Term Papers on Hamlet As A Tragic Hero

Term Paper Title	Hamlet As A Tragic Hero
# of Words	970
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.88

Hamlet as a Tragic Hero

     William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of the English language,
wrote a total of 37 plays in his lifetime, all of which can be categorized under
tragedy, comedy, or history.  The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare's most popular
and greatest tragedy, displays his genius as a playwright, as literary critics
and academic commentators have found an unusual number of themes and literary
techniques present in Hamlet.  Hamlet concerns the murder of the king of Denmark
and the murdered king's son's quest for revenge.  Its main character, Hamlet,
possesses a tragic flaw which obstructs his desire for revenge and ultimately
brings about his death.  This tragic flaw makes him a tragic hero, a character
who is destroyed because of a major weakness, as his death at the end could
possibly have been avoided were it not for his tragic flaw.  Hamlet's flaw of
irresolution, the uncertainty on how to act or proceed, is shown when Hamlet
sees a play and the passion the actors had, after Hamlet's third soliloquy, in
Hamlet's fourth soliloquy,  and in Hamlet's indecisive pursuit in avenging his
father's death.
     First, Hamlet's flaw of irresolution is shown when he sees a play and
the passion one particular actor had. A group of players has arrived and Hamlet
arranges a personal viewing of The Murder of Gonzago with a small portion of his
own lines inserted.  Hamlet then observes one portion of the play in which one
of the players put on a great display of emotion.  Hamlet, besieged by guilt and
self-contempt,  remarks in his second soliloquy of Hamlet of the emotion this
player showed despite the fact that the player had nothing to be emotional about.
Hamlet observed that he himself had all the reason in the world to react with
great emotion and sorrow, yet he failed to show any that could compare with the
act of the player.  Hamlet calls himself a "rogue and peasant slave" and a "dull
and muddy-mettled rascal" who, like a "John-a-dreams", can take no action.
Hamlet continues his fiery speech by degrading himself and resoluting to take
some sort of action to revenge his father's death.
     Next, Hamlet's flaw of irresolution is shown after his third soliloquy, the
famed "To be or not to be…" lines.  Hamlet directly identifies his own tragic
flaw, remarking of his own inability to act. Hamlet, unsure whether or not the
his uncle Claudius was responsible for his father's murder, schemes to have The
Murder of Gonzago presented to the royal court, with a few minor changes, so its
contents would closely resemble the circumstances behind the murder. Reflecting
on his own guilt, he talks of death, referring to it as the undiscovered country,
and then continues by riddling his own feelings.  He declares "conscience does
make cowards of us all" and that the natural ruddy complexion of one intent, or
resolute, on an action is "sicklied" over with the "pale cast of thought".  This
makes an individual second guess his own actions and often times take no action
at all, due to his own irresolution.  These sta...

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