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Is Hamlet A Hero Or A Villain Essay

677 Words3 Pages

When can people see as a hero and as a villain based on their actions? Sometimes when a person is looking become a hero, it can lead them to be perceived as a villain to because other people’s ideas of heroic acts aren’t the same as others. The titular character from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet often thought he was involved in a heroic plot but came across as a villain, such as the murder of Polonius, the murders of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, when involuntarily involved in Laertes’s murder, and when Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius while he is praying.

When Hamlet, prince of Denmark, confronted his mother, Queen Gertrude of Denmark about her involvement with Claudius who is the new King of Denmark after killing Hamlet’s father King …show more content…

This is an act of villainy because Hamlet didn’t know that Laertes’s sword was poisoned which means that Hamlet wounds Laertes out of anger, and would mean that Hamlet would be seen again as a murder to the people of Denmark. This again shows that Hamlet could be considered to many as a villain instead of in Hamlet’s mind a hero.

When Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius while he is praying, he stops himself and which could be seen as the most active part of Hamlet’s villainous trait stops himself from killing Claudius. Hamlet justifies this action because in his mind Claudius would be sent to heaven and decides that if he is to kill Claudius if needs to happen when Claudius is committing a sin (III, iii, 74-97). When Hamlet decides this it truly reveals himself as a villain because he is scheming to send Claudius to a place worse than purgatory.

When people's ideas of a heroic act differ from others, people can be seen as a villain while they are looking to become just the opposite. This is revealed in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet where the titular character Hamlet murders Laertes, Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and when he doesn’t murder Claudius while he is

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