Ortiz 1
Angel Ortiz
Professor Spillman
ENGL 112
October 19th 2020
Hamlet An Iconic Hero
Aristotle has said “A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his
downfall.” (P. Indira Devi, 94) Based on Aristotle’s definition of a hero, the character of Hamlet,
the protagonist in the Shakespearean play never acknowledges his flaws but is able to
foreshadow his death. Although Aristotle’s description of a hero isn’t in full display in Hamlet,
he is viewed as a literary heroic character with flaws. The failure of the main character to see his
defects or weaknesses in Hamlet is explored by P. Indria Devi in her article “ Tragic Flaws.”
According to the author Devi, Hamlet’s fatal flaw is “…his failure to act immediately to kill
Claudius, his uncle and murderer of his father” (94) his resistance to act quickly draws the
audience’s attention to his ethical dilemma. In addition to his personality defect, Devi suggests
that other circumstances help shape the tragic plot in Hamlet such as; his inadequacies, or his
“internal struggles” between right and wrong, etc. As the scenes continue to unfold, his ethical
dilemma becomes intertwined with his actions as he questions his integrity and moral choices.
While Shakespeare may have not intended for Hamlet to be recognized by his audience as a
hero, by virtue of his own demise and his victimization of his grief, the mental anguish, and the
procrastination of avenging his father’s death makes him one of history’s most iconic heroic
character.
Ortiz 2
In recognising Hamlet, the author Sandra Young uses several excerpts to draw attention
to a specific question, why do scholars continue to gravitate to the Shakespearean play of
Hamlet? “…Jude Law, describes the particular thrill of playing Hamlet, in an interview with
Adam Green in Vogue magazine:.. You see Hamlet struggling with these questions about why
we’re here and what the work of life is, but ultimately, as with all great writing, the answers are
really left up to us. At the heart of this character is someone we all recognize as ourselves.” (14)
during the grieving process. In Act I Scene 2, the King asks Hamlet “How is it that the clouds
still hang on you?” to which Hamlet’s replies “I am too much i’ the sun?” (1402) The “clouds” at
this point signify a clear sign to all that Hamlet continues to be fully distraught over the death of
his father. Hamlet is distressed, confused and rebelling against his mother and his uncle for the
unthinkable betrayal. The grief Hamlet expresses is a multi facade sorrow dealing with duty,
honor, fear and responsibilities that creates the basis for the outcome of the story. The
circumstances that begin to unfold after this scene serves as one of the major catalysts that
continues to cause the unraveling and creation for the feelings of grief and indecisiveness for
Hamlet. His grief and his indecisions symbolizes to his audience the dichotomy between love
and honor. During the progression of the story we find Hamlet in full disdain for his mother and
his uncle and it defines his character. The painful issues confronting Hamlet, the betrayal and
the victimization of his circumstances are relatable to many who have experienced the different
stages of grief due to the loss of a loved one or a broken heart.
As Hamlet’s grief begins to encompass his inner being, it resembles madness. His
madness is at first feigned, and then it starts to take hold of him as the plot of the story
progresses. According to Young in her article “Recognising Hamlet,” the excerpt of De Grazia
alleges that Hamlet’s struggles are internal and only become manifest as we see the machinations
Ortiz 3
of the truths laid bare by Shakesspeare. Does the audience hear the ghost speaking to Hamlet and
extoll the grief he feels in the underworld, or is it a manifestation of his madness created by his
subconscious which is shared with the audience? According to the parallels draw from the article
“The Catch 22,” “The ghost does draw Hamlet to madness; a motif which consequently
manifests in various forms, degrees and characters ranged from fits of temper and rashes of
madness in Laertius to “antic dispositions” in Hamlet to total dementia in Ophelia.”(Azad and
Abbasi, 100) The combination of love for his father and the magnification of Ophelia’s rejection
stirs Hamlet’s feelings of confusion and entrapment. The struggle of feeling trapped are also
interpreted in the psychoanalytical article “The Catch 22” by authors Azad and Abbasi (2018).
