Hamlet is Not the Protagonist Essay -- Essays on Shakespeare Hamlet

settlement is Not the Protagonist Upon reading village or reflexion a rendition of the great Shakespeargonan tragedy, the perfunctory audience element might be tempted to view the suit hamlet as the inoffensive individual who encounters grief because of a tragic flaw. This is subsequently all, the formula for some(prenominal) modern tragedy. In fact, the presumption is accurate with mavin exception. crossroads is non a virtuous individual. While the play revolves around hamlet, village is not the protagonist. Rather, he is like the main characters in The solar day of the Jackal or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in that he is in truth the antagonist or contra vida with which the audience finds itself sympathizing. This is most clearly evidenced in the ease with which Hamlet is able to kill innocent characters and subsequently edit out his actions. Examples of this are the period he kills Polonius and then lightheartedly criticizes himself for killing the wr ong psyche and the measure he sends his innocent childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their conclusions because their disloyalty displeased him. In addition, Hamlet also dismisses the death of his love, Ophelia, when she drowns in the river. The reason Hamlet is this way is that he has lost creed in humanity as G. Wilson Knight puts it, He has seen through humanity. He sees the reality of the world to be that evil rules. Because of this, Hamlet becomes a cynic, in that he is critical of the motives of others. One example of this is the time when Hamlet scoffs at Laertes show of grief for the death of Ophelia as he dives in the sullen after him. He does not believe that the sentiments explicit by Laertes are sincere. For these reasons, Hamlets inhuman cynic... ...audius is guilty. Although Hamlet is plainly the main character of the play, he is not the protagonist that one would expect. He shifts to the dark office when he vows to retaliate the death of his father. Hamlet had a tragic flaw, his unfitness to act when it was most important for him. However, it was not because of this tragic flaw that he encountered grief. His flaw exactly brought him death. Without it, he would still be a miserable, just about insane cynic unable to find happiness. While Hamlet is obviously a tragedy, Shakespeare did not follow the tragic formula exactly. Perhaps this is why the play is so popular and is considered his greatest work. Works Cited Knight, G. Wilson. The Embassy of Death. The Wheel of Fire. capital of the United Kingdom Methuen & Co., 1954. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York The Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992. Hamlet is Not the Protagonist Essay -- Essays on Shakespeare HamletHamlet is Not the Protagonist Upon reading Hamlet or watching a rendition of the great Shakespearean tragedy, the casual audience member might be tempted to view the character Hamlet as the virtuous individual who encounters grief because of a tragic flaw. This is after all, the formula for any modern tragedy. In fact, the presumption is accurate with one exception. Hamlet is not a virtuous individual. While the play revolves around Hamlet, Hamlet is not the protagonist. Rather, he is like the main characters in The Day of the Jackal or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in that he is really the antagonist or contra vida with which the audience finds itself sympathizing. This is most clearly evidenced in the ease with which Hamlet is able to kill innocent characters and subsequently disregard his actions. Examples of this are the time he kills Polonius and then lightheartedly criticizes himself for killing the wrong person and the time he sends his innocent childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths because their disloyalty displeased him. In addition, Hamlet also dismisses the death of his love, Ophelia, when she drowns in the river. The reason Hamlet is this way is that he has lost faith in huma nity as G. Wilson Knight puts it, He has seen through humanity. He sees the reality of the world to be that evil rules. Because of this, Hamlet becomes a cynic, in that he is critical of the motives of others. One example of this is the time when Hamlet scoffs at Laertes show of grief for the death of Ophelia as he dives in the grave after him. He does not believe that the sentiments expressed by Laertes are sincere. For these reasons, Hamlets inhuman cynic... ...audius is guilty. Although Hamlet is obviously the main character of the play, he is not the protagonist that one would expect. He shifts to the dark side when he vows to avenge the death of his father. Hamlet had a tragic flaw, his inability to act when it was most important for him. However, it was not because of this tragic flaw that he encountered grief. His flaw only brought him death. Without it, he would still be a miserable, slightly insane cynic unable to find happiness. While Hamlet is obviously a tragedy, Sha kespeare did not follow the tragic formula exactly. Perhaps this is why the play is so popular and is considered his greatest work. Works Cited Knight, G. Wilson. The Embassy of Death. The Wheel of Fire. London Methuen & Co., 1954. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York The Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992.