At the beginning of the play, Hamlet, the son of Hamlet, the king or in other words, Hamlet, the prince, is introduced to the reader as being a university student who had been studying at Wittenberg. He has had to leave his studies to go and attend to the death of his father in Denmark. Although he was very loyal and loved his father so much, he gets disappointed when he gets home and finds that his uncle Claudio, has married his mother, Gertrude. His love for his father comes out when even Claudio realizes that Hamlet was sad, he uses the words, “the clouds still hangs,” to describe the mourning state that Hamlet was still under. At this point, Hamlet was wearing some dark clothes that symbolized he was in a mourning mood. To emphasize the love he had for his departed father, he replies that the sorrows he had were so much that even his mourning clothes just gave a glimpse of the real picture (Shakespeare 68). However, he remains composed and does not viciously react to this fact though he feels very bad about his uncle, Claudio, marrying his mother and taking over the throne which he was supposed to inherit as the prince.
This act the play also portrays an important characteristic trait of Hamlet, he shows devotion to finding some realities in what he believes in, we can simply state that Hamlet is a philosopher. For example, Hamlet speaks some philosophical ideas; he says that “there is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it be so.” With this statement, Shakespeare reveals the existentialist nature of Hamlet; he believes that human beings are at will to decide their own destiny; hence, they can also decide what is bad and what is good. The main reason why he leaves for Denmark is that he wants to avenge his father’s death, this is because he believes that someone must have had a hand in his death. When he gets home, a ghost that has been persistently appearing to Horatio, the watchman, appears to him. Although initially he does not want to believe that the ghost was his father, he finally believes this and agrees with what the ghost said to him that his uncle Claudio was responsible for the death of his father (Shakespeare I.V.25). At this moment, we see the superstitious side of Hamlet; he believes that ghosts can exist and even believes what the ghost says.
The second aspect of him being philosophical is that even though there is a tragic event that has happened and has really affected him negatively, he stays composed and works his plans strategically trying to unravel the truth about his father’s death. However, he also comes out as a very contemplative character, when he is first approached by Horatio about the ghost, which Horatio tells him is his father. He quickly rubbishes this off, but he contemplates a bit and changes his mind, he tells Horatio that he wants to see the ghost himself.
Hamlet also appears as a queer and unique character who is difficult to understand and predict. He, therefore, challenges the other characters who interact with him a lot. In the first instance, Hamlet looks fully in agreement with the ghost that Claudio killed his father. He looks poised to just confronting Claudio and taking his revenge. He, however, does the most unpredictable thing, he decides to let the matter rest a bit and instead, still seeks to find evidence that it was Claudio that was responsible for his father’s death. Also in act one scene II, Hamlet seems to agree with King Claudio and her mother that he should stay closer to home, and the King even promises to celebrate this in the king’s rouse. However, when Hamlet is alone, he fervently complains and even contemplates suicide, he asks the question, “to be or not to be” (Shakespeare III.i.58). In his mind, he wishes God had not considered the commitment of suicided a sinful act. His outrage about his mother marrying his uncle who he considers inferior also shows a sharp contrast to what he portrays when in the presence of people.
Even though the Hamlet believes the ghost and they agree that he will avenge the death of his father and that Claudio, his fathers’ brother is responsible, Hamlet portrays a character of being adamant. He does not take the ghost’s word at face value neither does he act on it. We see him trying further to ascertain that it is really Claudio who had killed his father. He reorganizes a play that he intends to use to help in the revelation of who killed his father. In the play, he has laid a trap for the suspect Claudio, and he wants to capture the attention of the King (Shakespeare III.i.582). Through this play, Hamlet had set the scene that would provoke reactions from the King since the play portrayed similar scenes as the events that had led to the death of King Hamlet. In act three scene two, we see the king finding himself into Hamlet’s trap, he actually reacts to the part of the play that shows Lucianus pouring poison in the years of Gonzago, the Duke if Vienna and marrying the queen, Baptista. The king orders for the play to stop, and Hamlet proves his point that it was Claudio who actually killed his father as they are seen laughing together (Hamlet and Horatio). This play within a play illustrates Hamlet’s adamancy; he could not be easily persuaded by the ghost to believe that Claudio had killed his father.
