Characterization of Hamlet, Gertrude and Ophelia Essay

crossroads is a role of extraordinary complexity and depth. No simple formula can help oneself to solve his mystery. A different hamlet might set about shooted his uncle Claudius on the strength of the Ghosts accusation, ascended the throne, married Ophelia and lived happily ever afterwards . But such a typical hero was not liable(predicate) to be of interest to Shakespeare. We can also say that in Hamlet Shakespeare presents a murderer and punishr who is both ruthless and reluctant and his death is the net result of his being charged by the Ghost to carry disclose instructions which were offensive to his moral principles.Like other tragic heroes of Shakespeare he is also endowed with exceptional qualities like royal birth, graceful and enchant personality among his give birth countrymen. He has a high intellectual eccentric as Ophelia observes O what a noble mind is here overthrown / The courtiers, spends, scholars eye, tongue, sword, / Th expectancy and rose of the fair postulate ,/ The glass of fashion , and the mould of form ,/ Th observed of solely observers. Act III, Scene I In spite of possessing all these high qualities which rank him in a higher place the other characters the flaw in his character leads to his downfall and makes him a tragic hero.The tragic flaw in the character of Hamlet is that he thinks in like soldieryner much and feels too much. He is often disturbed by his own genius of self analyses. What is required of Hamlet is prompt action, whereas he broods over the moral idealism which leads to his delay in action. When he gets an opportunity to kill Claudius, he puts aside the thought because he cannot strike an enemy period he is at prayer. Several causes account for his inaction . By nature he is prone to think rather than to act.He is a man of morals and his moral idealism receives a shock when his mother remarries Claudius after his fathers death. Chance too plays an important part in shaping his character. Cha nce places him in such a position in which he is incapable of doing anything. He make ups inconsistent and is no longer a person who reaches a conclusion only by reasoning. Like other tragic heroes Hamlet too has to face conflict, both sexual and external. The internal conflict is between his moral scruples and the act of visit which he is called upon to perform.Love of his father, the dishonor of his mother and the villainy of his uncle prompt him to take r til nowge while his nobility, his moral idealism, his principles and his religion revolt against such a criminal act. The result is that, torn within himself, he suffers mental torture. Hamlets wants to take revenge against Claudius, the murderer of his father, the usurper of his rights to the throne and the seducer of his mother . In Hamlet Shakespeare presents a revenger who is both ruthless and reluctant . As a revenger he must act, on behalf of outraged virtue, to restore a violated order, solidification right what is o ut of joint.But the act he is impel to do, involves him in evil of the kind which he would punish. As the ruthless revenger he exemplifies in his own person the evil which is inseparable from the good in human nature as the reluctant revenger he can mean the goods abhorrence of it. As compared to Fortinbras and Laertes, Hamlet is slow in taking revenge because of his habit of thinking long and deep. Bradley clearly describes this measure up and says he suffered from melancholia, a pathological secern which may well groom into lunacy. (p. 121)There is an another aspect of Hamlets characterization i. e. his madness. T. S Eliot argues that the madness of Hamlet lay in Shakespeares hand in the earlier play a simple ruse, and to the end, we may presume, understood as a rule by the audience. For Shakespeare it is less than madness and more than feigned. (p. 102) By pretending to be mad, Hamlet kept open the safety valve and could babble order to relieve the pressure on his mind . This is what T. S Eliot means when he uses the words more than feigned. Samuel Johnson (1765) also considers his madness as fabricated even in his (Hamlets) treatment of Ophelia.Johnson says in this regard, He plays the madman most, when he treats Ophelia with so much rudeness, which seems to be useless and wanton cruelty. (Johnson, 1765) Shakespeares characterization of Gertrude and Ophelia in Hamlet is paradoxical as it challenges as well as complements the modern-day social traditions and norms. Gertrude is the best example of this paradox that is manifested through her extraordinary supremacy over all the major characters of Hamlet, her influence in the court matters and state affairs and her blind obedience to Claudius.Ophelia is also active in her interior(prenominal) domain only if her interest are restricted to amorous and marital maters only and they are further enjoin by his father Polonius and brother Laertes. She is an epitome of traditional feminist expressio ns of the age that require chastity, compliance and acceptation of male dominancy from women. Ophelia remains passive in the domestic and emotional domain. Ophelia has no identity of her own and all her domestic and amorous matters are directed by her father.Polonius endeavors to fashion the life and attitude of Ophelia according to his own wishes. He considers his desires as her desires and tries to tailor her approach by various means. Ophelia is further restrained by his brother against any potential threat to her chastity and virginity. At Ophelias entry into Hamlet, her brother, Laertes escorts Ophelia advising her on her relationship with Hamlet. So right from the really start, Ophelia is under the sway of Laertes and Polonius. So her character is in complete residence with the traditional values of that time.Polonius always responds from a position of authority over Ophelia, emphasizing his power as the decision-maker for her. Both her father and brother have a self assign ed task of directing Ophelia how to act powerful in every domain of her life. Although Shakespeare has characterized Ophelia as inferior to male characters, but characterization of Gertrude has dual characteristic. Sometime it challenges the traditions of the conformist society and sometime it itself become conforms to the values of the society by acting passively.