Hamlet Is Real
Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!
Prince Hamlet is the central character in William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and most of the events of the play unfold around him as he struggles with tragedy and death, and tries to right what is terribly wrong. As one of Shakespeare’s most famous characters, Hamlet epitomises the tragic hero. He comes from noble birth, struggles with internal conflict, and his tragic flaw eventually leads to his downfall. Hamlet has the potential for greatness being a character that is intelligent and introspective, but ironically it is this insight that eventually destroys the character. His intelligence and overthinking seem to paralyze him to the point of inaction and it is this inability …show more content…
This is Hamlet’s intelligence working against him. He perseverates on the ghost and whether it is real. Hamlet avoids the real issue which is that he should be focusing on Claudius and his betrayal. When he does hatch a plan to catch Claudius and he gets solid proof that Claudius is guilty by his reaction to a play, Hamlet states, “O good Horatio, /I’ll take the ghost’s word for athousand pound./ Didst perceive?” (3.2.282-283). This is the point at which the audience thinks he will finally be spurred into action. But when he gets the opportunity in Act 3 to kill Claudius he again is unraveled by his own thoughts and makes an excuse as to why the time is not appropriate, “To take him in the purging of his soul, /When he is fit and seasoned for his passage [to heaven]? No!” (3.3. 88-90). Hamlet sits, unable to act because his thoughts make him indecisive and hesitant. At this moment he is poised to seek revenge but he also wants fair retribution does not want the possibility of Claudius going to heaven. He hesitates in this moment and rationalizes rather than acts. This could be because he himself is a man of moral character and is unable to commit the crime of
Prince Hamlet is the central character in William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and most of the events of the play unfold around him as he struggles with tragedy and death, and tries to right what is terribly wrong. As one of Shakespeare’s most famous characters, Hamlet epitomises the tragic hero. He comes from noble birth, struggles with internal conflict, and his tragic flaw eventually leads to his downfall. Hamlet has the potential for greatness being a character that is intelligent and introspective, but ironically it is this insight that eventually destroys the character. His intelligence and overthinking seem to paralyze him to the point of inaction and it is this inability …show more content…
This is Hamlet’s intelligence working against him. He perseverates on the ghost and whether it is real. Hamlet avoids the real issue which is that he should be focusing on Claudius and his betrayal. When he does hatch a plan to catch Claudius and he gets solid proof that Claudius is guilty by his reaction to a play, Hamlet states, “O good Horatio, /I’ll take the ghost’s word for athousand pound./ Didst perceive?” (3.2.282-283). This is the point at which the audience thinks he will finally be spurred into action. But when he gets the opportunity in Act 3 to kill Claudius he again is unraveled by his own thoughts and makes an excuse as to why the time is not appropriate, “To take him in the purging of his soul, /When he is fit and seasoned for his passage [to heaven]? No!” (3.3. 88-90). Hamlet sits, unable to act because his thoughts make him indecisive and hesitant. At this moment he is poised to seek revenge but he also wants fair retribution does not want the possibility of Claudius going to heaven. He hesitates in this moment and rationalizes rather than acts. This could be because he himself is a man of moral character and is unable to commit the crime of