Hamlet Play by William Shakespear
- Musleh Saadi
- Oct 4
- 5 min read
Paragraph 1 – Introduction to Hamlet’s Character
Prince Hamlet, the protagonist of Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, is one of literature’s most complex characters. The play opens with his grief over the death of his father, King Hamlet, and his disgust at his mother Gertrude’s hasty marriage to Claudius. From the beginning, Hamlet embodies the qualities of a tragic hero—noble in birth, admirable in intellect, and burdened by a fate that demands vengeance. As the Royal Shakespeare Company notes, Hamlet is driven by the ghost’s command to avenge his father’s murder, which becomes the central conflict of the play (7).
Paragraph 2 – Hamlet’s Inner Conflict
Hamlet’s defining characteristic is his indecisiveness. The ghost reveals that Claudius poisoned the king, but Hamlet delays taking immediate revenge. This hesitation reveals his struggle between morality, religious doubt, and the fear of damnation (6). His famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be,” highlights his existential questioning of life, death, and the afterlife. According to SparkNotes, Hamlet’s delay is not cowardice but a reflection of his intellectual and moral nature—he overthinks the consequences of his actions (2).
Paragraph 3 – Feigned Madness and Complexity
Another layer to Hamlet’s character is his feigned madness, which he adopts as a strategy to investigate Claudius’ guilt. However, this act blurs the line between appearance and reality. His erratic behavior alienates Ophelia and contributes to her eventual madness and death. Litcharts emphasizes that Hamlet’s duplicity creates dramatic irony and heightens the play’s tension, as both the audience and Hamlet himself wrestle with what is genuine and what is performance (3). This complexity makes Hamlet not only unpredictable but also deeply human.
Paragraph 4 – The Tragic Flaw and Downfall
Hamlet’s tragic flaw (hamartia) lies in his inability to act decisively. While Laertes and Fortinbras serve as foils, demonstrating action-driven responses to conflict, Hamlet continues to delay. Britannica describes this indecision as central to the tragedy, since his hesitation allows Claudius to plot against him (6). Ultimately, Hamlet does act—but too late. In the final duel with Laertes, poisoned weapons and a poisoned cup lead to the deaths of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet himself. His fate reflects the Aristotelian model of tragedy, where a noble figure falls due to both personal flaws and external circumstances (5).
Paragraph 5 – Conclusion and Legacy
In conclusion, Hamlet remains Shakespeare’s most compelling tragic hero because he embodies the struggles of human existence: grief, revenge, morality, and mortality. His philosophical depth makes him relatable across time, as audiences continue to wrestle with the same questions he raises. As the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust explains, Hamlet’s character has fascinated audiences for over four centuries because he is not merely a prince seeking vengeance but also a thinker confronting the meaning of life itself (1). Through his downfall, the audience experiences catharsis—pity for his suffering and fear of shared human weakness—making Hamlet the quintessential tragedy.
Hamlet (According to the Elements of Plot and their Characters' role
Element of plots
1-Settings
The setting is Elsinore Castle, in Denmark.
2-Exposition
The former king of Demark has died, and a group of soldiers tell his son, Prince Hamlet, that they believe they saw his ghost. Hamlet later sees the ghost and it is indeed his father. Hamlet learns the king was poisoned by Hamlet’s uncle (the king’s brother), who has since married the queen and is now the new king.
3-Conflict
Hamlet feels that he must seek revenge on his father’s behalf. However, he struggles with the authenticity of the “ghost” and is indecisive about his course of action.
4-Rising action
Throughout the rising action, Hamlet tries to figure out if Claudius truly killed his father. When he hears a group of actors is coming, he requests that they act out a play that depicts a king being poisoned in the ear. This mimics the way the ghost claims he was killed. Hamlet thinks if Claudius reacts, it will prove his guilt.
5-Climax
Claudius leaves the play and goes to pray forgiveness for killing Hamlet’s father. Hamlet overhears this and wants to kill him. However, he thinks if he kills him while he is praying, Claudius will go to heaven.
6-Falling action
Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius and is banished to England. Claudius includes a letter to the King of England that orders Hamlet’s execution. Hamlet escapes and comes back to Denmark. Ophelia, crushed by Hamlet’s apparent disdain and the death of the father, has drowned herself. Hamlet is challenged to a fencing match by Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, who blames Hamlet for the deaths of his sister (Ophelia) and his father (Polonius).
7-Resolution
At the match, Laertes poisons the tip of his sword. Claudius poisons a cup and tries to get Hamlet to drink from it. Hamlet refuses and Queen Gertrude drinks from it instead. Laertes stabs Hamlet. They grapple, and Laertes is stabbed by his own sword and also poisoned. Hamlet makes Claudius drink from the poison cup and then stabs him with the poisoned sword. In the end, only Horatio is left to tell the story. Fortinbras , King of Norway, arrives to find the royal family dead and claims Denmark.
Charachters
1-Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark and protagonist in this play. Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and polonius, and the nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet has many noble and brave characteristics, this is one of the reasons he is a tragic hero. Hamlet’s promise to avenge his father’s death makes him noble because loyalty is part of chivalry, one of the main aspects of being noble.
2- Ophelia she is a young noblewoman of Denmark. The daughter of polonius,sister’s Laertes and potential wife of Hamlet she is sexual object. Ophelia as a strong woman with an independent mind. She thinks for herself and acts on her own decisions. Interestingly, she chooses to devote herself to Hamlet after they fall in love.it is likely that hamlet really was in love with ophelia.
3-Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. He is chief counsellor of the play’s ultimate villain, Claudius, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia.
4- Caludius,The King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle, and the play’s antagonist. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating, ambitious politician, driven by his sexual appetites and his lust for power. He differs from other men in the play because he is cunning, lacks morals, and is manipulative.
5- Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother and Queen of Denmark. She was married to the murdered King Hamlet She is a loving caring character and wants everyone to get along with each other. Gertrude also symbolizes Hamlet’s shield and protection.
6- Horatio is a discerning and intelligent man, and the appearance of this ghost makes him deeply uneasy. But Horatio is not afraid of the ghost, only of what it portends – that something is not well with Denmark.
7- The ghost is a symbol of Hamlet’s father who is killed by Claudius. Its propose is to demand Hamlet to avenge its death. Although the ghost only appears three times in front of Hamlet, it is a specify role to develop the whole story and plot.
[11](https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/plot-analysis/)
[12](https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/hamlet/story/scene-by-scene)
[13](https://www.storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/hamlet-by-william-shakespeare/five-act-structure)
[14](https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/revision-notes/a-level/english-literature/ocr/hamlet/5-1-1-structure-of-hamlet)
[15](https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/hamlet/story/plot)
[16](https://www.litcharts.com/lit/hamlet/summary)
[17](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet)
[18](https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/hamlet/)
[19](https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1711646.html)
[20](https://plottr.com/beat-sheets/hamlet-plot/)
Amazing 👍
Awesome 👏
Interesting