Kifer 1

Alisha Kifer
Mrs. Carter
AP Literature
6 February 2014
The Many Faces of Hamlet
Dynamic and round characters, such as Prince Hamlet in William Shakespeares Hamlet,
are interpreted throughout literature based on how the character is developed by the author.
William Shakespeare develops Hamlet into a dynamic character by incorporating many of his
traits throughout the tragedy. Hamlet is what 18
th
and 19
th
century Romantics would call a
dreamer because he often thinks of actions, but never acts upon these thoughts.
In the beginning of the tragedy, Hamlet contemplates his mothers lack of mourning over
her late husband, King Hamlet. He recalls when she would hang on him/As if increase of
appetite had grown and less than two months later she no longer mourns him (Hamlet.I.ii.143-
144). Prince Hamlet still laments his fathers death, so he believes that his mother should also
lament his death. The queen is never reproached by Hamlet, despite the fact that Hamlets heart
is breaking in the silence for he must hold my [his] tongue (Hamlet.I.ii.159). His lack of action
against Gertrudes minimal reactions develops the interpretation that Hamlet is a dreamer. He
often thinks about his mother and her poor choices, but he always concludes that he should not
act upon his thoughts.
Hamlets dreamer personality also expands after his first encounter with the ghost of his
father. He wants to wipe away all trivial fond records/all saws of books. . . in order to pursue
his revenge against Claudius (Hamlet.I.v.99-100). His far-fetched dreams of erasing all
memories are genuine ideas, but putting these lofty ideas into action is nearly impossible for
Comment [AK1]: Dont underline your own title
Comment [AK2]: Reword because it is a little
wordy
Comment [AK3]: Switch the sentence order
because the thesis should be last
Comment [AK4]: Fragment, complete this
thought
Comment [AK5]: Reword and clarify
Comment [AK6]: Combine the last two
sentences or delete the last one because they are
repetitive
Comment [AK7]: Choose a different word
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Hamlet throughout the tragedy. For example, he declares that he never loved Ophelia, nor did he
ever give her tokens of his love, which is only denial because he truly still remembers loving her
in the past.
Another instance in which Hamlets dreamer thinking is exemplified is in Act 3. In scene
3, Hamlet has the perfect opportunity to murder Claudius, but he over thinks the possibilities,
thus keeping him from acting upon his initial thoughts. He believes that killing Claudius at that
moment would be base and silly, not revenge, which is his own intelligence talking him out of
action (Hamlet.III.iii.79). Hamlet saves Claudius murder for a more horrid hent, but he does
not know for sure when that time will come, so that shows his lack of ability to take positive
action (Hamlet.III.iii.88).
William Shakespeare also develops Hamlets dreamer character after his encounter with
the actors. He concludes that he is unpregnant of my cause, thus calling himself an idle
dreamer (Hamlet.II.ii.494). During his soliloquy, he becomes angry with his cowardly self for
not taking decisive action against Claudius or Gertrude, yet his pensive character justifies his
lack of action on weakness and my melancholy (Hamlet.II.ii.527).
Hamlet slowly becomes aware of his over analysis of previous encounters as the tragedy
progresses into Acts 4 and 5. He states How all occasions do inform against me/And spur my
dull revenge and blames his inability to achieve true justice on pitiful distractions
(Hamlet.IV.iv.29-30). Later in his soliloquy, he concludes my thoughts be bloody or be nothing
worth, which is a turning point for the tragedy because he finally attempts to stray from his
dreamer attitude and succeed in his revenge (Hamlet.IV.iv.63).
In the tragedy Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet is developed throughout
the work into a round and dynamic character that could have many possible interpretations. His
Comment [AK8]: Why?
Comment [AK9]: Dont just end with an
example, show its effect on the character or tragedy
Comment [AK10]: Use present tense
Comment [AK11]: over-thinks
Comment [AK12]: Dont use shows, use
portrays or depicts maybe
Comment [AK13]: Include the overall effect of
this lack of action
Comment [AK14]: One more analytical
sentence
Comment [AK15]: Give context to when
Comment [AK16]: Use present tense
Comment [AK17]: Reword, this is repetitive and
vague
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distracted over thinking led to his character being interpreted as being a dreamer instead of a
character who achieves everything he sets his mind to.
Comment [AK18]: Reword, awkward phrase
Comment [AK19]: How is this achieved? Talk
about thesis more