Hamlet as a Tragic Hero (Essay Sample)

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Hamlet as a tragic hero
Hamlet as a tragic hero has six qualities that depict him as a hero. A tragic hero has to be of noble birth. Nobility ensures that the character has a higher social status when compared to that of the average person. Hamlet is undoubtedly noble though not in the social order but character, virtue and character. This is so because he is the heir of king hamlet and also the direct descendant of the throne after Claudius (Shakespeare 101). This continues to be in his popularity and the love he receives from his family, peers and citizens. Hamlet is loyal to his father, and this is evident in his determination to set the state of Denmark right.
Secondly for a tragic hero, there has to be a reversal of fortune as the tragic hero has to go from extreme and then come to a horrible low. In this case the Greek word “peripeteia” is the time of circumstance reversal. Hamlet accompanied throughout the course of the play. Though there is no dramatic and distinct downfall, there is slow degradation of hamlet as the hero over time. His reversal of fortune is most prominent in scene three of act three whereby his perfect opportunity of avenging his father comes. Nevertheless, he opts not to kill his uncle, and this sets the course of the play onwards. His undoing starts at this moment when he opts not to kill his uncle as from this point he will always be one step behind his uncle thus entirely at his mercy (Misra 76). When his late father’s ghost visits him, it commands him to avenge for the king and his father. This sends him to extreme despair and madness and his condition worsens as the play progresses.
Thirdly, a tragic hero should have recognition. He must go through a change from ignorance to the point of achieving knowledge and enlightenment. This discovery is critical and is referred to as “Anagnorisis”. In the case of hamlet he is defined by contemplation and inactivity though it results to his demise, his careful consideration leads his blooming from ignorance to insight. His bitter enemy Fortinbras rallies two thousand soldiers on a Poland conquest. He takes this action to reinforce his entire nation and his late father’s honor though this conquest does not profit, but name, Fortinbras fights, and it cripples hamlet. After, hamlet sees his enemy seeking honor and justice actively he recognizes his faults in his soliloquy, and this depicts a dramatic realization. At this point, hamlet can realize that virtue stands in action and not in contemplation and inactivity (Shakespeare 123). Having this new insight and cause to strive for vengeance, he vows in his thought to be bloody or worth nothing.
Additionally, a tragic hero should have a tragic flaw. He must have a fatal lapse in judgment or character flow which leads to his undoing. This fatal flaw is referred to as “Hamartia’. As hinted in the course of the presentation, hamlet is his incessant contemplation and brooding, and this perpetuates his idle nature thus leads to his demise (Misra 112). He spends the entirety of the play in deep contemplation thus delving into his innermost thought and conflict. He discusses morality, broods over justice and through thought explores both life and death. Hamlets scrutiny leads in his being idle while he should strive for action const...