How can Hamlet be described as a character?

Question

How can Hamlet be described as a character?

Answer 1

Hamlet is typically thought to be between 23 and 30 years old. He is the Prince of Denmark, son to the former King named Hamlet Senior and his wife, Gertrude. Hamlet does not automatically become King upon his father's death because Denmark was an elective (not hereditary) monarchy; his uncle, Claudius, assumes the throne (although apparently there was never a vote on the matter), perhaps in Hamlet's absence. From the very beginning of the play Hamlet is troubled by his mother's decision to marry Claudius - he thinks it is a bit too hasty, not to mention incestuous - but soon he learns even more troubling news: a ghost informs him, in the guise of his father, that the former King was murdered by Claudius. The ghost charges Hamlet to revenge his father. Thus begins the greatest revenge story of all time, as Hamlet first must seek confirmation of the ghost's tale, and then as he tries - now certain of Claudius' guilt - to find the perfect timing to commit murder. Hamlet struggles at times with suicidal thoughts, but in the end he decides it is more honorable to live a difficult life and see his father avenged than to give up. Throughout much of the play, Hamlet plays the madman - putting on an "antic disposition" - so that he can work out his plan for revenge undetected. He is quite often ruthless and suffers from a severe case of "paralysis of analysis" - the inability to act because he spends so much time thinking about how and when to act. Nonetheless, the reader or playgoer has a difficult time resisting Hamlet's charisma, for he is no less courageous than committed and contemplative. We enthusiastically cheer Hamlet on when he murders Polonius, Laertes and Claudius, and we weep uncontrollably when he meets his own end. The famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, in his The Birth of Tragedy, had this to say about Hamlet's character in 1872: "Dionysiac man might be said to resemble Hamlet; both have looked into the true nature of things; they have understood and are now loathe to act. They realize that no action of theirs can work any change in the eternal condition of things, and they regard the imputation as ludicrous or debasing that they should set right the time which is now out of joint."