Hamlet a tragic hero?

Hamlet – Tragic Tragic Hero -

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Tragic hero Tragedy (as opposed to an epic) relies on dramatic performances rather than a narrative Best tragic plots are single and complex Includes reversal – situation seems to be developing in one direction but suddenly switches to another “Tragic pleasure of pity and fear” Can’t be all good or all evil –  the audience has to be able to identify with him but if he is superior in some way the pleasure in intensified Encounters obstacles – from society, plan flaws, gods, nature etc. His end comes from mistaken action or error in judgement – e.g. a common one is pride and therefore the hero ignores the advice of the gods The hero must not die at the end but a change in fortune occurs. Receives some kind of revelation Due to the hero’ s suffering being more than his mistake the audience feels pity Represents actions that give form to universal truths The tragic hero is "a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake." A great man - one of those who stand in great repute and prosperity. The hero is neither a villain nor a model of perfection, but is basically good and decent. Mistake - (hamartia): This Greek word, which Aristotle uses only once in the Poetics, has also been translated as "flaw" or as "error." The great man falls through--though not entirely because of--some weakness of character, some moral blindness, or error. We should note that the gods also are in some sense responsible for the hero's fall. The plot of a tragedy also involves some horrible or evil deed. The tragic hero does it consciously, does it out of ignorance, or mediates it (makes it easy for the deed to happen). To make it really horrible for the audience, au dience, Aristotle suggested that the evil deed should be done to a family member.

Hamlet Chain of being – hierarchy of people Regicide – homicide of a royal occurs, King Hamlet and his brother– chain of being is broken Horatio – the voice of reason lives – he is the only one who lives to tell the story to others “When a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts without any irritable reaching after fact and reason” – Keats 1817 Hamlet is very indecisive – procrastinator “To be or not to be?” – to kill or not to kill – the reason people don’t kill themselves is because they don’t know  what happens afterwards  

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Who is the tragic hero? What does he represent? Why is he saying it? How does he say it? Is he the actor? Is the madman? Ultimate renaissance figure? Ultimate tragic hero? Relates to life and death In media res? In the midst of things – plays jumps straight into the drama Her father prostitutes Ophelia out. Hamlet who she loves tells her to not to speak to him and calls her a whore so does her brother. We feel sorry for her. She feels very isolated. She is pushed to suicide. Protestants don’t believe in ghosts. Claudius – marries Hamlet’s mother and calls Hamlet his son Hamlet is in aside – shows conflict Oedipus complex – Hamlet might just be jealous of Claudius – likes his mother Outward appearance of insanity – reality vs appearance or public vs private Claudius calls Hamlet a wimp/unmanly because he grieves over his father’s death for a long time –  is he right? Hamlet goes to the university where the protestant religion was born

His first soliloquy – in book

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Horatio being the voice of reason so the fact he sees the old king makes it believable Is he crazy – burden and seeing the ghost could make him crazy Ghost wearing armour – ready for battle foreshadows a sense of doom or turmoil (angry) or reminder of that he is a king

Ophelia – Act 1 scene 3 I think she’s quite smart – pretends to listen to their advice but doesn’t fully take it in Tells them what they want to he ar “he hath importuned me with love in honourable fashion” She is like Hamlet in the sense that she listens to her father’s opinions Meek and feeble “Yes I will obey you” –  very obedient to the men in her life The men speak much more than her Maybe she just plays the weak – “I do not know my lord what I should think” Her answers become a lot shorter when her father speaks to her 

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Hamlet doesn’t tell Ophelia he is pretending to be mad –  fragility thy name is women. He uses her to think he’s mad because if she thinks he is crazy she will tell her father who is advisor to the king so they’ll all think he is crazy. 

Polonius blames Ophelia for Hamlet being mad – due to lust

Act 2 Scene 2 Gertrude – says her marriage is fast. Smart because she understands why Hamlet is crazy Smart because she understands to remain in power and be queen she has to marry a king – “frailty thy name is woman” – contrasts to her because she isn’t weak – she is strong and knows what she wants and get its too Moves from a revenge story to a political intrigue Hamlet knows his friends are spying so he comes across the smartest in the play Speaks in prose because his friends aren’t smart enough - contrasts with subject matter – very philosophical He’s fully aware of his si tuation He then later uses his friends spying to give false information Metatheatre 

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Conclusion – spectacle is not visual but is still a spectacle