Heroes in literature and history, more often than not, meet tragic ends, unless they were created by Walt Disney. These particular people are often seen as someone who is apart from the masses in morals and attempt to accomplish a higher calling for the common good. The problem with this type of hero is that they are destined for suffering.Two such characters exist in classic literature, Winston Smith of George Orwell’s 1984 and Hamlet of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” Hamlet is the true classic tragic hero, though, because he is of noble birth, possesses high moral standards, completes the task he is given to better the world, and causes tragedy in both his life and the lives of others. Traditionally, a tragic hero is one who is of noble or high birth. Hamlet himself is a prince while Winston Smith, in respect to the social hierarchy of Oceania, would be considered only a middle class citizen. Merely the fact that Hamlet is a prince does not mean that this title alone describes a hero, but rather a hero can describe the title. “Hamlet’s appeal derives from his youth, intelligence, charm, vulnerability, and above all, his intellectual and emotional honesty. He is a raw nerve n the Danish court, disconcertingly liable to make the instinctive rather than the conditioned response” (Wells 315). Traditionally those who are born into a world of higher class society and rebel against it tend to be the more concerned with the needs of others and sympathize with them. Those born of a lower class tend to be concerned with their own welfare and raising their standing in society. The morality of the hero also plays a key role in the nature of his heroism. Hamlet holds himself to high moral standards and ethics. “We, the ... ... middle of paper ... ...ty and Literature 40.2 (Winter 1991): 157-167. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 171. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Orwell, George. 1984. New York: New American Library, 1949. Print. Scott, Mark W. ed. Shakespeare for Students book I. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992. 72-163. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Literature and Composition. Ed. Carol Jago, et. al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 720-830. Print. Tiffany, Grace. "Hamlet, Reconciliation, and the Just State." Renascence 58.2 (Winter 2005): 111-133. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 102. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Wells, Stanley. “William Shakespeare.” British Writers Vol. 1. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1979. 295-334.
Hamlet is of noble birth but there is nothing else extraordinary about him. Unlike Oedipus, he had not saved a kingdom; he just happened to be born a prince. In tragedies the protagonists are usually of the nobility to make their falls seem greater. However, Aristotle said "What is finally important is not so much the protagonist's social stature as a greatness of character..." (1117).
I learned that Hamlet is an unlikely hero. This is because he is not courageous, he is not brave, but he is the “hero” of the story. Hamlet, hesitates the request of his father, justifying the third step in the Hero’s
...world hope that they don't have to be incredibly gifted just to be a hero. Hamlet and Prospero show that things go wrong and you have to try to set them right. Morality is unfortunately diminishing in our time and stories like these help to bring forward those long lost emotions. Man never truly loses those emotions, he simply must be reminded of them.
...s: Claudio, Prospero, and Hamlet experienced moral judgments and dilemmas and then they made choices which were considered as virtuous. However, the morality of those three characters are all different in a way. For example, Claudio’s penance for his mistakes, Prospero’s forgiveness to his enemies, and Hamlet’s evasion from his revenge. It was very fascinated to see all different kinds of morality, whether brave or week, on the Shakespeare’s stage.
In many works of Literature, a character comes forth as a hero, only to die because of a character trait known as a tragic flaw; Hamlet from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Okonkwo from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and Winston Smith from Orwell’s 1984 all exhibit that single trait, which leads, in one way or another, to their deaths. These three tragic heroes are both similar and different in many ways: the way they die, their tragic flaws, and what they learn. All three characters strongly exhibit the traits needed to be classified as a tragic hero.
Clark, W. G. and Wright, W. Aldis , ed. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. 1. New York: Nelson-Doubleday
Shakespeare portrays the protagonist, Hamlet, as someone with a great emotional and physical capacity for self-sacrifice. Burdened with a heroic task of avenging his father’s murder, Hamlet chooses to put on an “antic disposition”. This leads him to willingly transform his identity by altering his values, beliefs and his self-image. Hamlet also chooses to sacrifices true love for Ophelia, his right to freely express himself, and ultimately his life as well. Shakespeare shows how an individual, when burdened by a difficult task, will sacrifice anything including his own life for the purpose of fulfilling that goal.
Dominic, C. Catherine. Shakespeare's Characters for Students. Detroit - New York -Toronto - London: Gale Research, 1997.
The puzzling tragedy that is Hamlet will forever be speculated, which is why it has attracted such attention and praise. The madness in which Hamlet lives draws decisions of polarizing weight. Stay righteous and live out your life with your father’s killer? Or do you slay him and suffer before god and the law? It bears moments of wisdom, followed by inexplicable actions and Vis versa. One moment you find the protagonist staring at his girlfriend with his pants at his ankles, the next you find him contemplating the value of life. It’s hard to determine what the message behind the wildcard character that Hamlet is. William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet” unravels opposing subjects, superstition instead of righteousness, private revenge or public revenge; it portrays the contradictions emerging in the religious revival of the Renaissance as “Christian humanism” was taking form in Western Europe. An aspect of the play reveals and mocks the hypocrisy of the kingdoms as they exert authority and pose as the ideal of religion. The king is a murderer who prays to god without belief. The one who attempts to remain righteous is an outcast amongst his kingdom. The biggest speculation is drawn on the rectitude of revenge. Does Hamlet have the right to kill his uncle? If so, does Laertes then have the right to kill Hamlet? Is Fortinbras the only exception of just revenge when he is motivated by honor, while the others rage over personal revenge? In the wake of these quarrels, the most evident and obvious Christian Humanist belief is held true...evil never wins. The punishment of those who died in Hamlet is virtuous and deserving. Those who stooped to treachery suffered the consequence.
Will Hamlet avenge his father’s death? Who killed King Hamlet? Is Hamlet really mad? These are the things that keeps the reader intrigued throughout Hamlet. Throughout Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, is shown to be the tragic hero of the play. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. A Greek philosopher, by the name of Aristotle, said that any tragic hero must have a tragic flaw. Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero because of the many tragic flaws he has. Hamlet also experiences suffering in the play and he also learns lessons. The tragic hero is an important character; without one, there wouldn’t be a tragic play.
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.
Morality is a remarkable dispute of a person’s actions within one’s own mind. Typically, everyone in the human species possesses a sense of their own regards to the matter of positive or negative outcomes. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character faces a vast majority of internal struggles throughout his story. Hamlet is surrounded by tragedy and betrayal. Hamlet’s endeavors in the play coincide with those of a modern day soldier. Hamlet’s character relates to a soldier on the aspects of honor and murder, but they differ in their sense of morality.
Hamlet’s wit and play of words deceits everyone. He seems to be philosophical and existential being with a certain interest to the meaning of life. Many may see him as the tragic hero fighting against a superior force. This image of a tragic hero seems to be just a façade. Although there can be many reason why he may be seem as a tragic hero he is corrupted by those around him making him evil.
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 fits the profile of a tragic hero because he is presented with a straightforward mandate from the ghost, the spirit of his father, and instead of devoutly pursuing his father’s revenge he differs the task to a later time. The ghost convinces Hamlet that in order for his soul to rest peacefully, Claudius must be slain. With this in