The authors’ interpretation of the psychological dilemma of the young prince’s tragedy and the
death of his father, as well as the events that affect his identity, have drawn parallels between the
protagonist Captain John Yossarian and Hamlet. It is this Catch 22, the enigma of duty and fear
that controls the emotions attached to the play. According to Azad and Abbasi, the prince is
betrayed by the ghost of the former King, his father, when he is tasked with avenging his death
and the act of fratricide. It is the betrayal that contributes to the mental anguish that the audience
uses to associate Hamlet to a hero. According to Devi, “The tragic hero here is not an ordinary
man but of noble stature with an outstanding quality and greatness.” (94) who is portrayed and
seen to all as an average man with fear, anger, and misunderstandings of the circumstances
guiding his future. As opposed to the article by Peter Bray’s “The Hero’s Journey, Hamlet and
the Positive Psychological Transformation” who depicts Hamlet as a creatively strong individual,
with a grand failure in the use of reason. His analysis of the character’s transformation allows us
to draw comparisons between the parallels used in the article “The Catch 22” by Azad and
Ortiz 4
Abbasi. Both articles, “The Catch 22” and “The Hero’s Journey” reference his weaknesses as
symbolic traits which lead to his demise.
Marjorie Garber has called Hamlet the “premier western performance of consciousness.”
(Young, 16) It is his performance of consciousness in Act III that is front and center as his
character finds himself questioning his mortality and his mental state. The continuation of
Hamlet contemplating killing himself even though he believes his actions will not bring him
peace even in the after-life
HAMLET.“ To die, to sleep – to sleep
Perchance to dream, – ay there is the rub,
for in this sleep of death where dreams may come… (Shakespeare 1438)
Human empathy also plays a role, emotions of pity and sorrows for the misfortune of this
character are relevant due to past experiences
Shakespeare’s audience is immediately captured when Hamlet is confronted by the ghost
of his recently dead father, who explains how he died and asks him to avenge his death
as well as the madness beginning to take shape in his mind.
“Is it because we recognise in Shakespeare’s tragic hero the internal conflict between
filial duty and inner yearnings, the self-doubt, and the fraught self-examination that have
come to characterise existence in late modernity? Or is it simply because we have learned
to see him, as Margreta de Grazia puts it, as “the most valued character in our cultural
tradition”?” (Young, 13)
Ortiz 5
Bibliography
Azad, Bahareh, and Pyeaam Abbasi. “Hamlet’s Catch-22: A Psychoanalytic Reading of
Hamlet and Catch-22.” OneSearch.com, Critical Survey (Oxford, England), vol. 30, no. 3,
Berghahn Journals, Sept. 2018, pp. 97–115, doi:10.3167/cs.2018.300308.
The Catch 22, written by Bahared Azad and Pyeaam Abbasi is a psychoanalytical
interpretation of the psychological dilemma that has been dealt to the young Prince of tragedy
with the death of his father and how the events affect his identity. The authors’ article uses the
parallels between Captain John Yossarian, the protagonist, in the novel Catch 22 to emphasize
the struggles of feeling trapped and the obligation of life and duty. Captain Yossarian’s character
follows orders and these military orders leave him caught between duty and sanity like with
Hamlet. It is this Catch-22 that controls the story of Hamlet. The prince is betrayed by the ghost
of the former King, his father, when he is asked to avenge his murder and the act of fratricide. It
is this psychological trauma that the audience can use to associate Hamlet to a hero.
Bray, Peter. “The Hero-Journey, Hamlet and Positive Psychological Transformation.”
OneSearch.com, The Journal of Humanistic Psychology, vol. 58, no. 5, SAGE Publications,
Sept. 2018, pp. 525–55, doi:10.1177/0022167816689357.
Peter Bray’s article “The Hero-Journey, Hamlet and Positive Psychological
Transformation” allows us to view through the lens of suffering, and it is through these lenses
that we see Hamlet suffer the indignities of burying his father. The article paints Hamlet as
Ortiz 6
creatively strong, but a failure in the use of reason, these weaknesses and strengths creates the
connection to Hamlet, as we all show strength and mental weakness at times. It’s the mental
gymnastics that occur in Hamlet that lead us to believe our hero is working hard to bring justice
to Denmark and his late father. Hamlet’s mental weakness leads to his undoing and that of the
whole Royal Family. Our hero believes that no matter the inner turmoil he must bring an end to
the corruption of Denmark. Hamlet’s tormented psychological journey throughout the play
captures the true essence of sympathy from his audience.
Foley, Andrew. “Heaven or Havoc? The End of Hamlet.” OneSearch.com, Shakespeare
in Southern Africa, vol. 24, no. 1, Institute for the Study of English in Africa, 2012, pp. 45–56,
doi:10.4314/sisa.v24i1.4.
The author, Andrew Foley, in his article Heaven or Havoc? The End of Hamlet, examines
the interpretation of the events that occurred during “Hamlet” the play by William Shakespeare.
