H AMLET
W HAT
IS A
T RAGIC H ERO ?

A literary character
(often the protagonist)
who makes an error of
judgment or has a fatal
flaw, which brings on a
tragedy.

The idea of the tragic
hero was created in
ancient Greek tragedy
and defined by Aristotle.
C HARACTERISTICS OF A
T RAGIC H ERO
The Hero is faced with a serious decision

Hamlet doesn’t really know if he wants to seek
revenge on his stepfather King Claudius or not
There may sometimes be supernatural involvement

Supernatural- pertaining to, or being above or
beyond, what is natural.

Ghost- hamlet didn’t know if the ghost was real or
not
C HARACTERISTICS ,
CONT.
The Shakespearean tragic hero dies at some point in the
story. Shakespeare's characters illustrate that tragic
heroes are neither fully good nor fully evil.

Hamlet is not good because he thinks murderous
thoughts about king Claudius.

Hamlet also is not fully evil because he thinks good
thoughts with Horatio.

Hamlet never really comes up with a plan on how
exactly he will kill King Claudius (just thinks about it)

Even though Hamlet doesn’t get revenge on King
Claudius right away, he makes sure Claudius dies at the
end (Hamlet forces Claudius to drink the poison).

Hamlet has a right to make sure King Claudius dies.
Claudius is a bad man and ultimately deserves to die
(Claudius kills King Hamlet, kills Gertrude, and devises a
plan for Laertes to murder Hamlet).
C HARACTERISTICS ,
CONT.
Hero must be noble in nature, but imperfect so that the
audience can see themselves in him.

Hamlet is noble because he was the prince of
Denmark.

He was born into nobility because his father was the
king.

Hamlet is far from perfect

He is indecisive and fakes his craziness

Does not treat Gertrude or Ophelia very nicely

Has the same problems just like the modern average
teenager
C HARACTERISTICS ,
CONT.
Hero must be doomed from the start, but bear no
responsibility for possessing his flaw.

Hamlet suffers from his father’s death from the
beginning.

Hamlet suffers from Ophelia’s love, which he
cannot control, and her madness.
C HARACTERISTICS ,
CONT.
The hero must be intelligent so he may learn from his
mistakes.

Hamlet attends school

When he is alone with Horatio, Hamlet is civilized
and sane.

Hamlet fakes madness in the beginning of the play
in order to confuse his enemies.

Hamlet knows what is going on with Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern.

The players and Fortinbras encourage Hamlet to
take action.
C HARACTERISTICS ,
CONT.
The hero is physically or spiritually wounded by his
experiences, often resulting in his death.

Hamlet spends too much time thinking and not
enough time acting.

Hamlet ponders if he wants to kill King Claudius.
He doesn’t because he's praying, and then the
next chance he gets, it is too late.