To What Extent Is Hamlet A Tragic Hero
Matthew Van Valkenburg Mr. Dabritz College Literature Wednesday, January 21, 2015 Hamlet Essay
A tragic hero is known to be the protagonist of a tragedy that begins high in their society and has a tremendous downfall due to the negative effects of their tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is developed in a character throughout a text due to a quality or character trait that they have that overcomes their normal personality and actions. One tragic flaw that is presented and developed throughout the play Hamlet is the tragic hero’s inability to perform an action when aware of a situation. On the other hand, Hamlet, the protagonist and tragic hero of the revenge tragedy, seems to be very aggressive and does not have a second thought when doing something that he does not know about. Hamlet presents to us the difficulties that he endures when he has a chance to kill the King of Denmark and the new husband of his mother, Claudius. Hamlet explains his feelings to the audience …show more content…
through an aside while watching Claudius on his knees praying:
Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;
And now I’ll do it. And so he goes to heaven,
And so I am revenged. That would be scanned.
A villain kills my father; and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven
Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge!
He took my father grossly, full of bread,
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May;
And how his audit stands, who knows save heaven?
But in our circumstance and course of thought,
‘Tis heavy with him; and I am then revenged,
To take him the purging of his soul, (Shakespeare, Act III Scene III, Lines 76-89)
In this aside to the audience while on stage with the King, Hamlet is claiming that he is going to kill the King while he is down in prayer. Hamlet is explaining the thoughts that are going through his head due to the fact that this man killed his father so that he could marry Hamlet’s mother and become the King to gain the riches and fame. Hamlet is also stating how he would be completely revenged if he was to slain the King for his father. Hamlet’s inability to complete this action of killing the King is shown through this aside because he talks to himself for so long and thinks everything through for enough time that the King and done praying and Hamlet has lost his
chance. Although Hamlet demonstrates a difficulty to finish a task, he also can show a very efficient ability to complete blind tasks, or something that appears that he has no knowledge of or startles him. One example of a blind action performed by hamlet is when he stabs Polonius, “How now? A rat? Dead for a ducat / dead! / [Stabs through the arras and] kills Polonius” (Shakespeare, Act III Scene IV, Lines 27-29). Here, when Hamlet shouts out after being startled by a sound made by Polonius, who was hiding and spying on the conversation between Hamlet and his mother, Hamlet is using his instincts to defend himself and blindly stabs at where Polonius is hiding to defend himself and his mother. Hamlet is able to successfully kill Polonius because he does not know who or what is making the noise and decides to act out without any opportunity to think the situation through. If Hamlet had not performed this action with no information, he might have done differently by pulling the arras to the side to see who it was and might have allowed Polonius to explain himself since he is the father of Ophelia, the girl who Hamlet has had an emotional encounter with. Another example of a blind action performed by Hamlet in the play is when he stabs Laertes after their swords are mixed up in their duel. Hamlet flares at Laertes with a normal strike that would happen in a duel but is unaware that he has switched swords with Laertes who had a sword that was sharpened and has poison applied to the tip. After the two of them, Laertes and Hamlet, have been stabbed and are on the ground in pain, Laertes states:
It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain;
No med’cine in the world can do thee good.
In thee there in not half an hour of life.
The treacherous instrument is in thy hand,
Unbated and envenomned. The foul practice
Hath turned itself on me. Lo, here I lie,
Never to rise again. Thy mother’s poisoned.
I can no more. The King, the King’s to blame. (Shakespeare, Act V Scene II, Lines 333-340)
Laertes explanation here lets Hamlet know that the King had a plan to kill Hamlet and was having Laertes execute it and be the middle man. This proves that Hamlet had performed a blind action when stabbing Laertes with the sharpened and poisoned sword because Hamlet was unaware of the King’s plan and intention to kill him. Thus, it is shown that it is much easier for Hamlet to do something when he is unaware of the situation and just reacts without thinking it through. Hamlet shows his weakness in his ability to follow through with an action that he has planned and thought through in the play. On the other hand, he shows very skilled and consistent action when being put on the spot and doing something without being given time to give it a second thought. Shakespeare sets the play up by letting Hamlet have second thoughts for the most of the play but as the end of the play nears, Hamlet begins to do more and more things without much thought.
