[Detmold addresses the question ofwhy Hamlet delays taking revenge on Claudius by assessing his status as atragic hero. According to the critic, atragic hero has three prominent characteristics: (1) a will-power which surpasses that of average people, (2) an exceptionally intense power offeeling, and (3) an unusually high level of intelligence. From this dt:ifinition of atragic hero, Detmold especially focuses on Hamlet's unorthodox demonstration of will-power in the play, arguing that the protagonist's preoccupation with moral integrity is what ultimately delays himfrom killing Claudius. Further, the critic asserts that Hamlet is distinctfrom other tragedies in that its action commences in the soliloquy of Act I scene ii where most other tragedies end: "with the discovery by the tragic hero that his supreme good isforever lost to him. "Perhaps the most significant reason why Hamlet hesitates, the.....
