Open Prompts: Part 2 - II

1979. Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized literary merit who might on the basis of the character’s actions alone be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, seeks revenge on his uncle-now-father, Claudius, for the murder of his actual father. This course leads him to murder Polonius, send his friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to their deaths; he also kills Laertes, the son of Polonius before finally achieving his goal of killing Claudius. Hamlet then dies himself. From Hamlet's actions alone, a reader can take him to be an immoral character, however, Prince Hamlet is the protagonist of Shakespeare's play. As the protagonist, Hamlet gains the opportunity to obtain forgiveness and sympathy from the audience, because they follow him through the course of events and see how and why Hamlet took the actions that he did. In context of the play, Hamlet can be viewed as a tragic hero: his fall and madness account for the immoral acts he commits, and his death seals him in the mind of the audience as a martyr.

Hamlet does a lot of stuff that wouldn't exactly be considered "good." His bent on destroying Claudius affects everyone around him, his first real ill deed is the way he treats Ophelia after seeing the ghost of his father; he then causes the deaths of several individuals, starting with his murdering of Polonius. The madness in Hamlet, whether pretended or real, is agreeably out of hand and needs dealing with. However, Prince Hamlet is the play's protagonist, so he obviously must have good reason for what he does.

In the position of protagonist, Hamlet is granted a sort of clemency by the audience. They see his perspective, they understand what is troubling him: his father's ghost and its demand for revenge, as well as his mother's relationship with his uncle, mixed with his uncle's relationship with Hamlet. The audience sees the stress that is put on Hamlet, they see him snap and fall into the downward spiral of the Seneca revenge plot that Shakespeare has written him into. When Hamlet kills Polonius, thinking him to be Claudius, the audience isn't surprised or outraged - yes it is a high-tension moment, but it is somewhat expected - they just understand. They feel sympathy for Hamlet because his situation is falling out of his hands, and so as Hamlet sinks deeper and deeper into his pit, the audience feels sorry and regards him as a tragic hero.

A person reading Hamlet can easily finish the play with the perspective that Hamlet is a tragic hero. He started as the Prince of Denmark, his father is murdered by his uncle, his uncle marries his mother and takes his throne, he sees his father's ghost and goes mad, and makes a series of ill-informed choices from there, which ultimately lead to his death. Hamlet's crimes are attributed to his madness and he dies a martyr: the mad prince who died avenging his father. The immoral acts Hamlet committed are softened by the context in which they are placed within the play.

Hamlet's actions, alone, would be considered evil or immoral, but by his presentation and characterization throughout the play, the audience is able to sympathize with him. Hamlet is the protagonist of Shakespeare's play, so a reader is more prone to that sympathy because they are able to see how and why he is led to make the choices he does. Where Hamlet could be an antihero or villain because of his actions, he becomes a tragic hero and a martyr because the audience understands him.