Hamlet Anti Hero Analysis

Hamlet is portrayed as a gritty anti-hero with human flaws and qualities such as arrogance, apathy and paranoia, which are revealed in his hamartia and peripeteia. Hamlet’s selfishness fuels his revenge against Claudius but he follows through intelligently, but arrogantly as he refuses to consider the welfare of others. Hamlet’s revenge triggered a series of remorseless murders in the name of his father. The constant surveillance on Hamlet instigated his constant paranoia of being watched and plotted against because his trust was always betrayed. Gertrude’s hasty marriage and Duncan’s surreptitious murder infuriates Hamlet’s enough to feel obligated to avenge his father’s death mercilessly while demonstrating anti-heroic qualities of hamartia …show more content…
Hamlet originally planned the murder against Claudius, but impulsively executed Polonius first. However, when he realized he had killed Polonius, Hamlet felt no sorrow for his death (despite committing murder in the presence of his mother). “Thou wretched rash, intruding fool. Farewell, I took thee for thy better” acknowledges Hamlet after stabbing Polonius unknowingly behind the curtain. Instead of an ordinary hero seeking justice, Hamlet wanted Claudius suffering for his sins and felt no guilt for Polonius’ death, insulting and blaming him for his death due to his intrusion on Gertrude. This is one example of Hamlet’s apathy, as he feels unaffected from the monstrous act. Hamlet’s apathy continued to motivate his furious revenge of his father; he desired vengeance despite the consequences. Hamlet’s indecisiveness is one of his human flaws where he seduced Ophelia with poetry before contradicting himself by telling her to go to a nunnery, eventually insinuating her suicide directly and indirectly through murdering Polonius. Hamlet revealed his over-confidence and apathetic personality when he compared who had loved Ophelia most, the brother or the lover. “Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum” admits Hamlet as he believed he loved Ophelia more than her brother. Hamlet 's …show more content…
Once Hamlet’s paranoia confirmed the truth, the murder of Claudius was unrelenting. Hamlet’s madness was initially deduced because of his love of Ophelia, the lower lady whose family attempted to deny her access to Hamlet. “Perhaps he loves you now, and now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch the virtue of his will,” said Laertes attempting to convince Ophelia to stop spending time with him. Hamlet was constantly described as mad because of his restriction of Ophelia, when in reality he was still grieving and refused to accept his uncle as the new parent and king. Hamlet’s paranoia impedes him from the others from showing true emotion, as he didn’t trust anyone except Horatio. This obsession eventually proved Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Polonius had spied him. Hamlet’s witty dedication to his father’s vengeance overcame the majority of this surveillance, however he became spiteful and emotional after Ophelia’s death, even though he just confronted the death of Yorick. Despite all the extra stress and pressure Hamlet remained in control and continued his plan being proactive, until he reaches his peripeteia forced him to become reactive. This turning point of fortune occurred during the play he hosted using renowned actors to