Hamlet is also a very intelligent character, at the beginning of the play, we see his studies interrupted by the sudden death of his father, when he gets to Denmark, he figures out a lot of things that of things about the death of his father. First of all, he is emotionally very intelligent. He is furious about his mother marrying Claudio, his uncle. He is also very furious that the King had taken his throne which he was supposed to inherit as the prince, however, due to the fact that he is emotionally intelligent, he decides to shadow all these so that he could seek revenge for his father. He also plays a lot of tricks to enable him to appear unique, first of all in his commonly occurring question “to be or not to be,” Hamlet conveys a lot of messages, and it is only partially understood by many. Through his intelligence, he confuses people and has even been able to successfully play mad. Hamlet also uses his intelligence to craft a plot of revealing who actually killed his father, known only to Horatio, the plan actually works, and we see the king confessing his sins alone when he says, “hath the primal curse upon it.” Even though this confession is not done before everyone in the play and only the reader or the audience know about it, it is a proof that Hamlet’s plan has worked. Hamlet, however, confirms this when the King reacts to the play, The Murder of Gonzago in Act III scene ii, the King flees the room when Lucianus kills the Duke of Vienna in the play within a play.
Also, the fact that Hamlet is able to successfully escape the kings trap that was laid to unravel the truth about his madness influences the audience’s view of his intelligence. In Act II, Hamlet has successfully discerned that his two friends, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern, have been used as spies to try to unravel his madness. He wittingly defeats this plan, and the King decide to withdraw the two from the mission. Thereafter, the King set him up with Ophelia, a lady whom she loved, however, Hamlet uses his intelligence to thwart this plan he behaves strangely to Ophelia and even denies having given her some token of love. He even begins to show dislike for women and even urges Ophelia to become a nun rather than breed sinners (Shakespeare III.I.122). His actions make Ophelia think that he is truly mad, however, the audience know that Hamlet is simply using his intelligence to escape the King‘s trap
Hamlet appears as a tragic hero at the end of the play. Through his well-crafted schemes, he has been able to avenge his father’s death, and he is happy for it. However, it does not end well for him too, the quest for revenge has put him in bad terms with Claudio who thinks he has become dangerous (Hanmer 51), and it is at this moment in the play that the Pandora’s Box is opened. The King starts hunting Hamlet and wants him to be taken to England. At the very end, Hamlet loses his the lady of his life to suicide; actually, all the deaths in this play have, in one way or the other, their roots from Hamlet. He is also killed at the end at the end of the play though he manages to kill Claudio, who is given a taste of his own medicine (he had prepared poison to kill Hamlet).
Hamlet has been used to advance major themes in this play, first of all through this character; Shakespeare has successfully built the play to a tragedy. Being the major character in the play, the theme of tragedy that runs through the play is majorly defined by events that occur in his life or that directly result from his actions. At the beginning of the play, we see him having had to leave school to avenge his father’s death when he gets home; he finds out that his mother has married his “inferior” uncle come father, and his mother is also his aunt now. His throne has also been overtaken by the same “inferior” uncle who he detests, but he has a mission to complete and cannot let his anger consume him (Foster 24). Even though Hamlet has that urge to revenge his father’s death, he is also portrayed cautious and slow to act. He doesn’t rush when the ghost gives him the information that he has been looking for so much, that his uncle Claudio was responsible for the death of his father.
It would be rather inhuman to consider a killer a hero, however, in the context of this play and bearing in mind the attitude that Shakespeare uses to influence the audience; we sympathize with Hamlet and share in his predicament. At the end of the play, although Hamlet also dies and these occur as a result of his revenge mission, the audience are still persuaded to praise Hamlet for his heroism and at the same time bemoan his tragic demise. In the end, Hamlet, hence, comes out as a tragic hero.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Vol. 2. Hayes Barton Press, 1878.
Foster, Edward E. "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." (2010).
Hanmer, Thomas. Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. No. 1. JR Smith, 1736.
