FREE ESSAY ON HAMLET

HAMLET

Hamlet is a tragic hero through abandonment. His father's death makes his mood very
melancholy. He feels that his father left him and he mourns over his death. His father
dies two months ago and he feels that isn't enough time to mourn. To point this out,  But
two months dread, nay, not so much, not two; (I,ii,138) The more Hamlet grieves about his
father, the more he dislikes Claudius. To verify this, She married; O most wicked speed,
to past. (I,ii,156)
Hamlet's mother gets remarried, and thus Hamlet feels she has betrayed his father by
marrying Claudius. In this quotation Hamlet's anger is shown towards his mother getting
remarried,  You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife,/ And -would it were not so!
- you are my mother! (III,iv,15-16) Hamlet loves his mother very much and wants the best
for her, but he cannot bear her remarriage.
Finally, Hamlet feels abandonment by Ophelia's death. She drowns, but Hamlet is unaware
of this. He really loves Ophelia, even though she was not loyal to him. When he finds out
that Ophelia has died, he cries out,  I lov'd Ophelia: forty thousand brothers could not,
with all their quantity of love, make up my sum.(V,i,270-272)
In brief, Hamlet felt abandoned by his father's death, his mother's remarriage and
Ophelia's death.
Hamlet is a tragic hero because of his misfortunes. His first misfortune is the
appearance of the ghost of his murdered father, who appeals to Hamlet to take revenge for
his wrongful death. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that Claudius and Gertrude had been
intimate before his murder. The ghost also reveals that Claudius became king by
treachery, disposing of Hamlet's father in order to satisfy his own greed. Hamlet becomes
very upset and is in grief for his father's death. He is shocked in disbelief that his
own uncle would betray the family this way. Hamlet's grief can be summed up in the
following quotation,  Make mad the guilty and appal the free,(II,ii,563)
Hamlet's analytical nature can be seen in his four soliloquies. In his first soliloquy,
he is talking about his joyless life, comparing it to a garden and how it is decaying. An
illustration of this is,  'tis an unweeded garden/ That grows in nature.(I,ii,134-135)
He doesn't find happiness in anything. He feels sorrow at his father's death and is
disgusted at his mother's remarriage. In Hamlet's second soliloquy, he is not very proud
of himself. He calls himself a coward for failing to achieve the requested revenge, and
shows the anger he has towards Claudius. To point this out, A damn'd defeat was made. Am
I a coward. (II,ii,571) Also, to verify his anger,  Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous,
kindless villain! (II,ii,582) He also seems very frustrated. In his most famous
soliloquy, he has thoughts of suicide and asks the question if life is worth living. He
considers the problem of suicide. Hamlet talks about all the suffering the people go
through and he concludes that this is a part of living. This is apparent by, To be, or
not to be, that is the question;/ whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer. This
soliloquy has a universal and timeless quality and is written in a melancholy tone.
Finally, Hamlet's misfortune can be seen by his own noble death. The final catastrophe is
when Hamlet at last kills Claudius, while he himself is dying, and he is spontaneously
provoked by his mother's death and by Laertes' accusation. As evidence of this,  I am
dead, Horatio. wretched queen, adieu! (V,ii,322) While he was dying, he tells Horatio to
live and to tell the world about his most incredible, miraculous story.
In summary, Hamlet is a tragic hero for his misfortune of seeing his murdered father's
ghost, his analytical nature in his soliloquies and his noble death.
Hamlet is a tragic hero because of his isolation. First of all, Hamlet was betrayed by
his family and his own personal friends. His uncle, who is supposed to take the place of
his father, tricks Hamlet all the way until the end. Hamlet cannot share his strong
feeling and emotions with his mother, while she is literally sleeping with the enemy.
Gertrude has betrayed her husband by marrying Claudius. The only other woman is Hamlet's
life is Ophelia and she has chosen the side of Claudius because of her father, Polonius.
Hamlet's two friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also betray him by not being loyal,
and on top of that they were spying on him. Everyone turns against Hamlet and thus he
felt betrayed by everyone. This can be summed up in the following quotation,  Now I am
alone./O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! 
Hamlet's isolation also caused his antic disposition. As evidence of this,  As I
perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put an antic disposition on (I,v,170-171) He
pretends to be a madman to actually test everyone's loyalty to him. Hamlet, then studies
the behavior of everyone around him, including his own. It also gives him time to wisely
think about obtaining revenge for his father's death. He wants to achieve a balance
between action and inaction. This is apparent by,
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer 
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, 
And by opposing, end them. ( III,i,57-60)
The third result for Hamlet's isolation was his tragic flaw. He couldn't bring himself to
kill Claudius. He cannot seem to do anything about this and he takes too much time to
think. He always comes up with some excuse to prevent taking action. After first hearing
about his father's murder, he immediately determines to take action. Then he begins to
think that perhaps his father's ghost was a devil, attempting to trick Hamlet into
performing wrong deeds. Then Hamlet schemes to determine Claudius's guilt, and then he
again sets out to avenge his father's death. Hamlet later catches Claudius in prayer, one
of the rare times he finds Claudius alone. Again, he begins to think how Claudius will
have had his sins forgiven, and that he wants to damn Claudius's soul. So he resolves to
wait and kill him at another time. As evidence of this, Now might I do it Pat, now a' is
a-praying;/ And now I'll do it and so he goes to heaven. (III,iii,73-74) In conclusion,
Hamlet's reason for being isolated was because of his betrayal by his family, by his
friends and by Ophelia, plus his antic disposition and tragic flaw which actually is his
internal conflict. 
Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero through abandonment, misfortunes and 
isolation. He feels abandonment through his father's death, his mother's remarriage and 
the death of Ophelia. Hamlet's misfortunes starts with his father's ghost, his analytical

nature in his soliloquies and by his own noble death. Finally, Hamlet's isolation from
his 
family, his antic disposition which results in his tragic flaw. Although he has many good

qualities, such as bravery (as shown by his deeds), loyalty (to his father and mother), 
intelligent (putting on an antic disposition), and sensitive( he keeps grieving over his

father's death), it eventually becomes clear that it is these very attributes causing his

misfortunes, isolation and abandonment.