Hamlet Tragic Hero Analysis

To be a tragic hero or not to be a tragic hero, that is the question. This phrase is a clash between two very important figures of literature. William Shakespeare an English composer who wrote many well-known plays with Hamlet being the most popular and Aristotle who was a Greek philosopher and well known for his academics who created the expression tragic hero. Combining the work of these two individuals we come to question is Shakespeare’s character Hamlet worthy of Aristotle’s term tragic hero.
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who existed in the 300 BC period. Aristotle’s philosophy was more of a systematic concept of logic. His main objective was to come up with a process of reasoning that would help man learn every possible thing about
reality. Aristotle focused on a system of reasoning but also added the ethics portion along with it. With that being said he used the moral code to help spice up his philosophy. After years of learning and teaching, Aristotle created the term “tragic hero” from his discoveries. When we look at the term tragic hero, we can already see that it has a blend of good and bad. What I mean by that is we have tragic, which most of us would think and see the word as a cause that results in distress or sorrow. Then we have the term hero, which we would see as someone who is admired and idealized. According to Aristotle a tragic hero is also viewed as the protagonist of a tragedy. “A tragic hero states that a tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.” (Aristotle, n/a ).
“Some characteristics that would define a tragic hero includes, pity and fear, relatability, goodness, hamartia, and consistency.” (Wimmer, n/a). While experiencing pity and fear, the actions performed by the hero should move the audience. Tragic heroes must be able to draw out emotions in people. When talking about goodness, Aristotle means that he should be a “good man” meaning he is well-known, have a high reputation, and not overly virtuous. Hamartia, is the term Aristotle used to define a character that has made a bad decision with the result of poor reasoning. And consistency, the behavior of the character should act and speak in a consistent manner that others would see such a person to act and speak. Hamlet is a tragedy play by William Shakespeare about a prince who is visited by the ghost of his father, who then plans to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet the prince of Denmark is the protagonist character in this play. Hamlet is the son of the former King of Denmark and Queen Gertrude, and nephew of present king, Claudius. Claudius had gained power after putting poison down Hamlets father’s ears while he was asleep. Hamlet comes off as an unhappy, resentful and cynical character. Hamlet is a character full of hatred towards his murderous uncle and disappointed in his mother’s choice of marriage.
Long story short, the tragedy of Hamlet is mainly about life. As stated before, Hamlet is a prince and he faces an unusual situation, however the pain and emotions he gains, make or break him as a human. Hamlet has to deal with evil, in this case his Uncle Claudius. His friends and even his own mother are no help in this situation. Hamlet begins to develop another character within him to help determine what actions are right in his case. Hamlet’s initial plan was to host a play reenacting the murder of his father and expose his uncle, however it did not go too well. From there on, every perfect opportunity for Hamlet was put off as if he was hoping a better chance was coming up. Hamlet himself also murdered a couple characters in the process of getting what he wanted. Those characters include Ophelia the woman who loved him, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern the two men sent to kill Hamlet, Laertes, Ophelia’s brother. After the deaths of those characters Hamlet was able to kill his uncle and die in peace.
There are many scenes and actions of Hamlet that prove he is a tragic hero.
The first happens in Act I, Scene 5 when Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father and gains the motivation avenge his fathers murderer, his uncle. “Haste me to know ’t, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.” (Greenblatt, 1096). This scene shows that Hamlet is awaiting an explanation from the ghost so he can take revenge upon the murderer. After being encouraged by the ghost, Hamlet begins to plan his method to kill Claudius. Another proof that Hamlet is a tragic hero is his through his skill of speech and language. “I shall speak daggers to her, but use none.” (Greenblatt, 1127). In this scene Hamlet exchanges conversations with Ophelia by using his power of speech. This quote also shows power because Hamlet’s actions did not persuade Ophelia to commit suicide it was his verbal act. Hamlet uses speech and language to get what he desires. He simply achieves his actions through the way he utilizes his
words.
When comparing Hamlet to Aristotle’s characteristics we can say that he fills most of them perfectly. For pity and fear, the initial actions planned had moved the audience as Hamlet plans to avenge his father. Hamlet shows relatability through his shift through characters within himself. Hamlet tries to act crazy but it eventually comes out and he can no longer control his insanity. Hamlet has goodness in him. Despite his insanity, he is a good man, comes from a good reputation, and does a good deed. For hamartia, Hamlet has made bad decisions for his own purpose, but he was able to make the right decision after. And for consistency, Hamlet throughout the play was somewhat a consistent character. He started off acting, as people would expect him to act until he tried to act insane. Hamlet is a character who can go both ways, you can see him as a tragic hero and you can also see him as the complete opposite.
Some believe that Hamlet is a tragic hero; there are also a number of individuals who would agree that Hamlet is not a tragic hero.
Some will say Hamlet is just a regular man who becomes corrupted and evil throughout the play. Hamlet comes off as a villain. He acts to fate in a way a normal, non-heroic character would act. The emotions that he shows are much more intense than physical appearance. With heavy emotions Hamlet takes on the thoughts of suicide, which most people would say is a hero less act. If we look at the play once more, the actions he took were not just for him; he did it for a man he loved, his father. Can we not say that he suffered much more than he should have to bring justice? Hamlet is a selfless
character. In conclusion, Hamlet has proven himself to be worthy of a tragic hero. Despite his insanity and some of his poor decisions, he fulfilled his duties as a prince and did what would bring him peace. Unfortunately like Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero states, “…makes a judgment error that leads to his/her own destruction,” Hamlet had to end his story. However, we can remember Hamlet as a “good man” by bringing justice for his father. Hamlet has proven to himself that