When discussing the idea of suicide, Hamlet decides that the idea of the unknown is far more terrifying than the frightening situation he is already in. “But that the dread of something after death the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?” (3.1 80-84). The contrast of how frightened Hamlet is from the unknown versus Fortinbras’ lack of fear shows the femininity of Hamlet’s character. Fortinbras demonstrates that he is not scared to go through places unknown to him in order to take actions when he marches through Denmark to fight the Polish. The leadership qualities that Fortinbras shows with raising his own army is one masculine quality that contrasts with the difficult time that Hamlet is having with avenging his father. Fortinbras raises an army and is threatening to fight Denmark to retrieve the land that his father lost in battle. The inability to take action is shown as a contrasting flaw when we see Laertes and Fortinbras avenging their fathers within the play. The personality traits of these three characters exemplify just how feminine of a character Hamlet is made to be. These characters exemplify extremely masculine traits such as embodying the avenger and fighting or taking action as they see fit. His inability to do so contrasts greatly with the masculine characters in the play such as Hamlet I, Fortinbras and Laertes. With the Danish royal family dead, only Horatio is left to tell the story, while the King of Norway claims the crown of Denmark.Throughout the play of Hamlet, there are many times were Hamlet is put in a situation where he is able to take action. Hamlet's failure to act immediately leads the duel between Hamlet and Laertes, where both men are poisoned and die.Īudience's Feeling of Pity or Fear After the Hero's Fall The whole play is set in motion when the Ghost of King Hamlet tells the prince that it is Claudius who has killed him. There are several moments of Anagnorisis in Hamlet. His first attempt, with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, fails, but he then arranges the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. Hamlet proves to himself that Claudius is guilty, but now Claudius knows he has to kill Hamlet. In the fencing match, Laertes takes advantage of this to poison Hamlet with his fencing blade. Hamlet believes he is clever enough to beat Claudius and Laertes in any challenge. Hamlet’s repeated indecision prevents him from immediately killing Claudius, indirectly causing every other death in the play. The finished product outlines each of Aristotle's principles with a detailed explanation of the specific attributes. For the storyboard above, students can use a template to storyboard the qualities that make Hamlet, a tragic hero. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, was the articulated the specific attributes or principles of a tragic hero.
In this play, Hamlet is the tragic hero as he leads himself and many others to their ruin and deaths. One of these elements is the tragic hero, a protagonist who seems to be ill-fated, and destined for doom.
Hamlet is full of important literary elements for students to explore.