By the end of Act Two, Hamlet is a confusing character in regards to 'tragic hero' - he is the protagonist of a tragedy, therefore he should be the tragic hero? Hmmm.
Well, to me, although he doesn't have the excessive pride that is associated with the tragic hero, he still does things to excess, like thinks to excess, which I believe is his downfall. I might be wrong and just trying to fit things, but it sort of works. For example, if the ghost is not real, and is a figure of Hamlet's imagination, then he has imagined that up to try and justify and make right all of the things that he has been thinking, which is some MAJOR overthinking and just going way too far into his own head!! I really hope you understand what I mean because otherwise all of that just makes no sense.
Although I've just made that point about how Hamlet does have something that leads to his downfall, I don't really believe that he is a tragic hero at this point. A tragic hero would have started to plan to actually DO something about what they are thinking, like if Hamlet was a tragic hero, he would have probably gone ahead and attempted to kill the King by now, but because he's Hamlet, he's decided to put on a play to try and see whether the King is guilty or not. Tragic heroes seem to follow their gut instinct straight away, whereas Hamlet doubts himself, (which could be to do with the overthinking thing) and it feels like he's making excuses not to act on his instincts. It's like he doesn't trust his own judgement.
I think that the way David Tennant plays Hamlet - sort of sensitive, like he's sad but that he could also flip to complete insanity and rage at any moment- is the best way of performing the character. I also think that because David Tennant is not some massive beefy muscly guy, it gives Hamlet the femininity that should show through,like the whole 'women words men action' sort of thing, and Hamlet is a very wordy guy.
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