Hamlet, Shakespeares Spectacle Essay - 990 Words

Deceit, mystery, murder, and betrayal are all very captivating and together have the makings for a daytime soap opera. In this case, however, they are a part of the tragedy of Hamlet. The most regaling aspects of this play, despite the entertaining and compelling qualities just mentioned, are the revenge and the surprisingly unappealing nature of the main character, Hamlet. Throughout the play, Hamlet makes stupid choices that will ultimately lead to his own death, and the death of many around him. Hamlet should not be identified as a courageous hero seeking to avenge his father but instead as a coward lacking determination. Hamlet and revenge are almost synonymous. Hamlet and determination are not. As a primary theme of the play†¦show more content†¦He had many opportunities to catch Claudius but did not. One such case is when Claudius went to repent. While Claudius was praying, Hamlet thought, â€Å"I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ to heaven†¦No! / Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent† (3.3.77-88). Hamlet did not kill Claudius, as he didn’t want him to go to heaven and decided to procrastinate even further. Hamlet’s weak choices can be compared to that of a train wreck. The choices are unbelievable and passersby, or in this case readers, just cannot look away. Hamlet sees the wrongdoings surrounding him and does nothing. As Ronald Knowles says, â€Å"He believes only too well that murder and incest are ‘bad’ and in need of corrective action†¦ but such a resolution is dialectically reversed from action to words† (1056-1057). Hamlet lacks the courage to do what he desires and deems right. To me, if you don’t do what you think is right you are the biggest coward of all. Does bravery increase with age or is a person less likely to stand for what is right because they have more at stake? Hamlet, as we can infer from the play, is an adult, and not a valiant one at that. When Hamlet is speaking to one of the gravediggers you come to find out, he is thirty years old. For a grown man, and one who is meant to be a king, Hamlet is melodramatic for no reason and he presents himself as an emotionally unbalanced teenager. Well-known author T.S. Eliot also believes Hamlet acts in excess of whatShow MoreRelatedHamlet : A Flawed Anti-Tragic Hero1715 Words   |  7 PagesAristotle’s poetics have long been considered the go-to guide for determining well written â€Å"poetry†, most notably in comedies and tragedies. Hamlet, like many of Shakespeare’s plays, is considered to be a tragedy although there is room to debate whether or not its protagonist is the quintessential tragic hero or a deeply flawed anti-tragic hero. 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