Hamlet Character Analysis Essay
TASK--Pick one of the following characters from Hamlet: HAMLET, OPHELIA, GERTRUDE, CLAUDIUS,
POLONIOUS, LAERTES, and write a standard 5 paragraph essay analyzing the character.
To analyze character you must explain their emotions, motivations, and personality traits. The paper should sum
up the character in one paper
Use the sample outline I gave you to make sure that all of the essay elements are included. This is the last major
essay of your high school career so it should be good and illustrate what you have learned and accomplished over
four years.
Type in MLA format—times new roman font, 12 pt font, 1” margins, heading, catchy title, double space, etc
DUE DATE_________________________________ via googledocs.
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Below is a sample paragraph about the gravedigger below to help.
THESIS—the Gravedigger provide morbid comic relief and helps Hamlet further examine the theme of life after death
and he provides the last stage in the journey that prepares him for death. P1—comic relief, P2—discusses life after death,
P3—“readies” Hamlet for his upcoming death.
The gravedigger’s character, though small, provides the audience with a short break in the morbidity by using dark
humor which he has acquired after years of gravedigging. Before Hamlet sees him, the Gravedigger is making riddles
about the permanency of his office asking, “Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?” The answer
being a gravemaker whose creations last until the judgment, and he later follows his riddles with jokes with Hamlet The
begin a sort of battle of wits or lack of thereof depending on interpretation. For example, when Hamlet asks who the
grave belongs to, the gravedigger daftly answers, “Mine, sir.” Or when Hamlet asks upon what grounds Prince Hamlet
lost his wits, instead of explaining why Hamlet went mad, our Gravedigger dodges the question by saying that he lost his
wits on the physical ground of Denmark. It could easily be seen as stupidity or a bad joke but either way the audience is
more relaxed. Hamlet allows the audience to feel that the Gravedigger is odd for when Hamlet first sees him the
Gravedigger is signing while digging a grave and behaving with jollity when. Even “mad” Hamlet is so taken aback by
this bizarre behavior that one would think would call for more gravity and formality. He asks Horatio, “Has this fellow
no feeling of his business? He sings at grave- making.” It shows that even the characters realize that the Gravedigger is
not as grave as we would expect and when we see what is either interpreted as his sense of humor or his sheer stupidity
the audience is grateful to laugh after seeing the sad transformation of Ophelia and the tragic ending that we know is to
come.