Hamlet - Deliverer of Denmark Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hamlet - Deliverer of Denmark - Essay Example So who is really the hero and who is the villain in this play? This is the indeterminacy that one faces with in this play. The Ghost in the play causes Hamlet a great deal of problem and difficulty. If he is coming from the purgatory, why is he shrieking for retribution? Why does his speech sound as if it is coming from hell? No one knows the answer because no one knows Hamlet’s father except through his own eyes. On the contrary Claudius is a strong and healthy man. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Claudius – the King. His people have no problems with him and he seems to be conducting the affairs of the state with competence. His wife is happy with him and so are his courtiers. There is absolutely no one theme that can be called the central theme of the play and thus, as many as possible interpretations and themes can be derived from it, each proving itself to be as important as the other. Moreover, the elimination of a single theme from under the classification of ‘major themes’; results in the complete avoidance of an important aspect of the play. Hamlet is a tragedy of imagination and thus it is in clear opposition of the classical ideal of a tragedy. It is a tragedy of character rather than a tragedy of plot, which according to the classics was the most important part of a tragedy. This paper is going to explore the possibilities of Hamlet taking an early action in the play and is going to be based on pure assumption of the aftermath. In the very first instance when Hamlet loses his normalcy and confronts his uncle, who is now the King, is after he has witnessed the ghost. Hence, towards the end of act I, he is in dilemma. He has learnt not only about his father’s murder but also of the possible adultery of his mother. He absorbs this fact within himself, hiding it from even Horatio. He starts to play the madman. Hamlet could have entered the very first scene with a dagger in his hand directed towards Claudius. Had t hat been the case, the play could have taken a totally new interpretation of the character. He would have been accused of murder and thrown out of Denmark. But instead he internalizes his feelings and vents them in the form of soliloquy: Let me not think on't,--Frailty, thy name is woman!-- A little month; or ere those shoes were old With which she followed my poor father's body Like Niobe, all tears;--why she, even she,-- O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn'd longer,--married with mine uncle, My father's brother; but no more like my father Than I to Hercules: within a month; (I.i) After witnessing the ghost and convincing himself that his uncle was involved in the murder based on his prior suspicion, he starts his quest to murder his uncle. Hamlet’s hamartia or the tragic flaw lies in his secrecy. He continues to carry out his plan without sharing it with his dearest friend. This is what causes the delay. At the end of act III scene iii, Hamlet ha s a perfect chance to kill his uncle, but there is a problem; Claudius is praying. Hamlet is afraid that if he attempts to kill him at this point in time, he would rather send him to heaven! He believes that killing him now would be "hire and salary, not revenge!" When Hamlet confronts his mother in her bedroom, where Polonius is hiding behind the tapestry, Hamlet wishes that it was Claudius in his place. Had it been the case, he could have been spared the guilt of