Aristotelean Tragedy in Hamlet Essay

Aristotle and Shakespeares Tragedy

Hamletmay be considered a tragic hero because of the events of his life after his fathers murder. There are many elements that make a character considered to be a tragic hero according to Aristotle. Hamlet posses three of these specific traits; the first trait is that he is a leader of men, the Prince of Denmark. Meet it is I set it down, that one may smile, and smile, and be a villain, At least Im sure it may be so in Denmark. (Writes) So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word. The actions of himself and the King will affect Denmark forever. If he eliminates Claudius then Hamlet will become the ruler of Denmark and ultimately establishing the country in a dissimilar form than the current King, his Uncle. Hamlet is also suffering because of his mothers choices to marry his uncle. Hamlet is affected by this to a large extent because he knows that Claudius killed the Senior Hamlet. The plays events would never have taken course if Hamlet was not horrified and disgusted by his uncles actions. A little more than kin, and less than kind. Hamlet falls to excessive pride but not that of his own. The pride is possessed by the King and Laertes. They believe that their plan is flawless and no harm can breach the many layers; however it spirals into an erroneous display of death. Laertes: I will dot it. And for that purpose I will anoint my sword. King: Lets further think of this; should have a back or second, that might hold if this should blast in proof.

Although Hamlet obtains all of these qualities he is also lacking a few of the qualifications. He does not discover his fate through his own actions. He does realize that he will die because he was poisoned by Laertes but only after the fencing match is over and Laertes confesses his sin. He knows certain events that will take place but the only change Hamlet is aware that will occur is from the death of Claudius. Another trait is taking responsibility for ones actions but not responsibility for his flaws. Hamlet does not believe himself to be crazy or have any flaws. He constantly questions whether or not to kill his uncle or what life after death may entail. These are not viewed as flaws in Hamlets world. He does take responsibility for his own actions when it came to the death of Polonius; however Hamlet acts less and less throughout the majority of his play. Hamlet lacks this trait when being considered a tragic hero.

There are multiple representations of tragic heroes; some conclude that Hamlet is the quintessential tragic hero. I must disagree with this statement. Sure Hamlet possesses some of these features but they are in a twisted sort of way. When envisioning a hero, they must take action and show no fear when met with a challenge. Hamlet is constantly standing in the background and producing no opportunities for himself. In my eyes Hamlet is a good son but nothing of a hero, tragic or not. In a way he never truly avenged his fathers death. Heroes act and create an image; all Hamlet was able to create was an image of the insane. I believe him to be a tragic hero in an altered sense but Hamlet is definitely not the most exemplary character.

When analyzing other characters Laertes could fill the roll of a tragic hero. His position is very similar to Hamlet and in the end he has nothing of a family left. He does fall from pride; the pride he has for his family name and his strength in fencing. He though that there could be no possible way Hamlet could counteract his skills. Toward the end of the play Laertes discovers that his fate is sealed because of his actions. Laertes would still be living if he had found out the full truth and never plotted Hamlets death. All the suffering caused by the deaths of Polonius (his father) and Ophelia (his sister) was for a certain cause in the play. Shakespeare killed his family to keep the play progressing forward. If these deaths never occurred Laertes wouldve never been persuaded to challenge Hamlet to a dual. His suffering sealed the fate of all the characters at the end of the play. He set the tone for the future of Denmark. Last but not least he is an influential male.

Most characters in Hamlet posses one of Aristotles features of the tragic hero because of all the drama, death, and persuasion; However Hamlet and Laertes would definitely win the title before any other characters. This idea of the tragic hero can be developed in a series of ways and Shakespeare seems to have nailed Aristotles philosophy in a number of ways through his tale of Hamlet.