A tragic hero is known to be the protagonist of a tragedy that begins high in their society and has a tremendous downfall due to the negative effects of their tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is developed in a character throughout a text due to a quality or character trait that they have that overcomes their normal personality and actions. One tragic flaw that is presented and developed throughout the play Hamlet is the tragic hero’s inability to perform an action when aware of a situation. On the other hand, Hamlet, the protagonist and tragic hero of the revenge tragedy, seems to be very aggressive and does not have a second thought when doing something that he does not know about. Hamlet presents to us the difficulties that he endures when he has a chance to kill the King of Denmark and the new husband of his mother, Claudius. Hamlet explains his feelings to the audience …show more content…
through an aside while watching Claudius on his knees praying:
Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;
And now I’ll do it. And so he goes to heaven,
And so I am revenged. That would be scanned.
A villain kills my father; and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven
Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge!
He took my father grossly, full of bread,
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May;
And how his audit stands, who knows save heaven?
But in our circumstance and course of thought,
‘Tis heavy with him; and I am then revenged,
To take him the purging of his soul, (Shakespeare, Act III Scene III, Lines 76-89)
In this aside to the audience while on stage with the King, Hamlet is claiming that he is going to kill the King while he is down in prayer. Hamlet is explaining the thoughts that are going through his head due to the fact that this man killed his father so that he could marry Hamlet’s mother and become the King to gain the riches and fame. Hamlet is also stating how he would be completely revenged if he was to slain the King for his father. Hamlet’s inability to complete this action of killing the King is shown through this aside because he talks to himself for so long and thinks everything through for enough time that the King and done praying and Hamlet has lost his
chance. Although Hamlet demonstrates a difficulty to finish a task, he also can show a very efficient ability to complete blind tasks, or something that appears that he has no knowledge of or startles him. One example of a blind action performed by hamlet is when he stabs Polonius, “How now? A rat? Dead for a ducat / dead! / [Stabs through the arras and] kills Polonius” (Shakespeare, Act III Scene IV, Lines 27-29). Here, when Hamlet shouts out after being startled by a sound made by Polonius, who was hiding and spying on the conversation between Hamlet and his mother, Hamlet is using his instincts to defend himself and blindly stabs at where Polonius is hiding to defend himself and his mother. Hamlet is able to successfully kill Polonius because he does not know who or what is making the noise and decides to act out without any opportunity to think the situation through. If Hamlet had not performed this action with no information, he might have done differently by pulling the arras to the side to see who it was and might have allowed Polonius to explain himself since he is the father of Ophelia, the girl who Hamlet has had an emotional encounter with. Another example of a blind action performed by Hamlet in the play is when he stabs Laertes after their swords are mixed up in their duel. Hamlet flares at Laertes with a normal strike that would happen in a duel but is unaware that he has switched swords with Laertes who had a sword that was sharpened and has poison applied to the tip. After the two of them, Laertes and Hamlet, have been stabbed and are on the ground in pain, Laertes states:
It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain;
No med’cine in the world can do thee good.
In thee there in not half an hour of life.
The treacherous instrument is in thy hand,
Unbated and envenomned. The foul practice
Hath turned itself on me. Lo, here I lie,
Never to rise again. Thy mother’s poisoned.
I can no more. The King, the King’s to blame. (Shakespeare, Act V Scene II, Lines 333-340)
Laertes explanation here lets Hamlet know that the King had a plan to kill Hamlet and was having Laertes execute it and be the middle man. This proves that Hamlet had performed a blind action when stabbing Laertes with the sharpened and poisoned sword because Hamlet was unaware of the King’s plan and intention to kill him. Thus, it is shown that it is much easier for Hamlet to do something when he is unaware of the situation and just reacts without thinking it through. Hamlet shows his weakness in his ability to follow through with an action that he has planned and thought through in the play. On the other hand, he shows very skilled and consistent action when being put on the spot and doing something without being given time to give it a second thought. Shakespeare sets the play up by letting Hamlet have second thoughts for the most of the play but as the end of the play nears, Hamlet begins to do more and more things without much thought.