The idealized King archetype inspires others to follow him rather than forcing them to do his bidding. The King archetype is focused on matters of state. Unfortunately, this doesn't save him from a bloody death at the end of the play. Hamlet employs his trickster guise to find out the truth about his uncle, Claudius, and Ophelia's father, Polonius. The Trickster archetype is clever and usually uses evasion and tricks instead of a more straightforward tactic like fighting. This is Hamlet in his guise as the Trickster archetype. And there's also a hybrid idea that Hamlet's mock madness eventually drives him really insane.Ī writer who has experts scratching their heads and debating character motivations centuries later is doing something right. Others see these attacks and other statements as proof that Hamlet was, as he claims in the play, pretending to be crazy.
Some claim that his misogynistic outbursts at his mother and Ophelia prove that he is actually mad. One of the enduring mysteries surrounding Hamlet is whether the main character is insane. Other tragic heroes include Oedipus from Oedipus Rex, Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, and Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart. It becomes a fatal flaw that leads to a tragic end.īy seeking to avenge his father by murdering his uncle, Hamlet subverts the natural order and causes several unintentional deaths, including that of a pure innocent, his love-interest Ophelia.
This is because the task he or she desires to complete is beyond mortal justice. This archetype almost always dies at the end of his or her story. The Tragic Hero ArchetypeĪfter witnessing his father's ghost and the “immoral” relationship between his uncle and his mother, Hamlet is cast in the role of the Avenging Tragic Hero. It can also involve wise-beyond-their-years children, and it's opposite, adults who never grow up. This archetype is universal in coming-of-age novels. While there is some debate about how old Hamlet is supposed to be in the play, he is called "young Hamlet" or "noble youth" several times.Īnd despite its elements of ghosts and intrigue, the plot of the play revolves around the question of whether Hamlet can stop brooding, grow up, and avenge his father's murder. Hamlet sits at the crossroads of three archetypes: the Child, the Tragic Hero, and the Trickster. As the title suggests, Hamlet is the main character and his evolution from innocent child to avenging killer is the focus of the play.Īs a perennial student, Hamlet is an idealistic innocent or child archetype.
WHAT IS HAMLET HOW TO
If you’re ever wondering how to create a realistic flaw, look to the natural shadow of your character’s archetype.
The shadow is what happens when you take any characteristics to its extreme-making this theory perfect for creating fictional characters. The shadow versions encompass all the dark instincts usually suppressed in the primary form. In fact, each of his characters exemplifies or subverts at least one archetype.Īrchetypes have two sides: the primary archetype and its shadow archetype. The reason Hamlet has been used as the blueprint for so many different movies and novels is because of Shakespeare’s command of these timeless archetypes. So, just like humans, no matter their culture, have an in-born fear of snakes and spiders, humans also have universal archetypes. These images supposedly exist in our collective unconscious, the emotional equivalent of instinct. Psychologist Carl Jung codified the idea of archetypes-universal figures or images that repeat themselves throughout mythology, history, and literature.