Essay on Character Analysis of Hamlet

Submitted By Amethyst1234
Words: 1385
Pages: 6
Open Document
One of the many talents of the playwright William Shakespeare was that he broke the limiting mold of the one-dimensional character by representing characters in all of their human complexity. Hamlet, for example, is a compelling character because he is complicated. As Hamlet himself observes early in the play in one of the important quotes from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, “ ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak…/nor customary suits of solemn black,/Nor…forced breath/No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,/Nor the dejected ‘havior of the visage…/with all forms, moods, [and] shapes of grief,/That can denote me truly” (I.ii.77-84). Hamlet insists that he is an individual with many psychological and philosophical facets, though he himself will demonstrate difficulty in understanding and accepting all of his layers. Throughout the course of the play, Hamlet reasserts his complexity and cautions the other characters against reducing him to a single, predictable type. The lesson that Shakespeare conveys, then, is that human beings are both good and bad, and that their complexity should not be negated, but rather explored.

On the one hand, Hamlet is a character who is very much driven by emotion and and impulsive. After his father’s ghost reveals its dark secret to him, Hamlet declares that he will “wipe away all trivial fond records,/All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past/…And thy commandment all alone shall live/Within the book and volume of my brain,/Unmix’d with baser matter” (I.v.99-104). Hamlet understands that he was “born to set [the circumstances of his father’s death] right” (I.v.189), though he curses this responsibility. Hamlet commands Horatio and Marcellus, who witnessed the ghost’s revelation, to avoid acknowledging him, even if they see him “put[ting] an antic disposition on…/with arms [and mind] encumber’d” (I.v.172). Once Hamlet has dedicated himself to this singular task of avenging his father’s death, other people find it increasingly difficult to relate to Hamlet for he has become complex in a way that challenges their former understanding of him. For instance, Polonius finds Hamlet’s responses confusing, and exclaims, “How pregnant sometimes his replies are!” (II.ii.211). Polonius goes on to observe that Hamlet’s speech is confusing because it conveys a “happiness that often madness hits on, which/reason and sanity could not so prosperously be delivered of” (II.ii.212-214).

He is paradoxical and surprising, and, therefore, confounding because he subverts others’ expectations and never reacts with a predictable response to his own emotions or the expectations of other characters. In addition, it is worth noting that it is not only Hamlet’s curious speech that alienates others. Hamlet’s obsessive pessimism also begins to affect all of his relationships and becomes a large part of who he is as a character. In an otherwise superficial conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet insists that Denmark is a prison and that the world itself has become a “foul and pestilent/congregation of vapors” (II.ii.314-315), and he presses the men to explain why they would want to visit him in the place that torments him. Hamlet’s relationship with his mother is also troubling. While he is justified in questioning her decision to marry Claudius before her husband’s corpse has even cooled, Hamlet is sarcastic and demeaning towards her, provoking her to ask “What have I done, that thou darest/wag thy tongue/In noise so rude against me?” (II.iii.37-39). In short, these short, terse, and often sarcastic interactions with other characters help define Hamlet as a pessimistic character and cause the reader to anticipate that his perceptions of events will be, almost always, clouded with this characteristic darkness of tone.

Despite the intensity of his emotion, Hamlet is also contemplative and almost obsessive with respect to details of all sorts. For instance, although Hamlet believes instinctively that Claudius
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Character Analysis of Hamlet

Hamlet Character Analysis Essay

Hamlet Character Analysis The first impression we receive of Hamlet is this grief-stricken prince. He displays a mourning appearance. Hamlet cannot overcome his father’s death, even though everyone around him seems to have gotten over it abnormally quickly. Hamlet's grief develops a tremendous anger in him due to the lack of feeling by those around him, and more significantly, by the cold-hearted actions of his mother, who married her brother-in-law within a few weeks of her husband's death.…

Words 561 - Pages 3

Hamlet Character Analysis Essay

Nicole Ventzke Crystal Jensen 1102 T/H 2/14/11 Hamlet Character Analysis: Hamlet One aspect that makes William Shakespeare’s Hamlet alluring is how he broke the limiting mold of the one-dimensional character by representing characters in all of their human complexity. Hamlet, for example, is a compelling character because he is complicated. As Hamlet himself observes early in the play in, “Tis not alone my inky cloak/nor customary suits of solemn black, /Nor…forced breath/No, nor the fruitful…

