Shakespeare's Hamlet is full of dead bodies, murder, suicide, disease, graves, and talk about death. And

there is no traditional Christian comfort or promise of eventual justice or happiness for the good people.

But the message is ultimately one of hope. One may be capable of stepping forward to be

heroic, even when they lack the power or absolution for their deeds.

So, in short, INTEGRITY.

Hamlet is the first work of literature to look squarely at the stupidity,

falsity, and sham of everyday life, without laughing and without easy

answers. In a world where things are not as they seem, Hamlet's genuineness,

thoughtfulness, and sincerity make him special.

Hamlet is no saint. But unlike most of the other characters, Hamlet chooses not to

compromise with evil.

Shakespeare's Hamlet was a remake of an already popular play, based in turn on historical fiction, based in turn on an

episode from the Dark Ages: the lawless, might-makes-right 7th century era.

Written around 1601Published in 1603Setting: Denmark

In Hamlet, Shakespeare holds up a mirror to nature, showing us ourselves.

If this were an action-movie, Hamlet might be entirely sympathetic, and his enemies altogether despicable; however it's characteristic of Shakespeare's tragedies that our sympathies are divided.

The audience comes away from Hamlet liking the prince very much. He is a thinker, and he is funny. We see into his own mind and discover him to be genuine and sincere. We admire him for resisting the evil around him.

But he begins the play with a nasty,

bitter outlook on life…

..think an intellectual-turned-emo.

o A tragic hero has great potential but is doomed to fail. o Born into nobility, likely an intellectualo Responsible for their own fateo Doomed to make a serious error in judgmento Endowed with some sort of tragic flaw that causes his fallo Realizes he has made an irreversible mistakeo Faces and accepts death with honoro Meets a tragic death

o Hamlet in many ways is a Byronic (Romantic) hero, two centuries before the archetype existed.

Tragic hero