essay

Debi Hall

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Hero Archetype Essay 2

Word Count

Hamlet, A Tragic Hero

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark is tortured by the tragedy of his

life. He is a Tragic Hero who dreams of death as a relief:

To die: to sleep;

No more; and, by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish’d. (Hamlet III:1)

In his speech, and throughout the drama, Hamlet struggles with his humanity. According to

literarydevices.com, a tragic hero is plagued by 1) a fatal flaw in his character that causes his

misery, 2) suffers from “excessive pride and disrespect for the natural order of things”, and 3)

ends his/her life with an inevitable downfall that the audience feels. In the case of Hamlet, each

of these elements of the tragic archetype apply to the protagonist. Consider first the character of

the Prince of Denmark. A psychological look at the character flaws that cause Hamlet’s demise

explains the first of his tragic archetypical qualities.

Works Cited

Hamilton, Edith, and Comes Bac Clytemnestra. “Articles and Musing on the Concept of Fate for

the Ancient Greeks.” Articles and Musing on the Concept of Fate for the Ancient Greeks,

1997,

www.auburn.wednet.edu/cms/lib03/WA01001938/Centricity/Domain/2205/Fate%20read

ing.pdf.

“Themes, Motifs and Symbols in A Midsummer Night's Dream Essay.” Themes, Motifs and

Symbols in A Midsummer Night's Dream Essay | Bartleby,

www.bartleby.com/essay/Themes-Motifs-and-Symbols-in-A-Midsummer-FKC4D5ZTJ.

OUTLINE

This is where I will add my detailed outline. Here is one example. There are tutorials for

outlining and a sample template included in the assignment pdf