ipl-logo

Hamlet Tragic Hero Essay

646 Words3 Pages

Are you familiar with Davy Jones, Romeo Montague, and Oedipus Rex? They were the true definition of tragic heroes. Each one came from a high standing in their realm of life and fell to defect of their own. Many insist on arguing whether Hamlet is a tragic hero or not, but he fits the description very well. According to Greek philosopher, Aristotle, a tragic hero is someone who is highly renowned and prosperous. They must also fall from tremendous good fortune. Hamlet was born the prince of Denmark during the late medieval ages. A prince is first in line to become the king. In this time period, the King claimed ownership of the land and granted the land to important nobles - these nobles then pledged their loyalty by swearing to serve and protect …show more content…

Aristotle says, “By the end of the play, the tragic hero comes to recognize his or her own error and to accept its tragic consequences.” The real heroes do not blame anyone but themselves. They are mortified by the experience, but the sequence of events makes the character more knowledgeable. Hamlet's tragic flaw is settling for fate. Throughout the text, nothing goes his way. His father dies before the story begins. He finds out that his uncle killed him. His friends from school spied on him. Laertes and Fortinbras want to kill him. His one true love drowned by a lake. Aristotle says, "… and at the same time the tragic hero will be found at the heart of a number of unrelated problems." All these happened within months, and after every tragedy, Hamlet reacted in the worst way possible.. The fact that he could not control his fate drove him to make alternate resolutions to his problems. These decisions ultimately lead to Hamlet's death.
Aristotle wrote, "..
Hamlet contains every key factor of a tragic hero. He was the son of Hamlet, King of Denmark, which makes him a prince. He had an uncommon tragic flaw, but it was indeed one. Hamlet had a problem facing fate. He always had to retaliate to make himself feel better. Hamlet's actions also shows us that he wasn't saint, but he wasn’t a full a complete male factor. Hamlet was a true tragic

Show More
Related

  • How Are Oedipus And Hamlet Alike

    1126 Words  | 5 Pages

    He is a great person and being loved by others. He is a hero, a tragic one that fits Aristotle’s definition. Throughout most scholars note, it is Hamlet’s mistake to act quickly that caused the demolition of most character in the story. But having to live at his time, Hamlet thought killing the king wrongfully would cause his eternal life. And that ghost were evil spirits and were sent to disturb the lives of the living.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Tragic Heroes In Inherit The Wind By Jerome Lawrence

    1115 Words  | 5 Pages

    Tragic heroes are characters that make judgement errors that leads to their downfall or destruction. The tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet is a prime example of a tragic hero. Shakespeare portrayed Romeo and Juliet as victims that captured the audience's hearts. The book Inherit the wind written by Jerome Lawrence, and Robert E. Lee, is no love story, and the main character Matthew Harrison Brady is no Romeo; however Brady does meet Aristotle's criteria to be considered a tragic hero.

    Read More

  • Dynamic Character In Hamlet

    755 Words  | 4 Pages

    Of all the characters in Hamlet, the most dynamic and interesting character is Hamlet. From his good qualities to his bad qualities, Hamlet epitomizes a tragic hero. The characteristics that make Hamlet who he is are also the ones that lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. Hamlet is passionate about his family, which is a good and a bad quality. From the beginning of the play, Hamlet displays complete grief over the death of his father.

    Read More

  • Tragic Hero In Fences

    1105 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ancient greece evoked many things, and one of them was tragic hero. Tragic hero is someone who can be noble, tragic flaw, reversal of fortune, suffers, recognition, and catharsis. Noble, is someone that is important, they have a high status, and hold an official title. Reversal of fortune is when someone’s life is good at the beginning and ends up being bad or someone life is bad and ends up good. Suffering, is someone who is feeling pain and hurting.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Hero's Journey Analysis

    1112 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hamlet and the Hero’s journey Hamlet so much related to the Hero’s journey design which was adopted by Joseph Campbell’s monomyth journey and the two are in fact so inseparable. When analyzing the play Hamlet, one thinks that Campbell was using the plays so as to make the theory. This is a character arc and which is divided into five -act structure and which goes up to twelve steps. The ordinary world is the place where the character exists before he is called, and he is not aware of anything going on around him.

    Read More

  • Romeo Tragic Hero Analysis

    812 Words  | 4 Pages

    A tragic hero is somebody that makes a design or has a flaw in how they act that will lead to their destruction. The play Romeo and Juliet is one of the greatest known plays know in the history of playwriting like many of Shakespeare 's plays this one is a tragedy. With all tragedies, there is a tragic hero, in this story this person is Romeo. In this play Romeo is the tragic hero because he fits all of the criteria of a tragic, hero, his flaws lead to his destruction some of those being emotionally driven, he is impulsive and immature. The first reason why Romeo is a tragic hero is that he is emotionally driven.