Words 1006 - Pages 5

Hamlet Character Analysis Essay

Water is life. “Water is life. It’s the briny broth of our origins, the pounding circulatory system of the world. We stake our civilizations on the coasts and mighty rivers. Our deepest dread is the threat of having too little-or too much.” -Barbara Kingsolver There is not a doubt that the Blue Planet needs more of its blue. However, we are not running out of water, like what the majority of our world assumes. The amount of freshwater on Earth has not changed. It is the very same water the…

Words 736 - Pages 3

Hamlet And Laertes Character Analysis

its just a friendly sword duel between Hamlet and Laertes. However in reality he has planned to kill Hamlet in this duel. In this scene Claudius first befriends Laertes to lower his guard. Then he questions if Laertes truly loved his father, which is playing with his emotions. Claudius then sweet talks Laertes about his skills as a swordsman and uses him to kill Hamlet in a duel. To a large group of people, Claudius pretends to be very happy to hear that Hamlet is feeling better and is excited for…

Words 115 - Pages 1

Hamlet Fortinbraz Character Analysis

In the revenge-tragedy Hamlet, Shakespeare utilizes carefully constructed characters in order to demonstrate the debilitating effects fear can have on an individual. The audience is brought into the life of anxious protagonist-Hamlet as he takes steps towards avenging his father’s death. Although Hamlet is given a clear purpose, the fear of the unknown, more specifically death, distracts him from carrying out the actions required to fulfill his objective. Hamlet is not the only one effected by his…

Words 734 - Pages 3

Hamlet Polonius Character Analysis

perpsective of the character developed from my alternative reading of the Hamlet. Polonius’ character is silenced throughout the play, quite literally when he gets stabbed by Hamlet, and his true intentions were never denoted. My performance is derived from two events within Act 2 Scene 1 of the play; his furtive request for Reynaldo to spy on Laertes, and his reaction to his Ophelia’s story. Hiding behind a mask is a common theme in Hamlet. We can see this through various characters throughout the play;…

Words 1425 - Pages 6

Essay on Hamlet vs. Oedipus

Character Analysis of Prince Hamlet in "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare and Oedipus in "Oedipus King" by Sophocles In Aristotle's literary discourse, "Poetics," he discusses his theory of tragedy, wherein he introduces the concepts of tragic flaw or "hamartia," which serves as the catalyst for the protagonist's downfall or the tragedy of the story to happen. He determines a tragedy as a "drama" that brings about a "sorrowful conclusion, arousing fear and pity in the audience" (Roberts and Jacobs…

Words 904 - Pages 4

Hamlet Betrayal Analysis

Shakespeare play, Hamlet. Many of the characters mislead one another as well as disbelieved their own feelings to certain characters, betraying themselves. The mystery and infidelity of Shakespeare’s characters show that the actions of double-crossing, falseness and let down in the appearance of each character. The relational acts of betrayal in Hamlet provides Shakespeare’s theme of the impossibility of certainty. The apparent act of betrayal in Hamlet is the murder of King Hamlet by his brother,…

Words 788 - Pages 4

Examining Hamlet with Psychoanalytic Lens Essay example

The Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet can be considered one of Shakespeare’s most complex works. Hamlet features a range of themes including revenge and corruption; however, it is through critical analysis that the greatest understanding of the text can be found. Because of the theme of insanity in Hamlet, a popular critical lens associated with the text is the psychoanalytic lens. Using the psychoanalytic lens, the reader examines the psychology of the characters and author through the author’s choices…

Words 330 - Pages 2

Hamlet Essay

Boo! There are many characters that actually appear frequently in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. However, the character of the ghost, which has the appearance of Hamlet’s father, appears only a few times, but its existence cannot be ignored since it takes a huge part in the subsequent progression of the plot. It commands Hamlet to get revenge on Claudius by telling Hamlet the truth behind his father’s death. The existence of the ghost provides the cause of Hamlet’s action, which is basically…

Words 929 - Pages 4