The Character of Hamlet
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The character of Hamlet in the play of the same name by William Shakespeare has long been a difficult one for critics to assess because he is seen as passive rather than active for most of the play. Early in the play he is charged with the task of avenging his father, a task given him by his father's ghost, and yet for most of the play he does nothing about it. He is highly reflective but inactive until the very end of the play when he does his duty, destroys the man who killed his father, and is himself destroyed. Critics have pondered the question of why he waits so long. One of the consequences of his waiting can be seen in Act II, Scene iii as Claudius, suspicious of Hamlet, prepares to defend himself from an attack he believes may be forthcoming. However, the scene also may answer some of the critical questions raised about Hamlet and his behavior. It reflects what has gone before and foreshadows much of what is to come. The tragic hero derives from the Greek drama, as elucidated by the criticism of Aristotle in particular, criticism that was revived in the Renaissance period and that came to be used as a prescription for drama rather than a description of it as Aristotle intended. Tragedy in this conception is struggling against something over which we really have no control, and the tragedy develops from a recognition of the futility of the struggle, leading to the resignation of the tragic hero to his or her fate and indeed even to their embracing that fate.
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, it is clear that the Ghost is not lying at all, for Claudius is clearly suffering pangs of conscience when he believes himself to be alone:
O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon't,
A brother's murder. Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will.
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent. . . (III.iii.36-40).
By this point in the play, Hamlet's peculiar behavior has been noted. It leads Claudius to ask for the assistance of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to take Hamlet away to England. He also enlists the aid of Polonius in spying on Hamlet, an action that will lead directly to Polonius's death as Hamlet kills him through the curtain behind which he is hiding:
My lord, he's going to his mother's closet.
Behind the arras I'll convey myself
To hear the process (III.iii.27-29).
The audience sees Claudius as a man who feels guilt and who is afraid of what Hamlet might do, and certainly he knows that Hamlet would be justified in taking action against him. Still, he prepares to defend himself as best he can by removing Hamlet from the scene and by gathering all the information he can.
Hamlet has by this time established for himself that Claudius is guilty--he does th
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Approximate Word count = 1899
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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