Essay on The Ideal Hero in Shakespeares Hamlet - 1632 Words

Hamlet is not like the other tragic heroes of his period. He stands apart from other Shakespeares heroes because of his innocence. Perhaps this supposed tragic hero is an ideal hero - one without the tragic flaw. The tragic flaw has been a part of the formula for the tragedy since the Golden age of Greece. The main, and, most often, the only flaw that has been attributed to Hamlet is his delay. This seems to constitute the central part in Hamlet. Critics seem to cling to this detail, as if trying to save the status of Hamlet as a typical Elizabethan tragedy of revenge. By the definition of tragedy, there should exist a flaw in the character of the main hero, who is a great personality that is engaged in a struggle that ends†¦show more content†¦Being a loyal prince and son, and one whom entire kingdom respected, he should seek revenge and bring justice back in the royal court. The whole play would be very simple if this murdered was an open assassination. But no, Shakespear e made sure that this assassination was secret, that no one, except maybe Claudius, knew about it. This puts in a completely different context the play that was written by Thomas Kyd, a play titled Ur-Hamlet, which Shakespeare used as a basis for his Hamlet (Grebanier, 111).This way, Shakespeare accomplished very different development of action, and ultimately one of the best plays in the history. Along with that, Shakespeare created disagreement concerning reasons why Hamlet waited so long before killing Claudius. A careful reader can notice that more than two months pass between Hamlet being told by the Ghost about the evil deed, and Hamlet following through his plan. One can argue that from this follows that Hamlet procrastinated, having that one flaw - being passive, not daring to act. But Shakespeare never payed attention to this time interval. An audience wasnt aware of it, because Shakespeare didnt want it to be - the rather large time interval was of no consequence, and truly one cannot notice this without a conscious calculation (Grebanier, 179). More critics, especially during popularity of Freud, have tried to explain Hamlets delay exclusively fromShow MoreRelatedAnti-Idealism In Shakespeares Hamlet1563 Words   |  7 Pageshe calls William Shakespeare â€Å"our great de-idealizing author.† In his book, Edmundson examines the ideals of the ancient world and how they have been lost in the modern world. In one section of the introduction to his novel he analyzes S hakespeare’s works and how they function as a shift between these two worlds. Specifically, he examines Shakespeare’s rejection of the â€Å"religious ideal [and] the ideal of contempt,† as well as his use of skepticism and â€Å"uncertainties, mysteries, and doubts without drivingRead MoreEssay about Greek Tragedy Exemplified in Shakespeares Hamlet1191 Words   |  5 PagesGreek Tragedy Exemplified in Shakespeares Hamlet For several thousands of years, drama has existed among mankind. The ancient Greeks are accredited with the creation of drama, which began as simple religious rituals and eventually evolved into the more complex forms of tragedies and comedies. The first rules of drama, not surprisingly, were also written by a Greek--the famous philosopher and intellectual, Aristotle. Aristotle took note of the what qualities created a successful dramatic pieceRead More Hamlet, why did he delay Essay1626 Words   |  7 Pageswell, Shakespeares ability to provoke feeling and reaction to his writing is also what sets him apart from other common writers. 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Rational Horatio despite his fear of ghosts finds the strength to not only challenge the ghost but also protect Barnardo and Marcellus. Even ruthless Old King Hamlet accepts the challenge and ba ttles Norway