This paper examines two related dimensions of Shakespeare's Hamlet: the verbal wit that defines the prince's speech and the new kind of hero he represents. The first section analyzes three examples of Hamlet's wordplay—including his cutting aside about Claudius and Gertrude, his theatrical joke about joining a company of actors, and his sharp insults aimed at Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Gertrude—explaining the layers of meaning each carries. The second section argues that Hamlet differs fundamentally from classical heroes such as Achilles and Odysseus, presenting instead a brooding, morally sensitive, and self-aware figure whose heroism lies in his willingness to act despite profound emotional turmoil, guilt, and existential despair.
Hamlet is a very humorous hero, and though his jokes and witticisms are often dry, subtle, and sarcastic, they consistently reveal layers of meaning that his targets rarely catch. Under his breath, for example, he says of his mother Gertrude and Uncle Claudius that they are "a little more than kin, and less than kind." The line means that they have committed murder, incest, and adultery in order to seize the throne and remove Hamlet's father from the scene. They may sometimes regret their crimes, but that does not prevent Claudius from acting like a Machiavellian prince and continually plotting to have Hamlet killed. To call him "a little less than kind" is a dramatic understatement, for he is in fact a ruthless and brutal man, and Gertrude is his accomplice and co-conspirator despite her kindly, motherly act.
Hamlet takes evident pride in his role as producer, writer, and director of the play that reveals his knowledge of his father's murder—and leaves Claudius and Gertrude visibly shaken. He even tells his friend Horatio that if life as the Prince of Denmark does not work out, he will "with two Provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a fellowship in a cry of players," by which he means that he will join a traveling company of actors. Of course, as heir to the Danish throne, such work would have been far beneath his status and dignity, yet it seems genuinely possible that Hamlet might have relished exactly that life. The joke captures both his self-deprecating wit and his authentic love of the theater.
Hamlet even jokes at the expense of his enemies—Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern—and, pointedly, his own mother. He advises Gertrude several times to "get thee to a nunnery," a role that would have been comically out of character for her. He calls Polonius a "fishmonger" with a face like a "weak ham" and elsewhere a "weasel," all of which are wickedly well-aimed. He also warns Rosencrantz that he is no more than a sponge soaking up rewards and favors from the king: "when he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again." In reality, Hamlet's humor discloses a very keen intelligence, and all of those around him would have done well to take it more seriously.
As a modern hero, Hamlet is far more complex, soulful, and reflective than most classical heroes like Achilles, Ajax, and Odysseus—although he shares many of their qualities of courage, cunning, and determination, and he pursues revenge for his father's murder as any hero would be expected to do. He admits that he is no Hercules; he is rather an intellectual warrior, and also deeply depressed and world-weary. As he says in one of his soliloquies, "how weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world." His natural disposition is not melancholia, but the adultery of his uncle and mother—and their murder of his father—make him wish he had never been born. Death would come as a welcome release to Hamlet; even better would be oblivion, where he would know and feel nothing, not even in dreams.
His choice was stark: leave an evil pair of murderers on the throne in control of all the people of Denmark, or take decisive action of his own. He was a mortal man acting under extreme personal and political pressure, and therefore limited. Claudius is the real villain of the play. Viewed objectively, he commits adultery with Gertrude, conspires with her to seize the throne through treachery and murder, and then continually spies on Hamlet and plots to kill him. Hamlet reacts against this and defends himself, yet he should ultimately be regarded as a tragic rather than an intrinsically evil figure—unlike Claudius, who is finally undone by his own plotting and treachery.
"Hamlet's remorse and ethical sensitivity explored"
"Hamlet's cunning use of the play-within-a-play"
"Tragic consequences of Hamlet's choices assessed"
You’re 51% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 3 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.