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......
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Approximate Word Count: 997
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |