Theme of heroism

“To be or not to be that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them”

Hamlets existential crisis and contemplating life. The heroism is internal as he is finding courage to face profound personal struggling and death. He delves into the question of whether it is more heroic to endure life’s struggles or face them head on.

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will”

Hamlet expresses his acceptance of his destiny. Suggesting a form of heroism through surrendering to fate and the greater cosmic order. His heroism lies in the acceptance of mortality and his commitment to fulfilling his duty.

“I am justly killed with my own treachery”

Laertes recognizes Hamlet’s nobility. Heroism lies within integrity and the willingness to confront and rectify one’s own wrongdoings.

“No play at the end of which the hero remains alive is, in the full Shakespearean sense, a tragedy”

A.C. Bradley on the shakespearean tragic hero. How Hamlet can can seen as a tragic hero, through his death at the end fulfilling his commitment of murdering Claudius and avenging his father.

“essentially a tale of suffering and calamity conducting to death”

A.C. Bradley, throughout Hamlet Hamlet declines into the profound state of delirium and madness, whether this is or isn’t an act is beyond the point. Hamlet throughout the play endures immense suffering through the death of his father, the emergence of the ghost, and the marriage of his mother and uncle.

This can also be applied to Laertes, suffering through the death of his father and sister leaving him alone. The lead up of Claudius’s manipulation, altering his mind to conduct revenge upon hamlet.