The Archetypes In Hamlet

We all know the famous soliloquy of “to be or not to be,” performed in Hamlet, but aside from the well-known and well-respected parts of the story, what more is there to explore? Well, every good story must also include a hero and a villain, right? But what exactly constitutes those umbrella terms of “hero” and “villain?” Born into royalty? A sort of dramatic trauma in the character’s past? All of these characteristics fall into the category of the archetype, and in Hamlet, the archetypes of the hero, the villain, the outcast, and the father figure are all met. Simply put, an archetype is a stereotypical idea of a person or thing in literature or film, or something that is universally recognizable as a symbol. In Hamlet, a central archetype is the “hero,” and Prince Hamlet is able to fit this archetype by fulfilling the criteria of having experienced a traumatic event in the past and his desire to achieve a goal for the betterment of society. It is revealed early in the play that Hamlet’s father was murdered and Hamlet attempts to figure out who killed his father,
Since outcasts are members of society that have more or less been “othered” or alienated due to their desire to live inside their own heads and prefer to be alone, Hamlet very well fits this mold. He tends to be lonely, with his company mainly found from his friend, Horatio, and later a love interest named Ophelia. Part of this aspect of Hamlet is due to his conflicting thoughts and feelings with the rest of society, as he is very sexist when speaking to Ophelia, glorifying her body over her personality and questioning her thoughts and feelings. Another note of Hamlet’s tendency to be an outcast is that he is frequently self-loathing and has suicidal thoughts, thus leading to his