Foley explains through quotes gathered from other authors that the play ends not just with the
deaths of the character of King, the Queen, Hamlet, and much of the Danish Noble Family, but
also gives us insight on how the people of Denmark end up being ruled by Fortinbras. The
Fortinbras, the leader of the Norwegen force, are the enemies of Denmark. Prior to the
unfortunate death of Hamlet, Shakespeare methodically provides him the ability to avenge his
father’s death powerfully and effectively. According to Foley, Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s
darkest and most chaotic plays through the use of consciousnesses he highlights the relatability
and sincerity of its heroic character. The author discusses how Hamlet is seen as a changed man
when he returns to Denmark. Though Hamlet has “changed” Foley states that even though he
avenged his father’s death, the final act symbolizes the end of the corruption in Hamlet’s family
and provides what should have been a clean slate for Denmark.
Ortiz 7
P Indira Devi. “Tragic Flaw in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.” OneSearch.com, ICFAI Journal
of English Studies, vol. 9, no. 4, IUP Publications, Dec. 2014, p. 93–.
The article “Tragic Flaw in Shakespeare’s Hamlet” by P. Indria Devi explores the flaws
of the Shakespearean tragic heroes as having a defect or a weakness in their personality traits
which eventually causes their demise. The author suggests that other circumstances help shape
the tragic plot such as fate but it is Hamlet’s procrastination, indecisiveness to kill his uncle, his
inadequacy, or innate weak trait. The author’s explanation for Hamlet’s procrastination is
described as him having “internal conflicts” between right and wrong and the love for his father.
The taking of a human life is not a decision that can be taken lightly, which is it’s represented in
the dilemma that Hamlet is facing with the taking of his own life and that of his uncle. Hamlet’s
moral compass along with his mental agony is what draws the audience to feel pity and sorrow
for the misfortunate of this character.
Young, S. “Recognising Hamlet.” OneSearch.com, Shakespeare in Southern Africa, vol.
26, no. 1, 2014, p. 13., doi:10.4314/sisa.v26i1.2.
In recognising Hamlet, the author Sandra Young uses several excerpts to draw attention
to a specific question, why do scholars continue to gravitate to the Shakespearean play of
Hamlet? She describes the magnetic attraction as the sense of recognition and relatability that we
as the audience bring to this significant character of Hamlet. Young describes the play as a
performance of consciousness in which the inner struggles and the expectations of individuals
cause reflection and empathy. This can be seen during Hamlet’s famous soliloquy “ to be or not
to be…” The article makes the case for Hamlet’s garnering sympathy from the audience due to
his conflicts throughout the play. It is the daily turmoil that we experience which establishes a
social sympathetic relationship with this character.
Ortiz 8
ENGLISH 112-39 A | B
RESEARCH PAPER
You will write a literary research paper using the primary source and the 5-7 secondary sources you provided in your annotated bibliography. This assignment is worth 20% of your final grade, so it is important that you abide by the guidelines!
REQUIREMENTS:
*Primary source (either the story from your Literary Analysis Essay #1, or the play from your Character Analysis Essay #2).
*A specific, narrow, arguable thesis with main body paragraphs providing topic sentences, claims, and evidence, and an introduction & conclusion (the thesis/topic from either essay #1 or essay #2, depending on which primary source you selected).
*6-8 full pages using MLA Format
*5-7 secondary sources
*In-text citation and a Works Cited page of both the primary & secondary sources
You will have 2 peer reviews during class sessions, where you will upload a copy of your current draft on the discussion board and receive feedback from 2 peers while giving feedback to 2 students. I will provide feedback on the first draft from the discussion board.
On peer workshop dates we will also be holding Collaborate Ultra sessions the first half of class; October 19/20 will be spent discussing critical literary theories you may encounter in the scholarly articles, and October 26/27 will be spent discussing how to use secondary sources effectively.
Students are also strongly encouraged to seek assistance via writing center appointments and any additional research assistance from librarians if they are continuing to research while drafting the assignment. I am also available during scheduled zoom appointments to discuss working drafts. Finally, you are encouraged to refer to the sample student research paper that is under Digital Handouts, as well as the assigned Chapters 33-35 from the Norton textbook that address the research process.
PEER WORKSHOP DATES:
1st rough draft (3 pages done minimum): 39A October 19| 39B October 20
2nd rough draft (5 pages done minimum): 39A October 26| 39B October 27
FINAL PAPER DUE DATE: 39A October 30| 39B October 29
*If you need an extension due to illness or emergency, I need to know by October 28. Those with extensions will submit their final paper November 2.
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