One of the most unique elements of the Hamlet character is that he is so human. Manytypes of readers can identify with him. Hamlet is imperfect, and he is fretful. Hamlet hashuman properties, and it is his humanity that I intend to explore. Indeed it is these humanqualities and imperfections that make his story so tragic. Another tragic part of the play isthe plays irony. Irony is an important tool in the hands of the playwright to achieve bothcomical and/or dramatic effect. There is usually little reason for a tragedy to be funny, soShakespeare has used this tool to add more tragedy to the play. I will investigate thenature of this irony. Also, I will investigate the types of conflict that play a major part inthe play and the relationships between Hamlet and the two people who have been closestto him; Ophelia and the Ghost. Hamlet cannot share his strong feelings and emotions with his mother or hisgirlfriend. While his mother is literally sleeping with the enemy, Ophelia has chosen theside of Claudius because of her father, Polonius. It is especially difficult for Hamlet totalk to Ophelia. The only other woman in his life, Gertrude, has betrayed his father bymarrying Claudius. Hamlet may be obsessed with the idea that all women are evil, yet hereally does love Ophelia, because when he finds out Ophelia has died, he cries out, "I lov'dOphelia; forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up mysum."(Act V, Scene 1) The ghost provides Hamlet with a dilemma. In Shakespeare's plays, supernaturalcharacters are not always to be trusted; think of the three witches in MacBeth, who areinstrumental in his downfall. Hamlet does not know whether the ghost is telling the truthor not. If Hamlet had killed Claudius solely on the ghost's advice, he would certainly havebeen tried and put to death himself. There would probably have been a war to choose thenew king. Being the humanitarian that he is, ...
