit and lust for vengeance. He appears to be mad throughout the whole play, leaving the audience with an uncertain feeling toward him. The answer to the question of rather or not Hamlet was crazy plays a key role in the answer to our main question, is Hamlet heroic? Only when it is known if Hamlet is mad or not can a person find or deny the heroisms in his actions.
So is Hamlet crazy? From the very beginning Hamlet is shows characteristics of being very disturbed. In act I scene two Hamlet expresses his melancholy, “Oh that this too too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into dew! Or that thy Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!” (I. ii. 129- 132). Hamlet speaks on his feelings, telling us of how he wishes to die because of his sorrow. He recently lost his father, and in less than a month his mother has remarried to his uncle. Hamlet feels lost and no one understands. Confused by the incestuous behavior of his mother and hasty marriage, Hamlet thinks there was foul play in his midst. Upon hearing of the appearance of his father’s ghost, he is certain that treachery is to be found somewhere. He states,” My father’s spirit in arms! All is not well; I doubt some foul play:” (I, iii,253-254). The next night he meets with the ghost and it tells Hamlet that he was murdered and “ The serpent that did sting thy fathers life Now wears his crown,” (I, v, 37-38), then he asked Hamlet “ Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxery and damned incest,“ (I. v. 82- 83). Hamlet agreed at once to avenge his father and country. From this point on Hamlet l...
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...ter achieving his goals Hamlet dies. Hamlet seemed to be a sane man with the knowledge to make everyone think he was insane. He showed his sanity through his ability to control himself and make reasonable decisions even when faced with great opportunity.
If Hamlet was sane, like the information I gathered from the text suggested, then his actions prove him to be less than heroic. A man who allows his father’s brother to get away with murdering his father for so long, do to his fear to speak, is not heroic. He is a coward. A noble heroic man would fight for what is right, even if it meant his own life could be lost. Hamlet only acted on behalf of his father when he knew his life was lost either way. Before this time he only contemplated idly over the situation. A hero is a man of noble thought and action not just thought.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, Willaim. Hamlet.
At the opening of the play Hamlet is portrayed as a stable individual . He expresses disappointment in his mother for her seeming disregard for his father's death. His feelings are justified and his actions are rational at this point, he describes himself as being genuine. As this scene progresses it is revealed that Hamlet views himself as being weak: "My father's brother, but no more like my father/ than I to Hercules" (1.2.153) The doubts that Hamlet has concerning his heroism become particularly evident in his actions as the story progresses. These doubts are a major hindrance to his thoughts of revenge.
Hamlet certainly isn't a hero in this play. He exhibits many of his weaknesses that contradict other characters in the play. A hero is a person who shows great courage through his actions and one who is noble and self-sacrificing. He does exhibit courage in parts like when the ghost came and Hamlet followed it, but yet he certainly isn't self-sacrificing. He sacrifices other characters lives to benefit his chance of getting revenge with Claudius. I thought Hamlet was a selfish, self centered, weak and crazy person. How can you call a person a hero after killing friends and family in order to get what one wants?
The question of Hamlet’s insanity is a question raised by many people, is Hamlet a great actor, or has he lost complete sense of what’s real? There is no right answer, there is no wrong answer, many readers have different perceptions on what really was going through Hamlet’s head. My perception is that hamlet comes full circle with his insanity, and at points lets it get the best of him, and brings him down to a extremely low point.
In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet the main character Hamlet experiences many different and puzzling emotions. He toys with the idea of killing himself and then plays with the idea of murdering others. Many people ask themselves who or what is this man and what is going on inside his head. The most common question asked about him is whether or not he is sane or insane. Although the door seems to swing both ways many see him as a sane person with one thought on his mind, and that is revenge. The first point of his sanity is while speaking with Horatio in the beginning of the play, secondly is the fact of his wittiness with the other characters and finally, his soliloquy.
Hamlet can be considered no worse than an eccentric, determined, and possibly single-minded man, who was made so by his father?s murder and his request for revenge. His feigned madness is maintained because it allows him to continue with his plans. This madness is not, however, sustained when guard is unnecessary. Maybe Hamlet thought too much, but he thought as a sane man would. He commits no actions without reason, and he is far too astute and organized to be proclaimed mentally unstable. Hamlet?s portrayal of a madman is also very complex because it allows not only his points to be made, but in a believably insane way, which contrasts greatly with the expected ramblings of a truly insane person.
...g man, looking for revenge for the death of his father. A young man that has gone through hell and back since his fathers death, loosing his love, his mother marrying another man, best friends betraying him, all of which finally lead to his demise. Hamlet shows that he understands real from fake, right from wrong and his enemies from his friends. Even in his madness, he retorts and is clever in his speech and has full understanding of what if going on around him. The characters might have learnt to never trust anyone, because your best friend can be spying on you and your uncle can be your fathers murderer; you should be careful of the people around you. Through all this, Hamlet is able to use common sense, rationalize, and think like that of a normal man. showing his is in fact not crazy. Hamlet acts no more crazy, than any other man would in a situation like that.
Shakespeare 's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his
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...
In act three, he even admits that his actions are insane, horrible and evil. He says, “I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft” (3.4.191). For Hamlet to admit that his actions are mad or insane, is the most insane trait of Hamlet. For him to openly admit that he is fully aware that his actions are mad, only ignites the flame of his insanity. This quote seals the deal for the reader that Hamlets mind is a wasteland of madness, but also of planned insanity and horrible actions.
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.
Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who faces adversity and is destined to murder the individual who killed his father. Hamlet is a character who although his actions and emotions may be one of an insane person, in the beginning of the book it is clear that Hamlet decides to fake madness in order for his plan to succeed in killing Claudius. Hamlet is sane because throughout the play he only acts crazy in front of certain people, to others he acts properly and displays proper prince like behavior who is able to cope with them without sounding crazy, and even after everything that has been going on in his life he is able to take revenge by killing his father's murderer. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare Hamlet is sane but acts insane to fulfill his destiny of getting vengeance on his father's murderer.
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.
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.
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.
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.