    Read More

  • Hamlet And Julie Tragic Hero

    1771 Words  | 8 Pages

    Firstly, it has to be an individual of a relatively high socio-economic status, they also have to be generally good and beloved. They have to be relatable to the intended audience and reflect the audience 's deepest fears and desires. Lastly, a tragic hero must possess a fatal flaw, a hamartia, which triggers their tragic fall from grace. The tragic hero is portrayed as both the hero and the victim, usually victimized by their own flaw as much as by their unfortunate circumstance. Both Hamlet and Julie exhibit all of these elements, whether by author 's intention or not as will be addressed further

    Read More

  • To What Extent Is John Proctor A Tragic Hero

    570 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Proctor: Tragic Hero or not? By definition a Tragic Hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error or come in contact with a fatal flaw that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. John Proctor, a farmer in the play The Crucible, is debated as a tragic hero. John Proctor suffers from a tragic flaw that leads to his demise, that fatal flaw is his excessive pride.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Hamlet's Indecisiveness

    628 Words  | 3 Pages

    Like many things, Hamlet is intelligent and honorable, but his indecisiveness is the cause of his tragic downfall. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare portrays that Hamlet is very incapable of finishing the task at hand. Throughout the drama Hamlet faces many trials and tribulations due to his late father Hamlet, who was murderously killed by Claudius. His inability to kill Claudius and himself is one grand flaw of an epic hero. After King Hamlets passing, Hamlet entered an unknown state of mind that not only feared others for his wellbeing, but also feared himself.

    Read More

  • Moral Ambiguity In Hamlet

    932 Words  | 4 Pages

    Due to Hamlet dismissing all of his moral behavior and not caring about what is right or wrong changes the whole direction of Hamlet’s character. This leads to the entire demise of the royal family who is left slain on the floor dead by the end of the play. Although Hamlet’s behavior ends up killing multiple people who were not even meant to die, discourages readers from identifying him as purely evil or purely good--which is the true definition of an ambiguous character. Hamlet was not trying to be purely evil, he was only trying to seek revenge for his beloved father. Furthermore, Hamlet ends up dying in the end of the play after fighting and killing Laetres and Claudius, who had created a plan to slay Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Indecisiveness In Hamlet

    1921 Words  | 8 Pages

    Hamlets tragic flaw is his indecisiveness to make decisions. This trait is demonstrated through the entire play and causes Hamlet to his own demise. When Hamlet has immediate suspicious of his fathers murder and later proof, he delays the murder, which is puzzling because the play is about revenge, and one would expect him to have done it earlier as he had ample amount of opportunities to do so. His indecisiveness has puzzled many.

    Read More

  • Is Hamlet A Hero

    887 Words  | 4 Pages

    In William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet, the most heroic and brave character is young Hamlet. Despite the fact Hamlet is stranded amidst a court filled with dishonesty and misconduct and is confronted by the death of his father and his mom 's relatively quick marriage to his father 's brother, he is viewed as daring and bold in the minds of readers. For, it is his courageousness, fearlessness, determination and bravery that proves that Hamlet is not only a strong willed individual but also the most heroic character in the play. " But two months dead…my poor father’s body…why she married with my uncle, my father’s brother, but no more like my father…But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" (

    Read More

  • Hamlet Strengths And Weaknesses

    1844 Words  | 8 Pages

    Hamlet is William Shakespeare 's renowned tale of mystery, intrigue, and murder, centered on a young misguided prince who can only trust himself. Some may say that the actions of Prince Hamlet throughout the play are weak and fearful, displaying a tendency to procrastinate and showing an apathetic nature towards his family and peers. Others spin a tale of a noble young scholar, driven mad by the cold-blooded murder of his father by his uncle. In truth, I believe Hamlet is neither of these things. Hamlet is a sort of amalgamation of the two, a bundle of contradictions thrown together into one conflicting but very human mess of a character.

    Read More

  • Strengths And Weaknesses Of Hamlet

    880 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through the entirety of the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, the characters were overcome with the need for revenge as the outcome of many deaths. Therefore, no one was happy through “Hamlet” and it resulted in a tragedy. The character Hamlet played a big role in turning towards revenge and never would classify himself as being happy. Hamlet displays positive and negative behavior throughout the play. Hamlet exhibits strengths and weaknesses as well, although his weaknesses of over-thinking, bitterness, and his inability to accept the death of his father overshadow his strengths.

    Read More

  • Essay On Hamlet As A Tragic Hero

    943 Words  | 4 Pages

    A tragic hero is a multifaceted, admirable character with a tragic flaw that turns his life from glory into suffering. Hamlet is an example. ‘Born’ personality, shifting mentality, and inevitable fate leads to its tragedy which eventually triggers audience’s pity. Unlike other tragedies where tragic heros discover the truths by their own actions at the end of the story, realizing that the reversal was brought by their own actions. Hamlet begins differently by knowing the truth from things happening to him.

    Read More

More about Hamlet Tragic Hero Essay

Open Document