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The Main Character in one of the Most Famous Tragedies of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet"

The main character in one of the most famous tragedies of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet"


"Hamlet" is considered to be the one of the most difficult tragedies of William Shakespeare when talking about the complex idea play. The Scandinavian saga about Amlet served as the beginning to the motive of this play. It was preserved in the chronicle item of Saxon Grammatik, Danish chronicler of the XII century, if not taking into account the Greek myth about Orestes.

None of the world literature works caused so many contradictory explanations. The hero of this drama inspired poets and composers, philosophers and political figures. Shakespearean hero became the ardent mouthpiece of the new points of view that were revealed by the epoch of Renaissance. This was the time when foremost minds of the humanity attempted to gain not only understanding of Ancient Art that had been lost within decades of the Middle Ages, but also to restore assurance of people in their own might through neglecting help and favours from the sky above.

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, found out that his father had died not of natural death, but instead Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. He foully murdered him and succeeded to the throne upon the death of his brother. Hamlet swore that he would dedicate his life to taking revenge in the honoured name of his beloved father. Hamlet's nature is filled with the enormous philosophical and vital content. The state of mind, which was typical for many people of Shakespearean epoch, is portrayed through Hamlet's character with the specific force.

Hamlet was a student of the Wittenberg University who was devoured by learning, analyzing and various thoughts. Suddenly, he noticed aspects of life that seemed to be invisible to him all that time.

Hamlet contains gleam of great hope, the intense interest for the future of humanity. His last will was to preserve his injured name in the memory of posterity. When Horatio intended to finish drinking the poison that had remained in the goblet, in order to die right after his friend, Hamlet begged him not to do this. From then on it had been Horatio's debt of honour to tell people about what occurred with Hamlet and why he suffered so much.

Hamlet knows why he has born on this earth, but will he find the strength to carry out his destination? This question relates not to his personal qualities: is he strong or weak, is he sluggish or decisive. Through the entire tragedy, a question is implied not about who Hamlet is, but what is his place in this world. This is the object of difficult meditation and vague guesses.

He is irreconcilable hostile to Claudius. He is disposed in a friendly way to actors. He is rather rough in communication with Ophelia. He is courteous with Horatio. He doubts himself. He acts decisively and rapidly. He is ingenious. He is skillful with the sword. He fears God's penalty. He is blasphemes. He accuses his mother, but loves her at the same time. He is indifferent to the succession to the throne. He recalls the Father-King in his memories with great pride and respect. He thinks and analyzes a lot. He cannot and does not want to hold in control his hate. This rich spectrum of changing colors reproduces the grandeur of his personality. He is destined for the disclosure of human tragedy.

Hamlet is a man of philosophical thought. In sufferings of thought, Hamlet's fate is truthful, demanding, uncompromising. Hamlet's "I accuse" reflects his unbearable position in the concrete world, where all concepts, feeling, connection are distorted, where it seems that time stopped and so it will last an eternity.

He believed in the immortality, admitted the existence of the beyond forces (appearance of shadows), accepted paradise and hell (scene with the king on the prayer - Act III, Scene II), however at the same time expressed blasphemous for the Christian, almost epicurean-materialist thoughts about the human remains.

Hamlet is a synthetic figure of the descending noble of the XVI century, who after losing his social basis, doubted the age-long truth, however did not find a new one, since the new truth is the truth of the class that pulled out the earth from under Hamlet's feet his basics. Strong pressure of this new class it made for him necessary to look critically on the age-long feudal truth, on the truth of the Catholic Church.

Hamlet is a hero with intellect and consciousness. With these characteristics, he stands out from the entire gallery of Shakespearean figures. Only Hamlet possesses deep sensitivity, perfected, educated mind and unshaken morals. He is spectacularly civilized. He is closer to us than all other heroes portrayed by Shakespeare when talking about his might and weakness. It is much easier to get mentally friendly with him. Through him, Shakespeare directly communicates with us. If it is easy to understand and love Hamlet, that is only because to some extend we feel ourselves as Hamlet; if it is sometimes difficult to understand his position, which is only because we did not entirely understand ourselves.







Works Cited
"Hamlet". Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 2006. 13 December 2006. <http://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet >;
"William Shakespeare - Hamlet". The Literature Network. 2006. 13 December 2006. http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/hamlet/;
"Hamlet - William Shakespeare". SoarkNotes. 2006. 13 December 2006. <http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/>.
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Posted by: Kate L. Rizal

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