Hamlet

Hamlet is the play's central character and protagonist, widely regarded as one of the most psychologically complex and enigmatic characters in the history of dramatic narrative. He is also what is often referred to as a "tragic hero", an essentially noble human being with exceptionally fine moral character or emotional sensitivity and intelligence, whose qualities are undermined by a single, overwhelming character flaw, and who, as a result of that flaw, loses his/her life. The personal journeys of transformation, or character arcs, of such tragic heroes over the course of a dramatic narrative traditionally follow a similar pattern, or template. This pattern consists specifically of the following: the establishment of the essentially admirable qualities of the hero and the circumstances in which he or she finds himself, definition of those circumstances as challenging to the hero's basic integrity, struggles of the hero to overcome those circumstances and...